Country Style

Brandweek, May 22, 2000 by Deborah Evans Price

Nashville Artists And Writers Flex Their Muscle In An Increasingly Receptive Marketplace

With Madison Avenue located in New York City and Hollywood in Los Angeles, it would seem the Nashville publishing community would be geographically challenged when it comes to placing songs in films, television and commercials. The power of good music, however, seems to know no musical boundaries, and Nashville-based writers and publishers are enjoying more than their fair share of activity on all three fronts. In the past year or so, many have landed songs on soundtracks, series and spots. The use of country and Christian stylings on both the silver and the small screen has taken a quantum leap over the past year, with everyone from LeAnn Rimes to Sixpence None The Richer getting into the musical act. Such acclaimed features as "The Horse Whisperer," "Message In A Bottle," "The Apostle" and "Girl Interrupted" have benefited from country and contemporary-gospel additions to their soundtracks, while the upcoming Ashley Judd/Natalie Portman film, "Where The Heart Is," highlights music from such name acts Martin a McBride, Emmylou Harris, Lyle Lovett and Beth Nielsen Chapman.

TV programming with conspicuous country and Christian musical samplings includes the recent CBS mini-series "Jesus," along with the series "Jesse," "Providence," "The Young & The Restless" and "Dawson's Creek." Victoria Shaw has been successful writing for daytime TV and earned several Emmy nominations for her efforts.

Nashville artists and songwriters have been receiving lucrative, high-profile exposure via commercials, including an on-going Alan Jackson spot for Ford Trucks. Dennis Linde's classic "Burnin' Love" has recently been revived on a Velveeta cheese commercial. The Bellamy Brothers' "Let Your Love Flow" can be heard on Pier One Imports commercials. "Most of the ad firms are in New York and Chicago," admits EMI Music Nashville's Gary Overton, "so most of it has come out of New York. With a catalog our size, standards such as 'Burnin' Love' and 'Wild Thing' get licensed all the time. People are calling us, but we also have a very proactive staff. There are also jingle companies here in town, and we meet with them locally. I go over and say 'Hey, I've got some ideas. What are you working on?"

PITCHING BY E-MAIL

In addition to being proactive and pitching directly to ad agencies and film/TV music producers, Nashville publishers say one of the best ways to secure exposure is developing a relationship with someone on the West Coast who specializes in pitching to that market. Most Nashville-based publishing companies work closely with the New York and Los Angeles divisions of their companies, and those synergies result in a lot of activity. "We have a great film and TV department in Los Angeles," says Overton. "They keep us in the Loop[ldots] They send us all the requests, all the needs. So I get e-mail saying 'We need a hiphop or an alternative-rock thing' because we're a music center. We have things that are, of course, country, but we also have things that are on the more progressive side of country, and we have things that are pop and rock in our catalog. I think the thing that has helped us is that our film department doesn't treat us like a hunch of hillbillies. They know we're a great resource."

SHOWCASING FOR DIRECTORS

BMG Nashville senior creative director Chris Oglesby and BMG Nashville senior creative director, gospel music division, Joe Shell both cite Art Ford, the label's Los Angeles-based VP, film & television, with being their champion in the film and TV arena. "Art Ford has done an unbelievable job of raising BMG's awareness and success in film and TV," Oglesby says. "Having Art there raises our awareness. He'll call us and say, 'I've got a movie thing I need some songs for. If you've got any upcoming singles, that would be great. We could get a tie-in.' And we just blast him a DAT of our possible singles. He's crucial to our success in that arena.

Shell says another factor that helps writers gain entry into the film world is getting a chance to showcase for producers, directors and music supervisors. "One thing they were very involved in was the Sundance Film Festival," he says of their film & TV division. "BMG started a music venue to match songwriter/artists with developing filmmakers. This past Sundance Festival, BMG Starbucks and Sundance were all involved together to produce these events. We're trying to plug our Nashville guys into that."

Steve Markland, director of creative affairs for Windswept Pacific, says the company's Los Angeles division was instrumental in landing Moorer's Oscar-nominated tune in "The Horse Whisperer." "Our L.A. office and Nashville office stay in close touch," he says. "Debby Dill [VP of Creative Affairs] in the L.A. office heard that song and made sure it got out to Redford on the set[ldots]without even knowing the soundtrack was going to be an MCA soundtrack." Markland says he's very proud of Moorer's Oscar nomination and the way it has helped increase visibility for Nashville writers and artists. "I get a lot of calls," he says. "Everybody was impressed with her performance and how great it was. I think it put Nashville in a positive light. Anytime you have a country singer/songwriter performing on the Oscars, it knocks down any barriers that could be in the way."