ole Launches ‘Write Where U R Tour’ With Inaugural Run From Nashville to the Key West Songwriters Fest, Many Musical Miles and Great Songs Lie Ahead

In keeping with ole’s reputation in the music industry for mentoring their songwriters, creating opportunities and generating hit songs, the company is now taking that show on the road. The ole “Write Where U R Tour,” launched on April 26 as the ole bus, which has been customized with everything needed for creative collaboration including a complete state-of-the-art mobile recording studio, rolled out of Nashville on its way to Florida for the 16th Key West Songwriter Festival.

Award-Winning Songwriter Jim Vallance Signs Worldwide Admin/Step-Up To Co-Publishing Deal with ole

ole has concluded a worldwide administration deal /step-up to co-publishing deal with prolific songwriter and four-time JUNO award-winning Composer of the Year, Jim Vallance. The deal includes select legacy works and futures.

Marty Dodson Re-Signs With ole As His Co-Write ‘Let Me Down Easy’ Digital Single Certified Gold, an ole First

It’s a time of career milestones for prolific songwriter Marty Dodson as he re-signs with ole shortly after hearing that Billy Currington’s chart-topping hit “Let Me Down Easy,” a Dodson co-write, has been certified gold for the sale of more than 615,000 digital downloads. It’s the first gold digital single for ole and the second for Dodson, who recently celebrated this same song becoming his third number one hit as it topped the Billboard Country Songs chart.

ole’s Growth and Vibrancy Lead to ‘Inspirational’ New Home in Toronto’s Entertainment District

As ole moved into its new suite of offices at 266 King Street West in the heart of Toronto’s entertainment district in mid-May, ole CEO Robert Ott characterized the company’s new home as inspirational.

ole’s ‘to the topline’ Challenge Establishes Itself in L.A. As ‘Renegade’ and ‘Rollercoaster’ Win ole Single-Song Publishing Deals

The sophomore winner of ole’s “to the topline” Challenge event, held at L.A.’s Musicians Institute on May 26 as part of the PenUp Songwriter Networking Event, was a track/hook titled “Rollercoaster” written by Bobby Watson and Phillip Burton, a production team working under the name CS1. It was produced by Corian Jackson.

Reproduction Right In A/V Music Urged As a Wild West of Digital Rights Opens Up

In the face of the rapidly changing landscape of AudioVisual (A/V) content delivery and the accompanying greater ease of access, there is a pressing need for structuring a framework for properly compensating musical works within the A/V bundle which includes a reproduction right in A/V music for compositions, themes and scores. As a Wild West of digital A/V rights opens up and a land grab for these rights ensues, Collectives that represent composer and publisher interests, must be vigilant and involved. It is estimated that 2011 revenue for A/V music copyright holders could be $36M or more in Canada alone.

Libby McGrath’s Sophomore Single ‘Blue Sky’ a Co-Write of Roots Three/ole Writer Bruce Wallace

“Blue Sky,” a co-write between Roots Three/ole writer Bruce Wallace and Victoria Banks, has been released by Canadian country music artist Libby McGrath. This is the second single for McGrath, an indie artist who hails from Cambridge, Ontario and “has been touring the world as a performer and backing musician entertaining thousands of people for over 10 years now.”

Eric Church Album Chief, With Two Cuts by ole’s Ryan Tyndell, Set For July 26 Release

Eric Church’s third studio album, Chief, which has two cuts by ole’s Ryan Tyndell – “Springsteen” and “Keep On Looking” – will be released on Tuesday, July 26, 2011 by EMI Records. If you listen to the buzz on Music Row, this new music from the ACM Award-winning artist (New Solo Vocalist of the Year) is going to turn some heads. It has been called “the most experimental, head-turning country album of the year.”

Runner-Up Lauren Alaina Almost Steals 'American Idol' Finale with ole Song

‘With that song, you may have just won!’ exclaimed Idol judge Jennifer Lopez. That was the buzz not only on the American Idol set but all over the Internet following the soaring rendition by Lauren Alaina of the ole-published “Like My Mother Does,” as she wowed the judges and brought the studio audience to its feet on the penultimate show of the season. It made Idol’s final night all the more exciting as, previously, the general consensus had been that fellow country teen Scotty McCreery, the ultimate winner, all but had American Idol Season 10 in the bag.

ole, Tuff Gong Celebrate Ziggy Marley Album Release With Listening Event, Performance in L.A.

ole and Tuff Gong Worldwide are co-presenting an intimate listening event and performance at the Hotel Cafe in Los Angeles on June 14th with five-time Grammy winner Ziggy Marley, who signed a Canadian sub-publishing deal with ole late last year. He will showcase some of the songs from his album, Wild and Free, which will be released that day.

Last Gang/ole’s Lindi Ortega Finds Herself In Little Red Boots

With the release of her album Little Red Boots on June 7, there’s a sense that Last Gang/ole singer/songwriter Lindi Ortega has arrived following a decade of working in and around the Toronto music scene in relative anonymity. For most people who see and hear her perform now, there is a certain incredulity that she could have flown under the radar for so long.

‘Leaving’ from Westlife 2X Platinum Album a Co-Write of Roots Three/ole Writer Steven Lee Olsen

“Leaving,” a co-write of Roots Three Music/ole writer Steven Lee Olsen, with Bryn Christopher and Carl Falk, was recorded by Irish pop band Westlife and included on their tenth album, Where We Are, which was recently certified double platinum in the U.K. (The same album is currently triple platinum in Ireland and gold in Sweden and New Zealand.)

