ole Enters Production Music Business With the Launch of ole clear and productionmusicnow Portal

ole clear, ole’s long-planned entry into the production music space, launches in early March with a library characterized by the company as “medium-sized” thanks to existing tracks from Nelvana Production Music; The Masters, ole’s new, diverse, world class in-house production music library and Attitude, a label being produced by L.A. industry vets Cunningham and Lang (Chronic, Killer Edge). ole will also continue to produce its own new repertoire and pursue sub pub deals for Canada and the World. The company has just signed a Canadian sub-publishing and master licensing deal with U.S.-based MusicBox. The company continues to look at the acquisition of other music library properties and to sub publish quality libraries for Canada and North America.

ole and Its Joint Ventures Well Represented at 40th Annual Juno Awards

As the nominations for the 40th annual Juno Awards were announced at the beginning of February, ole and its joint ventures were well represented. At tanjola, and in the run-up to the release of her double album Night & Day in the spring, Keshia Chanté was back in the news at the Junos with nominations for both sides of her double single: “Test Drive” was nominated as Best R&B/Soul Recording and “Table Dancer,” co-written and produced by Alex Greggs, earned a nomination in the Best Dance Recording category. Chanté, a presenter at the Juno nomination announcements in Toronto on Feb. 1, won a Juno in 2005 for R&B/Soul Recording of the Year for her self-titled album and was nominated in that same category in 2007 and 2008.

No One Track Mind For Roots Three Music/ole Writer Steven Lee Olsen

Roots Three Music/ole writer and recording artist in his own right, Steven Lee Olsen, could hardly be accused of having a one track mind. A cursory glance over the impressive number of songs with which he has been involved, even given the relative brevity of his career, reveals that he has worked with a varied combination of co-writers from around the world and in a wide variety of styles. It’s an agreeable state of affairs for which he credits Roots Three Music/ole.

ole Writer Monty Powell Shares in Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum Success at Grammys

The recent 53rd annual Grammy Awards turned out to be another milestone moment for a trio of hit songs co-written by ole writer Monty Powell and chart-topping country artist, Keith Urban. On the night, Urban picked up the award for Male Country Vocal Performance for “’Til Summer Comes Around.”

ole Writer Alan Frew Completes Month-Long Schedule of Writing Sessions

Singer/songwriter Alan Frew, who signed an administration and co-publishing deal with ole last fall, has just completed a series of writing sessions around North America. They began in Toronto just before Christmas with veteran composer/producer Dan Friedman, who recently signed a co-publishing and representation deal with ole, and just ended at the winter home of ole writer Monty Powell, an avid skier, in Huntsville, Utah. ole’s Chief Creative Officer Gilles Godard and Senior Director of Film, Television & Media John Anderson, who had attended the annual Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah at which ole hosted the ASCAP/ole Composer Brunch, took the time to drop by and sit in on the Frew/Powell sessions. Prior to his Utah sojourn, Frew spent time in Nashville writing with ole writers Rick Giles, Bruce Wallace and Marty Dodson before moving on to Los Angeles and then up to ski country.

Another Hit For ole Writer Marty Dodson As Billy Currington Moves Into Billboard Top 10

ole writer Marty Dodson continues his run of hits as Billy Currington moved up to number 8 on the Billboard Country Songs chart with the Dodson co-write “Let Me Down Easy” from Currington’s fourth studio album, Enjoy Yourself. The song had been on the charts for 21 weeks as of the week of February 26th. The multi-platinum selling Mercury Nashville recording artist joins Kenny Chesney in March on his 2011 ‘Goin’ Coastal’ Tour which kicks off on March 17th in West Palm Beach, Florida. Currington will open for Chesney along with Uncle Kracker on this 50+ date tour.

ole clear To Roll Out Attitude Production Music Library in Early March

Attitude Production Music, the production music library created by prolific and highly successful L.A.-based composers Eric Cunningham and Christopher Lang (Chronic, Killer Edge), is set to roll out in early March as an integral part of the launch of ole clear and its accompanying client portal, productionmusicnow.

