26 August 2013

Show Dog-Univeral Music recording artist Joel Crouse has digitally released his brand new single Oh Juliet as a thank you to his fans for their support. Crouse said: “Here’s some new music for the patient fans and the new ones I made on the Taylor tour. You guys rock… Hope you enjoy Oh Juliet.” Written by Joel Crouse, Jamie Houston & Marcus Hummon, Oh Juliet further increases the exciting anticipation for the release of his debut album. Crouse recently supported Taylor Swift for her RED Tour and he opened for Darius Rucker at the Williamette Country Music Festival, joining him onstage for Family Tradition. The 21-year-old musician, was hand-picked by Swift herself, like all her opening acts. Course commented on the star:”With Taylor, what you see is what you get. She’s very genuine, down to earth and cool.

Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI), global leader in music rights management, honoured the country superstar, Carrie Underwood, with multiple BMI “Million-Air” Awards at a recent reception at the Country Music Hall of Fame. BMI’s Associate Director of Writer/Publisher Relations, Leslie Roberts joined Underwood onstage to present the certificates, honouring the prolific performance records of songs Mama’s Song and Good Girl, with one million performances each, and All-American Girl, with two million to date. Roberts commented: “With a catalogue boasting more than 13 million performances, Carrie has become one of the most successful songwriters in country music today.” BMI’s Vice President of Writer/Publisher Relations Jody Williams said: “We at BMI could not be more proud and are excited to celebrate these continued incredible achievements with her.” The BMI “Million-Air” Award is given to songwriters, composers and publishers whose songs accumulate over one million U.S. broadcast performances. It has been bestowed upon many of BMI’s iconic songwriters, including Sir Paul McCartney, Dolly Parton, Isaac Hayes and Roy Orbison. The acknowledgement is a mark of respect and praise. The three tracks honoured at the reception alone, played back-to-back, would total nearly 23 years of continuous play, indicative of Underwood’s impressive accomplishments. www.bmi.com

Award-winning singer Tim McGraw celebrated his latest number one song in Nashville with friends, industry and press. Highway Don’t Care, featuring Taylor Swift and Keith Urban on guitar, is McGraw’s 34th number one song and second number one from his Big Machine Records debut, TWO LANES OF FREEDOM. Songwriters who celebrated with McGraw included Brett Warren, Brad Warren and Mark Irwin, Big Machine’s Scott Borchetta and Keith Urban. During the party, a video was played for the crowd that offers a look at the evolution of the song, from an idea in the writer’s room to finding its place as one of the most important songs of the year. Interviews from the songwriters (including Josh Kear who was out of the country and unable to attend the festivities), Urban, Taylor Swift as well as industry leaders like Lon Helton were included. Helton commented that McGraw “continues to deliver songs to country radio that are really more than number ones, they’re game changers. They move the needle.”