GRAMMY(R) NOMINATED JOHN ONDRASIK OF FIVE FOR FIGHTING PARTNERS WITH THE TULLMAN FAMILY FOR THE “MUSIC MATTERS CHALLENGE”Tying in with "Music In Our Schools Month," GRAMMY® nominated John Ondrasik of FIVE FOR FIGHTING and The Tullman Family Office, through its operational philanthropic wing Tullman Community Ventures, announce the “Music Matters Challenge,” which will launch on March 26, running through April 30;  with the Grand Prize winners to be announced on May 14.  The national online music challenge asks Americans to create an original rendition of the song “Let Music Fill My World,” a song recorded and written by Five For Fighting’s John Ondrasik and students of the Farragut Career Academy in Chicago, Illinois; while sharing their own story of a time where music greatly impacted them, changed their life, or moved them to where they remember that story today.   The challenge is designed to spotlight the magic of music and bring awareness to the generational impact of removing music from schools.  To enter the contest, visit: www.letmusicfillmyworld.com.  Listen to “Let Music Fill My World” HERE.

The “Music Matters Challenge” is hosted by “Let Music Fill My World,” an organization founded by The Tullman Family Office, and is on a mission to ensure that every child in America has access to music education in their schools.  Two Grand Prize winners will be awarded – one for individual entries: $10,000 in cash, plus the opportunity to participate in selecting a music teacher for an under-resourced school to receive a salary of up to $300,000 for three years;  and one for school entries, where the winning school receives a $25,000 school grant.

The idea for the competition began in 2023, when Cayley Tullman, President of The Tullman Family Office, partnered with Ondrasik of FIVE FOR FIGHTING to write a song with students from Farragut Career Academy in Chicago, Illinois.  Ondrasik, Tullman, and a group of eight students participated in weekly after-school workshops and composed an original song, “Let Music Fill My World,” which passionately expressed why music matters in their lives.  The students wrote all of the verses in the song themselves, and had the opportunity to professionally record their song and create a music video with the help of seasoned industry music producers. As a part of this effort, the Tullman Family Office fully funded a full-time music teacher for the students at Farragut Career Academy, which propelled the idea to create the “Music Matters Challenge.”  Check out video message from John Ondrasik and Cayley Tullman.

Says Ondrasik, "In speaking with philanthropist Cayley Tullman about how we can best support music in the schools in inner-city Chicago, I thought of my mom, Anna Marie.  Mom was a USC music grad and piano teacher. When LA Unified cut all music funding for schools in the 1970s, she volunteered at Van Gogh Elementary School and began putting on full musicals with the 5th and 6th grade classes.  The impact that my mother had on me, and my classmates resonates over 50 years later. Many students still keep in touch with my mom, and for the most, music has continued to be instrumental in their lives. That is why I was so proud to collaborate with students at Farragut Academy in Chicago in writing “Let Music Fill my World.” Though the title was mine, the lyrics are the kids! That effort, due to the Tullman Family Office, now provides a full-time music teacher for three years at Farragut! Lives will be changed for the better. The “Music Matters Challenge” will bring our mission and efforts to the nation, raising awareness for music in the schools while letting everyone sing and lend their voice to such a critical cause while having fun, and again, participating in a prize that will bring another full-time music teacher to a school in desperate need.”

Adds Cayley Tullman, President of The Tullman Family Office and former U.S. Diplomat: "I remember sitting on the floor in front of the couch at my grandparents’ home in California, mesmerized watching my Uncle Stan play guitar and sing. Stan struggled with mental health and addiction, but when playing music, he shined so bright.  Looking back, I believe music was his solace and gave him a way to express himself that he could not do with words alone.  I miss him a lot and know he would be proud of our mission to connect more young people with the magic of music.”

After the initial round of submissions, 10 public entries and 10 school entries will be selected for the finals, which will be voted on by the public. The top 10 winners will be selected through a combination of digital views and a panel of judges, including John Ondrasik and Cayley Tullman (additional judges TBA).

During the 2008-2009 recession, public school per-pupil spending dropped by 7% nationally, leading to drastic reductions in art and music classes. Music programs have since not recovered, with only 19 out of 50 schools including arts as a key area of their state accountability system. Students are not only losing a creative outlet. Music programs have been shown to increase standardized test scores, reduce disciplinary infractions, and improve graduation and attendance rates (College Board, 2002), (Bowen et al, 2019), (NAMM Foundation, 2015).  With the “Music Matters Challenge,” The Tullman Family Office, with the help of Five For Fighting’s John Ondrasik, is creating this initiative to help turn around these statistics.

