We’re very sad to report that veteran radio programmer Dene Hallam is in intensive care in Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta and his prognosis is reportedly not good. Hallam has been with the Moby In The Morning Network for the past two and a half years, and members of his work family are with him at the hospital. Moby says Hallam has been unresponsive for several days, and that a priest conducted Catholic last rites on Thursday night.
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Sony Music Nashville executive VP Butch Waugh has announced plans to retire at the end of the year, capping off a successful, 37-year career in the music business, where he has worked in the pop, urban and country formats. He has spent 27 of those years with Sony Music Entertainment, including stints as a local promotion rep for RCA in Atlanta, and then executive positions in New York and Nashville. He has been part of Sony’s Music Row operation for a dozen years.
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• Blair Garner, host of Premiere Radio Network’s nationally syndicated “After MidNite” program, will present a special six-hour show on November 22 to promote the T.J. Martell Foundation’s Text 4 Life mobile giving campaign that kicks off for the holiday season. Country artists Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood, Kellie Pickler, Montgomery Gentry, Little Big Town, Darryl Worley, Miranda Lambert, Jimmy Wayne and others will lend their voices to the campaign, which encourages listeners to donate $5.00 by texting “TJ” to 90999 on their cell phones. Garner is a member of the board of directors of the Nashville Division of the T.J. Martell Foundation.
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There are enough sexy songs getting played on country radio right now to warrant a “booty call song” category in stations’ music scheduling software.
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Record promotion veteran Mark Westcott will join independent label Ride Records as Midwest regional, effective Dec. 1. Ride is the label founded by singer-songwriter Steve Azar in 2006.
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John St. John takes over the programming reigns of Dial Global’s syndicated “Mainstream Country” format. He succeeds Penny Mitchell, who remains a member of the format’s programming team as APD and air personality.
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• For the fourth consecutive year, the Academy of Country Music will be showcasing new and developing country artists by hosting the Academy of Country Music Stage at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR) in Las Vegas. This year’s event is set for Dec. 3-12. The stage is free to NFR fans and open to all ticket holders.
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KMLE Phoenix morning team Tim Hattrick and Willy D. Loon claim to have the only morning show in North America with its own branded Snuggies. Pressed for details, however, they’ll admit they’re just sewing the logo from their Tim & Willy t-shirts onto the Snuggies. Says Tim, “Money’s no object.”
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The Nashville manufacturing plant of Gibson Guitar Corp. was raided by federal authorities Nov. 17 as part of an international crackdown on the use of endangered woods from the world’s rain forests to make musical instruments, according to The Tennessean. No arrests were made when agents from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service served a search warrant on company officials.
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Country WVIM (95.3 the Rebel) Memphis PD/morning man Tim Jones was laid off Nov .18. Prior to joining the station in June, Jones programmed crosstown country station WGKX. Jones can be reached at 901-216-3617 or showdawg_1@yahoo.com. A 25 second welcome video from Jones remains on the home page of the station’s site.
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Radio-Info.com has confirmed that CBS Radio in Phoenix has parted ways with VP/market manager Mark Waters who oversaw country KMLE and two other stations. No replacement has been named.
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• Kenny Chesney fans can get a sneak peak at his upcoming concert film, “Summer In 3-D,” today at noon (PT) with the release of the trailer on Moviefone, AOL Music, AOL’s TheBoot.com and KennyChesney.com. The film is due in theaters next April. It was shot over six nights at five stadiums.
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The Academy of Country Music has announced some new additions to its board of directors for the 2009-2010 term. This year, there are six qualifying professional categories that are elected by the Academy’s membership. In addition to those elected, director-at-large positions have been appointed by chairman John Grady, president Bill Mayne and VP Sarah Trahern. Directors are elected from each category based on the number of members in that category. Each director serves staggered two-year terms, with half the board membership changing each year.
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• Faith Hill and her longtime manager, Gary Borman of Borman Entertainment, have agreed to dissolve their long business association. “We are so proud of what we have achieved together over the past 16 years,” said Hill and Borman in a joint statement. “We love each other like a sister and a brother, but have made the difficult choice to dissolve our professional relationship.”
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Sony Music Nashville has hired Kerri Fox-Metoyer as VP, sales. An 18-year industry veteran, Fox-Metoyer most recently held the same title at Walt Disney Records. She reports to Sony Music Nashville senior VP, sales and operations Paul Barnabee, and will spearhead the label group’s initiatives in sales, catalog exploitation, and expanding its non-traditional and new business initiatives, as well as managing relationships with retail in conjunction with Sony’s distribution arm.
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Next year’s Country Radio Seminar will replace its longtime Artist Radio Taping Session with a new digital version aimed at streamlining the process of getting station liners from artists . . . A group of veteran Nashville music journalists are starting a new print magazine, titled “M Music & Musicians, in January.
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Trace Adkins lands sponsorship deal. Bucky Covington and Charlie Daniels have new projects in the works. Keni Thomas plans his fifth consecutive USO tour.
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• The new syndicated country morning show hosted by San Diego radio veterans Tony Randall and Kris Rochester has debuted with six affiliates, all of them Cumulus stations, and the promise of four more stations “coming soon.” The initial six are: WWFF Huntsville, Ala., KAYD Beaumont, Texas; KTOP Topeka, Kan.; WKAK Albany, Ga.; WKOR Columbus/Starkville, Miss.; and WPCK Green Bay, Wis.
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In the wake of Tony Conway’s Nov. 13 departure, Buddy Lee Attractions (BLA) is pleased to announce that Kevin Neal is promoted from senior VP to president.
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Just six months after touting the show’s 10th anniversary, Premiere Radio Networks has quietly cancelled “The Jeff Foxworthy Countdown,” effective Dec. 26. The four-hour weekly show, hosted by comedian Foxworthy, debuted in 1999 and was heard on nearly 300 affiliates, according to Premiere’s Web site, where the show is still listed. The program counted down the top 30 country hits, interspersed with artist interviews.
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Veteran Music Row executives Evelyn Shriver and Susan Nadler have been appointed co-presidents of Country Crossing Records, a label owned by James Stroud and Alabama commercial real estate developer Ronnie Gilley.
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In Canada, the Hamilton, Ontario, station CING (95.3) is now featuring “Greatest Hits of the ‘60s, '70s and '80s.” The Corus-owned station tells listeners, “We couldn’t have become Canada’s most-listened-to country station without your loyal support” over the past seven years. But it’s decided to leave the format. Last song: Garth Brooks’ “The Dance.” First song of the new format: Rolling Stones’ “Start Me Up.” Check the “New 95.3” website here. The Canada Board of Radio-Info.com is talking it over, here.
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• Staffers from Big Machine Records and Valory Music Company will take turns working shifts at a kiosk in the Nashville-area Cool Springs Galleria mall from Nov. 17 through Dec. 31. They will be selling CDs and merchandise from artists on the labels through the holiday season.
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Tampa, Fla.-based Internet radio company radioio.com launched three new online Christmas music channels Nov. 13, including a country Christmas stream. The others are dubbed “Christmas Traditions,” and “Today’s Christmas.”
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Longtime Buddy Lee Attractions CEO Tony Conway is leaving the talent agency where he has worked for 33 years. His future plans have not yet been announced, but based on the statement he issued to the media, he’s expected to hang out his own shingle.
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