Last Gang/ole’s Mother Mother Showcase for Music Supervisors As Part of West Coast Tour

Last Gang/ole’s Mother Mother, whose third studio album Eureka is set for a worldwide release by Last Gang Records on March 15, 2011, recently received a well-deserved encore from a packed house at The Satellite (formerly Spaceland) in L.A., which included music supervisors and music industry execs from NBC, Activision, Montage Music and Fox Sports Music, among others, who had been invited to experience the group by ole and Last Gang.

Roots Three/ole’s Doc Walker Continue to Raise Profile in Australia

Roots Three/ole’s Doc Walker returned to Australia at the end of January for their second tour in two years to play three select dates: the Tamworth Country Music Festival, Brisbane’s Pioneer Village Country Music Club and Sydney’s Rotty Hill RSL Club. In the process, the group was nominated as International Artist of the Year at Australia’s 2011 CMC (Country Music Channel) Music Awards. Voting by the network’s viewers closed on February 20th. The group is also nominated in the Country Group of the Year category at the 11th annual Independent Music Awards – also known as “Indies” – to be held as part of Canadian Music Fest on March 12th at the Canadian Ballroom in the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto. Doc Walker heads out west for dates in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta through the late winter and early spring. For the summer, the group has confirmed appearances at the 2011 Dauphin Countryfest on June 30th, 2011 PeaceFest in Peace River, Alberta on July 9th and the 2011 Craven Country Jamboree in Craven, Saskatchewan on July 15, 2011.

‘Set U Free’ New Single for tanjola’s Keshia Chanté Written by BMG-RM/ole’s Taio Cruz

Tanjola’s Keshia Chanté, nominated this year for two Juno Awards (see separate story this issue), follows up her hit double single “Table Dancer”/”Test Drive” with “Set U Free,” written by in-demand English singer/songwriter and music producer Taio Cruz, a BMG-RM/ole writer. The new single, from her upcoming album Night & Day, which is set for release in the spring, goes to radio at the end of February.

ole Meets in Toronto With Co-Head of AGICOA: The Rights People

ole continues to build it’s personal relationships with global collectives.  In January, Pierre Oberholzer , Co-Managing Director/Director Customers & Distribution at the Geneva-based Association for the International Collective Management of Audiovisual Works (AGICOA), the international, not-for-profit organization established 25 years ago to track and distribute royalties on retransmission of the products of independent producers, visited with Andrew McLaughlin, ole VP Copyright and Royalties Administration and Denis Dinsmore, ole Controller, at the ole office in Toronto. ole administration staff travelled to Europe in 2010, and will be doing so again in 2011. 

BMG-RM/ole Sweden Hitsource Event Set for Feb. 28-Mar. 4 at RoastingHouse Studio in Malmo

Among the ole-affiliated songwriters confirmed for participation in the BMG-RM/ole Sweden songcamp to be held Feb. 28-Mar. 4 in Malmo, Sweden are Justin Forsely, Dave Kopatz, Marty Dodson and Tebey, along with two new talented writers: Ja’ire, whose biggest cut to date is a song with Justin Bieber, and writer/producer 8ohAydin, who was discovered at a songwriter event in L.A. by ole’s Julie Moe and Chad Richardson.