Multiple SXSW Protests: Festival Organizers, Texas Governor respondSXSW is under fire on at least three fronts from musicians and panelists who are unhappy with how the festival, now co-owned by Penski, the publisher of Rolling Stone, Billboard, and Variety, does business.....
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TIDAL adds Circles for musician-to-musician networking, career adviceTIDAL has added Circles, a new space for artists to connect with and learn from peers with similar challenges and experiences. ....
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Fighting Streaming Fraud at the Distributor Level [Symphonic’s Jorge Brea]Fraudsters "redirect royalties away from rights holders and artists and into their own pockets to the tune of millions per year," writes Jorge Brea, the CEO of Symphonic Distribution, but there is a solution.....
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Country Music Hall of Fame(R) and Museum to Explore Nashville's Pioneering and Influential R&B HistoryJohnny Jones Electric guitar and amplifier. Photo by Bob Delevante for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

Nashville’s pioneering R&B scene and its important role in the city becoming a world-renowned music center with its latest exhibition. Night Train to Nashville: Music City Rhythm & Blues Revisitedis a 20th anniversary edition of the museum’s award-winning original exhibit, which was featured in its galleries March 2004 through December 2005. The exhibit will include many of the same items and themes, as well as recently discovered artifacts and photographs. The exhibit, which is included with museum admission, opens Friday, April 26, and runs through September 2025.

Night Train to Nashville: Music City Rhythm & Blues Revisited explores Nashville’s R&B activity in the decades following World War II, spanning 1945-1970. As Nashville’s country music industry was just getting started, the city was also a hotbed for R&B, with celebrated performers contributing to the community’s rich musical heritage, including Country Music Hall of Fame member Ray Charles, Hank Crawford, Bobby Hebb, Jimi Hendrix, Etta James and Little Richard, among many others. During this time, R&B reigned alongside country music in the city’s clubs and studios, on radio and on nationally syndicated television.

The exhibit is supported by a free-to-access Night Train to Nashville online exhibit, which launched last year and was made possible by a major grant awarded from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). The exhibit is also supplemented by a newly published companion book and an opening weekend program examining the influential television show "Night Train."

“This exhibit and its related resources offer opportunities to revisit Nashville’s often overlooked R&B legacy and its important role in our community becoming ‘Music City,’” said Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. “As Nashville developed into a major recording center, it did so against a background of urban change and at a time when racial barriers were tested and sometimes broken on bandstands, inside recording studios and on the airwaves.”

The exhibit will explore:

The ways that iconic musicians including Little Richard and Jimi Hendrix honed their skills on Nashville bandstands.

How Nashville led the way in broadcasting groundbreaking and influential R&B on the50,000-watt powerhouse WLAC radio station and through syndicated TV shows such as “Night Train” and “The!!!!Beat.”

The musical collaborations of R&B and country musicians.

The recording of Etta James’s scorching live album Etta James Rocks the House at Nashville’s New Era Club.

Key developments of the late 1960s, from the soaring height of Robert Knight’s R&B-pop crossover hit “Everlasting Love” (recorded in Nashville), to the depths of so-called “urban renewal” and the routing of Interstate 40 through Jefferson Street, which eventually devastated the city’s vibrant R&B nightlife.

Some artifacts to be displayed include:

Gibson ES-345 electric guitar and Lab Series L7 amplifier used by Johnny Jones in the later part of his career. Nashville’s premier blues guitarist, Jones performed in the house band on “Night Train” and “The!!!!Beat” and influenced Jimi Hendrix in the early 1960s.

Letter sent by blues singer Bessie Smith to Hatch Show Print in 1927, accompanied by a photograph to use for designing her posters.

Etta James-signed cover of Etta James Rocks the House, recorded in September 1963 at Nashville’s New Era Club.

Three-piece suit worn onstage by vocalist and bandleader Jimmy Church. A Nashville native who recorded with an R&B group while still in high school, Church was regularly featured on television shows “Night Train” and “The!!!!Beat.”

Spoons used by Bobby Hebb as percussion instruments and Hebb’s Gibson JS-200 guitar. Hebb, a Nashville native, wrote and recorded the million-selling crossover hit “Sunny,” and performed on the Grand Ole Opry in the early 1950s as a member of Country Music Hall of Fame member Roy Acuff’s band.

Hand-painted bandstand used by star saxophonist and bandleader Hank Crawford in the 1960s.

Several original Hatch Show Print posters from the 1950s and 1960s advertising appearances by Gene Allison, Earl Gaines, Little Willie John, Jackie Shane, Joe Tex and others.

A scrapbook of vintage photographs belonging to Nashville entertainer Frank Howard.

Exhibit companion book 

In support of the exhibit, the museum is publishing a companion book, “Night Train to Nashville: Music City Rhythm & Blues Revisited.” The book includes a foreword by Nashville entertainer Frank Howard and explores the themes and stories in the exhibit. It also features more than 100 photographs and descriptions of classic R&B records cut in Nashville.

The book is now available to preorder on the museum’s website and will be available April 26 to purchase in the museum’s store or on its website. The book will also be available in bookstores nationwide through a distribution partnership with the University of Illinois Press. 

Online exhibit

The free-to-access online exhibit, Night Train to Nashville: Music City Rhythm & Blues, 1945-1970, revisits, updates and preserves the museum’s original physical exhibit of the same name, which was featured in the museum’s galleries 20 years ago.

The multimedia exhibit showcases a vast array of historic photos, performance videos and audio recordings, as well as instruments, show posters, stage wear and other rare items featured in the original exhibit. Online visitors can also access a full video archive of public programs hosted by the museum in relation to the original Night Train to Nashville exhibit and Nashville’s R&B history, including concerts, panel discussions and more.

