International Country Music Association Newsletter August 1999

We have had several members ask about the difference in the top 200 and the Non Major Label Top 150. After the computer has tabulated the top 200, we delete the major labels and tabulate again. The non-major label song with the most points becomes number one. This month, Freddie Hart’s "Easy Lovin", promoted by Ambassador Charlie Ray, took the top spot. It appeared on 336 playlists. A new mile marker was reached by Karen Lynne. She became the first Australian recording artist to reach the top 10 on this chart. The Australians are putting out a lot of good music and they hiring better, more aggressive promoters. Something tells me that Karen is the first of many Australians to climb into our Top 10.

David Hanson of Nashville is making strong progress on our web site. Our schedule has called for the web site to be up and running by September 10. We fully expect to meet that schedule. Be sure and tell your friends to visit our site. The address will be radiocountry.org. We have over 600 members who receive both the newsletter and our monthly charts. I urge each of you to get a rubber stamp made. The stamp doesn’t have to be very large. It just needs to say; Please Visit www.radiocountry.org. If each member will start putting that on all the mail you send out, we will spread the word far and wide and very quickly. The rubber stamp and ink pad will cost less than $10. Save your receipt and you can deduct it from your next year’s membership fees. When it’s time for you to renew your membership, we’ll send you an invoice. Just attach the receipt for your rubber stamp and ink pad and subtract it from your annual membership dues. Every time you pay a bill or write a letter to anyone, just stamp it under your return address. Every postal worker and office worker that handles it will see our web site address. It will increase traffic in our online record store, and through our online songwriters’ catalog. This newsletter (not the chart) is emailed free to about 1000 music people and companies. When our site is ready, we’ll start asking all of our reporting disc jockeys to mention the address on their radio programs. We’ll also advertise in various country music magazines in the U. S. and other countries. The more people visit our web site, the more of our member's CDs will be bought, and the more of our songwriting members' songs will be seen, heard, and recorded. So please order your rubber stamp & ink pad today. Start using it on September 1.

If you are a member and have professional CDs, cassettes, T-shirts, or other product to sell, please write and let us know. We’ll send you the forms to fill out, so you can have your page on the I. C. M. A. ’s well advertised web site. If you are a songwriting member and have recorded songs or written lyrics you want posted on the web site, please write and request the forms you will need to fill out. We’ll have to know things such as all the writers, publishers, and how somebody who wants to record your song should contact you.

Let’s all work together. Let’s show the major label C. M. A. that we really don’t need them any more than they want us. The internet allows us to bypass the big record companies and distributors. We can take our music directly to more than 200 million internet users. The problem with selling music on the internet has been getting people to know how to find your web site. Working together, we can spread our web address far and wide. It will work for all of us.

I am very happy to say that we have found the perfect host for our internet radio show. Founding member Wrangler Gene has been doing a Country music show in Texas and distributing it in Europe. He is very well known by Country music people throughout the United States and Europe. He has agreed to host our radio program for us. If you have radio ready music, please mail it to us right away. Please mark it Attention: Radio Program.

The Best of Texas competition and award show is scheduled for September 23 - 26, in Magnolia, TX. Founding member Colonel Bill Foster is the director of the Lone Star State C. M. A. and they are sponsoring this event. Founding members Kitty Wells and Buster Doss will be honored with the male and female "Pioneer Awards". Buster’s wife, Barbara, is nominated for "Country Music Business Woman of the Year". Founding member Ambassador Charlie Ray is nominated for business man of the year, and Colonel Bobbie Patterson is nominated for "Gospel Promoter of the Year". Founding member and Dutch radio personality, Rein Wortelboer, will be attending with his wife, Els. Rein is nominated for one of the top radio awards. Founding members Keith Bradford (KMA Records) and Tom Hodges (Trend Records) will be attending. Call 409-892-5118 for more information.

The following weekend, October 1^st and 2^nd, the most important independent event of the year takes place in Nashville. Founding members Jason Hawkins and Jeniffer Foxx will be hosting the King Eagle Awards Show And Festival. The Governor of Tennessee signed an official proclamation calling this the largest and most important independent music event in the history of Nashville. Last year, people were there from 49 states and 7 foreign countries. Call 615-391-3132, for more information about this great event.

Founding member Colonel Bobbie Patterson is sponsoring a song contest. The top prize is worth about $2000. It is by invitation only, but we convinced her to invite all I. C. M. A. members to submit songs. Get your songs and lyrics in before September 15, 1999. The entry fee is $20 per song, and nobody is allowed to enter more than 10 songs. The mailing address is: 9 Music Square South, Suite 404, Nashville, TN 37203. An I. C. M. A. member is in charge, so you know it’s a fair contest.

As a final piece of news, I want to bring you up to date on some changes. My health will not allow me to keep up with our association’s work load. I am forced to assume a less demanding schedule. I will continue to write the newsletter, but most of the other duties will be taken over by Ms. Georgia Woodall. Georgia has worked in country music for many years. She has served as secretary to numerous business leaders and she has worked for several fan clubs. The Governor of Kentucky and the Tennessee House of Representatives have honored her for her achievements. She will be been in our association’s booth at the King Eagle Awards Show And Festival. Please be sure to drop by and meet her. I know she will do a great job for our association!

I’m enclosing a membership application. If you are already a member, please pass it on to a friend. If you are not yet a member, please join us. Work with us to break the strangle hold the major label C. M. A. has on country music. In the words of one of my heroes, "I have a dream!" I have a dream, that the internet will allow us to go around their bought and paid-for record distributors and take our music directly to the people! I have a dream, that some sweet day satellite radio in cars will do for radio what cable did for television! I have a dream, that someday soon we’ll receive 100 or more radio stations, in our cars, and they can’t all be playing the C. M. A.’ s pet artists. I have a dream, that some blessed day all country radio stations will pay less attention to the label and more attention to the music! I have a dream, of thousands of country music lovers working together! I have a dream, and from dreams all great things are born!