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(Nashville, TN – May 6, 2009) The 26th annual International Country Music Conference, to be held May 21-23 in Nashville, Tenn. at Belmont University, will host a broad cross-section of panels and topics in the field of country music.

This year’s ICMC will feature more than three-dozen panels on a variety of influential artists and subjects in all country-related genres, including Bluegrass, Americana, Western Swing, Country Rock, Honky-Tonk, Gospel and more.  Notable artists to be profiled in selected presentations will include Bill Monroe, Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Waylon Jennings, Gram Parsons, Kitty Wells, Cowboy Troy, Charlie Louvin and Jimmie Rodgers, among others.

Renowned author and country music expert Don Cusic will co-host the panel “Defining Country Music: What It Is and Does It Matter?”

His recent book, “Discovering Country Music,” chronicles the evolution of the genre “from the fiddle to the Pop charts” and will be an ICMC Special Feature at this year’s event.

“The history of country music is being preserved by these academics and journalists,” says Cusic. “We treasure the present by honoring the past, and the International Country Music Conference demonstrates the impact country music has had, and is still having, on culture throughout the world.”

Additional ICMC panels will cover subjects ranging from international topics (“Teaching Country Music in Australia: Teaching Australian Country Music”

and “New Zealand Country”), regional interests (“A Cajun Music Mystery: Dr. James F. Roach, ‘Song of the Crocodile,’ and the First Commercial Recording of a Cajun Folksong”

) and political themes (“Barack Obama, Country Music Stardom, and a New Black American Narrative”).

A number of panels will be packaged together and presented on specific themes, including the Bluegrass genre and artists Hank Williams and Jimmie Rodgers.

The Belmont University Book Awards, Lifetime Achievement Award and The Charlie Lamb Awards will also be presented at this year’s conference.

Registration is $100 and checks should be sent to James Akenson, Box 5042, Tennessee Tech University, Cookeville, TN, 38505.

The complete 2009 ICMC Program Schedule can be found here: www.internationalcountrymusic.org/schedule.html

For more information, visit: www.internationalcountrymusic.org

(Nashville, TN – April 6, 2009) Digital Rodeo will sponsor Nashville’s first ever Andy Griggs Celebrity Poker Tournament, to be held Thursday, June 11 at Cadillac Ranch.

“We got to know Andy and learned of his involvement with the World Series of Poker,” says Digital Rodeo Director of Marketing and Promotions John Pyne. “Digital Rodeo is continually trying to create unique country music events, and we felt like a celebrity poker game was a great way to benefit a wonderful organization like St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Judging by the early response to this event, we’re anticipating an incredible turn out from both the artists and fans.”

Country recording artist and World Series of Poker main event participant, Andy Griggs, will host the event, beginning at 2 p.m. on Thursday afternoon.  An artist “in-the-round” jam session will follow at 5:30 p.m.  A silent auction and door prize with five separate drawings will also be held.

“I’m excited about the opportunity to work with the guys at Digital Rodeo again and raise money for some really great causes,” says Griggs.  “I know this is going to be a great event because everybody wins – the fans get a chance to see some of their favorite celebrities interact and compete, we get a chance to play some music and some poker, and the charities get all the proceeds.  It’s a win-win-win situation.”

Celebrity players from country music, sports, film and television, as well as professional poker players, will participate in the tournament.  Confirmed attendees will be posted online at www.DigitalRodeo.com and www.AndyGriggs.com.

Griggs is the first country artist to receive sponsorship into the main event at the World Series of Poker.  He outlasted every non-poker celebrity in the tournament, including his sponsor, WSOP champion Doyle Brunson.  Griggs went on to register an impressive finish in the top 12 percent of the 2008 competition.

Currently, DigitalRodeo.com is featuring a weekly poker tip from Griggs on his profile page at www.DigitalRodeo.com/AndyGriggs.  The clips offer advice on a variety of topics, including how to bet, gauging facial expressions, reading your cards and learning to interpret body language.