New ole Production Music division Signs Sub-Publishing and Master Licensing Deal With MusicBox

ole is entering the production music space with ole clear and is pleased to announce a Canadian sub-publishing and master licensing deal with U.S.-based, MusicBox. Under this newly-signed accord, ole clear will represent the tracks in several notable and unique production music libraries including MusicBox, PromoBox and MusicBox Classics, as well as, Cue.

ole-Affiliated Writers Tebey, Rami Land Cuts On Nick Carter’s ‘I’m Taking Off’ Album

I’m Taking Off, the second solo album from Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys, which was initially released in Japan on February 2nd, contains the track “Not the Other Guy,” a co-write with Carter, ole writer Tebey and noted Canadian songwriter/producer Matthew Gerrard, who currently lives in Los Angeles and produced the majority of Carter’s first solo album. The album also contains the cut “Burning Up,” a co-write of Swedish hit producer/songwriter Rami Yacoub with whom ole recently signed a deal to acquire a catalog of his songs.

ole Hosts ASCAP/ole Composer Brunch During Sundance Film Festival

ole Chief Creative Officer Gilles Godard and ole Sr. Director of Film, Television & Media John Anderson were in Park City, Utah in January to attend the annual Sundance Film Festival at which ole hosted the ASCAP/ole Composer Brunch at the popular Cisero’s Ristorante and Nightclub on the main street of Park City. The annual event presents an ideal opportunity for filmmakers and music creators to interact in a warm and friendly setting. This year, in two separate raffles, an ASCAP composer won a Pro Tools 9 program and a filmmaker attendee picked up a Media Composer 5 program, both courtesy of AVID.

ole Hosts Pre-Grammy Dinner at West Hollywood’s Sunset Marquis Hotel

In what has become an annual gathering, prior to this year’s Grammys in early February, ole hosted an intimate pre-awards dinner at the Sunset Marquis Hotel in West Hollywood with a dozen invited guests along with ole’s Robert Ott and wife Robin; Michael McCarty; Gilles Godard; John Anderson and his wife Danielle; David Weitzman and his wife Corinne; Chad Richardson and his wife Christina; Julie Moe; Allie Burbacher; and Chris Taylor, from ole co-venture partner Last Gang Entertainment, and his wife Margaret.

ole Co-Sponsors NARAS Nashville Chapter Grammy Nomination Party

Some of the biggest names in Music City were out in force on the night of January 18 for the Recording Academy’s annual party, co-sponsored by ole, to celebrate the Grammys and this year’s nominees. Held at the Loews Vanderbilt Plaza Hotel in Nashville, ole had much to celebrate on the night given the showing of ole writer Monty Powell, who was associated with nominations for both Keith Urban and Lady Antebellum.

ole Goes Hollywood To Showcase Classic Songs From MGM Catalog

Under the banner “We’re Going Hollywood,” on February 17th ole hosted a night of hors d’oeuvres, cocktails and timeless selections of great songs from ole’s MGM song catalog including music from Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Judy Garland, Billie Holiday and Nat King Cole, among others. The event, which drew over a hundred guests, was hosted by ole’s John Anderson, Gilles Godard, Michael McCarty and Robert Ott at Libertine, Charlie Chaplin’s residence in the ‘20s across from the Chateau Marmont Hotel on Sunset Boulevard

ole Creative Manager Chad Richardson – Been There, Done That

Chad Richardson’s twitter moniker is @chadofalltrades and that is as succinct a way to sum up his career to date as he arrives at ole as Creative Manager with not only an extensive and broad-based knowledge of the entertainment scene but also with hands on experience and achievements. At ole, he oversees a roster of assigned writers and generates revenue through securing cuts, covers, media placement and collaborations for ole songs and songwriters. As he splits his time between ole’s offices in Toronto and Los Angeles, his focus will be on identifying new writer and catalog acquisitions.

Strengholt/ole Track ‘Machika’ Perfect Fit for Upcoming Zumba DVD/CD

The Strengholt Music Publishing/ole song “Machika,” written by Richard BeHarry, Gianward La Croes and Patrick Zimmerman and recorded by K-Lieber 4Life, will be on the Zumba Fitness DVD/CD titled Zumba Toning, Volume 3 set for release on May 1, 2011. The DVD is for instructors to learn the choreography while the CD has the matching music for instructors to teach the Zumba fitness class.

Each month we feature the top ten songs in the ole catalogue as selected by one of the staff in our creative group. Here are the Top 10 picks from Chad Richardson.