Dr. Seuss’ The Cat In the Hat Knows A Lot About That, the Children’s TV Series For Which ole Co-Owns the Music, Goes Global

The Cat In the Hat Knows A Lot About That, the children’s TV series for which ole co-owns all of the compositions with Random House Children’s Screen Entertainment, in association with Dr. Seuss Enterprises, is spreading the knowledge globally after initially premiering in the fall of 2010 on PBS Kids in the U.S. and Treehouse in Canada. These days CITH can be seen on Disney in Australia, New Zealand, South East Asia, Korea and Spain, on Discovery in Latin America, ITV in the U.K. and on Yoopa, the Canadian French language category 2 digital cable specialty channel in Canada. The series is also airing in Norway and Finland.

ole’s McLaughlin, FitzGerald U.K./European Trip: the Bucks Stop Here

ole’s Andrew McLaughlin, Vice President, Copyright and Royalty Administration, and Stephen FitzGerald, Director of Administration, were in the U.K. and Europe recently for meetings. One of the stops was the U.K. office of Bucks Music Group in London where they met with Bucks Music Group’s Head of Copyright, Shaun Hendry and Harri Davies.

ole Sponsors ASCAP ‘I Create Music’ Expo in L.A.

For the fourth consecutive year, ole was a sponsor of the ASCAP “I Create Music” Expo held at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel in Los Angeles from April 28-30. As well as other elements of the conference, ole sponsored the opening networking reception on the terrace just outside of the hotel’s Grand Ballroom where music creators and panellists could mix-and-mingle and network, an important part of the Expo experience.

ole a Sponsor of Nashville Chapter Grammy Block Party

ole was a sponsor of the 13th annual Nashville Chapter Grammy Block Party and Membership Celebration at Owen Bradley Park on May 10. The event, which was free for Recording Academy members and drew over 900 music industry people, featured performances by country artists Laura Bell Bundy and Jerrod Niemann; folk duo The Civil Wars; jazz artist Denny Jiosa; Americana group Old Crow Medicine Show; Christian pop/rock group Royal Tailor Band and Nashville hip hop artist Chancellor Warhol. The Block Party was once again hosted by Storme Warren, producer, writer and host of the television network Great American Country (GAC) entertainment news show, Headline Country.

ole Co-Sponsors An After-Party at the Nashville Film Festival

ole was one of the sponsors of “an evening of music, drinks and fun” at The Rutledge in Nashville on the penultimate night of the eight-day Nashville Film Festival in late April. The after-party was organized by Hunnypot, the L.A.-based company co-founded by ole’s John Anderson. Among the other industry sponsors of the event were Sorted Noise, Next Big Nashville, Revelry Music, Combustion, Liz Rose Music and ASCAP. Entertainment was provided by ole writer/artist Charlie Worsham, the little bear aka Claire Guerresso, who sings on some of the ole writer’s demos, and the DJ Hot Tub Dance Party. A number of music supervisors had come in for the festival including Andrea von Foerster (500 Days of Summer, The OC), Richard Glasser (VP Motion Picture Music/Weinstein Co.), Jon Ernst (The Hills, The World According to Paris), Chris Mollere (Greek, The Vampire Diaries), Alethia Austin (Grassroots, The Cursed) and Marcy Bulkeley (Music Supervisor/BLT & Associates).

ole Partners With Planet LA Records For Japan Earthquake & Tsunami Relief Concert

ole, in conjunction with Planet LA Records, held a benefit concert at Hollywood’s Cabana Club to support Japan earthquake and tsunami relief efforts by the American Red Cross on the final night of the recent ASCAP Expo held in late April at the nearby Renaissance Hotel. The concert was broadcast live on the Internet by StageIt.com

Bucks Music Group Composer David Arnold Receives BMI Richard Kirk Award

Bucks Music Group composer David Arnold was presented with the BMI Richard Kirk Award for outstanding career achievement at this year’s annual BMI Film & Television Awards. The by-invitation-only gala took place at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Los Angeles on May 18 and celebrated the music featured in the past year’s top grossing films, top-rated prime-time network television series and higher ranking cable network programs. BMI President and CEO Del Bryant and Doreen Ringer Ross, Vice President, Film/TV Relations, hosted the gala event.

‘Trouble Is’ a Co-Write of ole’s Dodson, Worham & Tyndell in Army Wives

“Trouble Is,” a co-write of ole’s Marty Dodson, Charlie Worsham and Ryan Tyndell, and performed by Worsham, was picked up by the popular Lifetime series Army Wives. The song was heard in the show’s Season 5, Episode 11 titled Drop Zone which aired on May 22.

Arthur Buenahora Promoted to General Manager, Nashville Creative

ole has announced the promotion of Arthur Buenahora to the position of General Manager, Nashville Creative. Buenahora joined ole in March 2010 as Senior Creative Director, working out of the company’s office on Nashville’s Music Row. Buenahora’s responsibilities as GM, Nashville Creative include overseeing the Nashville staff and roster, signing new writers, and collaborating with ole Chief Creative Officer Gilles Godard on issues effecting Nashville operations.

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 John Anderson aka DJ Hot Tub