40th Celebration of Country Radio Seminar

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Jeff Walker - AristoMedia - 615.269.7071 - jwalker@aristomedia.comEd Salamon - CRB - 615.327.4487 - ed_salamon@crb.org
Nashville Gears Up For 40th Anniversary Celebration of Country Radio Seminar®
CRS-40 Begins Wednesday, March 4
(Nashville, TN - March 2, 2009) Mark your calendar this week to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Country Radio Seminar in downtown Nashville, the preeminent annual event for country music radio industry personnel. Who: Country music radio industry executives, artists and employees from all across the countryWhat: The 40th anniversary of Country Radio Seminar, the annual convention designed to educate and promote the exchange of ideas within the country music industryWhen: Wednesday, March 4 through Friday, March 6, 2009Where: The Nashville Convention Center in downtown Nashville, Tenn.This year's CRS-40 boasts an impressive lineup of educational panels, talented speakers and performances from some of the hottest names in country music. "Although there is no denying that our nation's economy affects the country radio industry greatly, Country Radio Broadcasters, Inc. feels that the 40th anniversary of CRS continues to offer exceptional value to our attendees. We have created a good balance of education, entertainment and networking opportunities, the importance of which cannot be overstated in our industry," says CRB Executive Director Ed Salamon.A streamlined agenda of panels, performers and events at this week's CRS-40 follows below.Tuesday, March 3:The Country Music DJ and Radio Hall of Fame events unofficially mark the beginning of CRS each year. The Hall of Fame Cocktail Party begins at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday evening. The Dinner and Induction Ceremony follows at 6 p.m. This year's 2009 inductees are Chuck Collier and Gerry House (DJ Hall of Fame) and Bob McKay and Moon Mullins (Radio Hall of Fame). Merle Haggard will receive the Career Achievement Award and Shelia Shipley Biddy will be presented the President's Award.Wednesday, March 4:Wednesday's events kick off at 9 a.m. with the Opening Ceremonies and Award Presentation. The keynote address, delivered by marketing expert Seth Godin, will follow at 10 a.m. in the Performance Hall, with the Motivational Speaker/Life Coach panel at 11:15 a.m. This year's speaker will be former No. 1 country artist Sylvia Hutton.New label Golden Music will sponsor Wednesday's luncheon, featuring performances by Benton Blount and Williams Riley. The previously scheduled morning Artist Radio Taping Session (sponsored by SESAC) will now be combined with the afternoon A.R.T.S. panel. As a result, the afternoon session will be extended by one hour (2:30 p.m. - 4:50 p.m.).Performers at ASCAP's KCRS Live! will include artists and songwriters Jimmy Wayne, Kelley Lovelace, Ashley Gorley and Jonathan Singleton. The popular Music City JamTM (7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. in the Performance Hall) will be hosted this year by Tim McGraw and sponsored by the Academy of Country Music. Additionally, two educational panels will be featured Wednesday afternoon: "Country Radio As Seen Through The PPM Lens," sponsored by Arbitron, and "Back to the Future: 1969-2049."Thursday, March 5:Designated as Music Industry Town Meeting Day, single day registration for Thursday's activities may be purchased on-site for $265. The day's agenda includes the return of the Tech Track and Small Market Track panels. Tech Track panels include "Spinning a Web" and "40 New Media Ideas." Small Market panels include "Come Hell or High Water: Disaster Preparedness," "You're a PD, Now What?" and "Champagne Production on a Beer Budget." Sixteen panels will be offered in all during the day between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Thursday's events begin at 9 a.m. with The Country Music Association revealing the results of its 2008 Country Music Consumer Segmentation Study, conducted by Leo Burnett Co. and Starcom MediaVest Group. Sony Music Nashville's luncheon (noon - 1:50 p.m.) will feature performances by Miranda Lambert and Jake Owen. At 4:10 p.m. Bobby Pinson, Paul Overstreet, Josh Turner and Jamey Johnson will perform during WCRS Live! (sponsored by BMI and Country Aircheck).Friday, March 6:Friday is Radio Sales Day. Single day registration, including entrance to the New Faces of Country Music Show®, is available for $370 on-site. Friday's events will kick-off with the Managers' Breakfast at 8 a.m., followed by CRS-40's second research study, which will present findings from the Edison Research / CRB National Country P1 Study 2009 at 10 a.m. Panels during the day will focus on important topics that affect the Country Radio format, such as consumer habits, promotional and research ideas, voicetracking and tools to increase sales. Prominent sales panels include "20 Ideas Even a PD Would Love," "PPM! Selling the Country Format," "What's NTR Got To Do With It?" "Creative Closing" and "A Car Dealer Tells All About Advertising." More than a dozen panels will be offered during Friday's activities. Friday's luncheon, sponsored by Capitol Nashville, will feature performances from Darius Rucker and Little Big Town. Also during lunch, Operation Troop Aid, a non-profit charity organization, will send 500 care packages from CRS-40 to deployed U.S. troops. Packages will contain phone cards, MP3s, beef jerky, trail mix, hand wipes, hand sanitizer, cookies, candy, granola bars, toiletry items and thank you letters. At 4:10 p.m., Barbara Mandrell will interview Kix Brooks during the Life of a Legend series.

One of Country Radio Seminar's most popular events, The New Faces of Country Music Show and Dinner (sponsored by R&R and CMA) starts at 6:30 p.m. with performances from Lady Antebellum, James Otto, Kellie Pickler, Chuck Wicks and The Zac Brown Band. CRS-40 will then officially close with the unique 40th Anniversary Jam: A Musical Thanks to Radio, to be held at Cadillac Ranch and sponsored by DigitalRodeo.com. Artists will cover their favorite radio hits from the last 40 years, featuring performances by Emerson Drive, Andy Griggs, Julianne Hough, Jamie O'Neal, James Otto, Blake Shelton, Jimmy Wayne, Chuck Wicks, Mark Wills and Darryl Worley, among others.
A new CRS documentary can be seen during the three-day seminar at the Renaissance and Hilton hotels in downtown Nashville. The film, produced by Art Vuolo and titled WCRS-TV, chronicles various CRS highlights over the last 21 years.CRS-40 will be held March 4-6, 2009 at the Nashville Convention Center in Nashville, Tenn. Detailed seminar information and a full agenda can be found online at www.CRB.org. On-site registration is still available for $699 and may be purchased at the Convention Center.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.About CRS:The Country Radio Seminar is an annual convention designed to educate and promote the exchange of ideas in the country music industry. Country Radio Seminar is a registered trademark of Country Radio Broadcasters, Inc.
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