About DigitalRodeo.com:

DigitalRodeo.com is the premier country news, music and lifestyle site for country music fans everywhere.  Community membership is free and offers fans and artists alike the opportunity to connect with each other, upload and download audio and video, watch exclusive DigitalRodeo.com content and stay updated on what’s happening in the world of country music.  For more information, visit www.DigitalRodeo.com.

(Nashville, TN – April 6, 2009)  Country Radio Broadcasters, Inc.® and Edison Research have posted the full results of their National Country Radio P1 Study online in the form of a video slideshow, complete with audio commentary.

The presentation, which was originally given this year at CRS-40 in Nashville, Tenn., may be viewed at either www.CRB.org or www.EdisonResearch.com.

“Country Radio Broadcasters is pleased to be able to serve our industry by sharing on our website this latest study of Country listeners and consumers, financed by the CRB and conducted by Edison Media Research,” says CRB Executive Director Ed Salamon.

According to Tom Webster, Vice President of Strategy and Marketing for Edison Research, the study revealed particularly noteworthy trends regarding repetition in country radio playlists, how listeners are finding new music, syndicated versus local programming and the importance of social networks.

“It’s wonderful to see so many people indicate that Country music plays an important role not only in their lives, but in American life.  Passion for this format remains very strong, and Country has a real opportunity to continue building deeper relationships with listeners, both online and offline,” Webster said.

To close his presentation, Webster announced four actionable items, summarized below, that stations should consider as a means to help increase their listenership.

1) Leave Deeper Footprints.  Marketing initiatives and promotions should be run through an additional “filter” to ensure that listeners are benefiting as much as possible from their local stations, Webster noted. “Stations should be asking themselves, ‘Does this help people?’  This is a great year to show America that Country cares,” he said.  Of those surveyed, 84 percent agreed that country music “makes a positive contribution to American life.”

2) Expand Your Presence on Social Networks.  According to the study, Facebook has overtaken Myspace as the most popular social network among the P1s surveyed, with 42 percent and 35 percent of the sample reporting profiles on the sites, respectively.  Nearly two out of three respondents (62 percent) indicated having a profile on at least one social networking website.  Webster encouraged stations to “listen, not blast” through their sites, and advocated a policy of hiring employees with “digital literacy.”

3) Take Repetition Seriously.  Results of the study showed that 51 percent of those sampled agree that stations play certain songs to the point that it “becomes annoying.”  Data from the Edison survey indicated that variety is increasingly important to listeners. “Stations have to do more than just talk about variety, they have to find ways to build a deeper bench,” Webster warned.

4) Think Visual. Although 87 percent of those surveyed reported radio was “often” their preferred outlet for discovering new music, Webster noted that visual exposure to the artists determined whether or not listeners actually liked the artist.  Music video channels (45 percent) and network television appearances (27 percent) were the second and third most popular means of discovering new music, according to those surveyed.  “Incorporate video elements of the artists wherever possible,” Webster said.

This is the fourth year the National Country Radio P1 Study was conducted and presented at Country Radio Seminar®.  Data was collected from more than 13,000 P1 listeners, age 12-64, between Jan. 31, 2009 and March 1, 2009 across 18 country radio station databases nationwide.  The CRB/Edison Research survey is the largest ongoing Country Radio P1 study of its kind.

About Edison Research:
Somerville, NJ-based Edison Research provides media research, consumer market research and public opinion polling to businesses, governments, and news organizations throughout the world. Edison is particularly renowned for its Exit Polling techniques, and is the worldwide leader in the application of Exit Polling to consumer research. To learn more about Edison visit www.EdisonResearch.com.

About CRB:

The Country Radio Broadcasters, Inc. ® is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization founded in 1969 to bring radio broadcasters from around the world together with the Country Music Industry to ensure vitality and promote growth in the Country Radio format.  More information may be obtained at: www.CRB.org or at the CRB office at 615-327-4487.