Opening weekend program

To mark the opening of the exhibit, the museum will host a panel discussion on Saturday, April 27, about Nashville’s groundbreaking television series “Night Train.” Participants will include performers Jimmy Church and Frank Howard, who appeared regularly on the show, along with Katie Blackwell (wife of late “Night Train” creator and host, Noble Blackwell) and Tracye Blackwell (daughter of Katie and Noble Blackwell). The discussion will be illustrated with video clips from “Night Train.” The program will happen at 2:30 p.m. in the museum’s Ford Theater. 

Night Train to Nashville: Music City Rhythm & Blues Revisited will also be supported by additional public programs during the exhibit’s run, presented in collaboration with other nonprofit partners.

The original Night Train to Nashville exhibit earned the museum a Bridging the Gap Award (2006)­­ from the Nashville chapter of the NAACP for the promotion of interracial understanding. The exhibit’s companion album of the same name received a Grammy award for Best Historical Album (2004). Throughout the exhibit’s run, the museum produced a pair of retrospective compilation albums, published three books, and hosted dozens of panel discussions and concerts in support of the exhibit.

TikTok’s parent ByteDance has locked down AI-music patents in the US – as its researchers develop a model trained on 257,000 hours of songsTikTok's AI music ambitions are bigger than you think...
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UMG’s East Coast labels officially restructured under ‘Republic Corps’ banner; Def Jam, Island, Mercury, Republic will operate ‘independently’ while sharing ‘integrated departments’Jim Roppo named President and Chief Operating Officer of Republic Corps reporting directly to Monte Lipman and Avery Lipman
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MusicWatch study points to continued growth but offers some surprisesA new MusicWatch study says 90% of US internet users stream music, and consumer willingness to spend money on music points to more strong growth ahead. But there were also several surprise findings.....
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How to maximize a music release’s potential for success [VIDEO]The right planning and preparation can make or break how well a music release does. This guide breaks down the steps needed to put out a successful song.....
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Alert to users did the impossible and united Congress against TikTokTikTok's attempt to rally users and replicate big tech's Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) protests seems to have backfired, and Congress and President Biden have united against the social video platform.....
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Indie Folk Artist Mon Rovîa Talks Hope, Inspiration, and Echinacea TeaAllMusic had the chance to speak with Liberia-born, Chattanooga-based folk musician Mon Rovîa about his most recent single, "Don't Lose a Good Thing," how he holds onto his optimism, and his favorite type of tea.

Celestion Introduces Truvox 0615 LoudspeakerCelestion, manufacturer of professional audio loudspeakers for sound reinforcement, has introduced the Truvox 0615, a new six-inch mid-bass driver focused on superior quality at an affordable price point across a wide variety of use cases. Applications in which the Truvox 0615 excels include replacing six-inch drivers in fixed P.A. installations, OEM use in new portable or fixed cabinet construction, improvement upon factory car audio speakers, or virtually any situation where a compact, lightweight driver must perform bass-midrange or even primary woofer duties.  The Truvox 0615 is equally at home as the principal woofer in two-way cabinets or as the mid-bass/midrange element in three-way systems. It is also an ideal choice for door placement in cars, as many vehicles share its mounting specifications.

 The Truvox 0615 is the first member of a new product family drawing on Celestion’s long tradition of the company producing high-performing general-purpose speakers as well as the world’s most sought-after drivers for guitar amplification. Truvox was a brand known for its P.A. speakers throughout the mid 20th century, and in 1949, purchased the company then known as Rola Celestion. Thus, the Celestion brand added a broad range of P.A. drivers to its stable. Celestion will expand the Truvox line throughout 2024 to include eight-, ten-, 12-, and 15-inch sizes. True to Celestion’s ethos, each model will combine rigorous research and development with today’s best materials science, manufacturing processes, and quality assurance metrics. Celestion thus aims to make Truvox speakers the obvious choice when end users and installers alike are in search of outstanding value that refuses to sacrifice quality. “This latest incarnation brings the famous Truvox brand back to life in the form of a superior performing sound reinforcement transducer,” says Celestion Head of Marketing Ken Weller. “The Truvox 0615 meets or exceeds competitors’ specifications in all areas, with greater power handling and at a competitive price.” Learn more about the Truvox 0615 on Celestion’s product page here.

Warner Music Group and Denis Ladegaillerie’s tussle over buying Believe is hotting up – as France’s SEC equivalent gets dragged into the drama.Believe's board is turning to France's equivalent of the SEC to decide whether Denis Ladegaillerie's actions are approved or otherwise
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Because Music boss Emmanuel de Buretel sides with Universal in TikTok dispute, laments ‘platform that feeds on artistic creation by destroying it’Music industry veteran argues that the platform can't 'do without' music
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Bandcamp announces 2024 Bandcamp Friday scheduleWhile Bandcamp Fridays will no longer be monthly, new owner Songtradr is continuing the indie platform's tradition of waving their revenue share on select days to give 100% of funds to the artists and labels.....
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