Country Music Needs to Let Go of the Radio Crutch
Charles Darwin once said that it’s not the smartest or the strongest of a species that survive, but those most willing to adapt to change. Country music has relied on country radio since the genre’s very inception. Country music is country radio. Radio programs like The Grand Ole Opry, The Louisiana Hayride, and the Ozark Jubilee are what made country music a viable American enterprise, and there’s a reason there’s a radio antennae sticking out of the rotunda of the Country Music Hall of Fame.
But times have changed. On Monday (2-1), The Recording Industry Association of America, or RIAA, unveiled new rules of how gold and platinum records would be rewarded moving forward. For the first time, streaming data will be considered in the calculations. 1,500 on-demand audio and/or video song streams will equal 10 track sales and 1 album sale, and the RIAA’s Digital Single Award ratio will be updated from 100 on-demand streams equaling 1 download, to 150 on-demand streams equaling 1 download. These changes are being made to reflect streaming music’s enormous growth since the measurements were last tweaked two years ago. “We know that music listening for both for albums and songs is skyrocketing,” says Cary Sherman, the CEO of the RIAA. But that listening isn’t happening on the radio.
How people listen to music is clearly changing, but much of the country music industry isn’t following suit. In a town that employs scores of people just to push songs to radio, Nashville doesn’t know how to behave any differently than they did 60 years ago. Entire companies are based around trying to sell songs to country radio. Wings of labels big and small are devoted to trying to find the magical formula at any given time of how to push a song to #1. It’s a force of habit. And anyone who tells you radio doesn’t matter isn’t paying proper attention either, because even in the midst of the overwhelming changes resulting from the new streaming paradigm, radio still has incredible strength and value in certain segments of consumers.
The difference now is radio is no longer the only game in town, or the only way for an artist to succeed.
Chris Stapleton changed all of that in country. Stapleton is on pace to have one of the best-selling albums in country music in years, yet radio still can’t catch up to November of 2015 when the rest of the world witnessed Stapleton at the CMA Awards, and liked what they saw. Part of that is not Stapleton’s fault. As America was rushing to download Stapleton’s take on “Tennessee Whiskey” in such numbers that the song shot straight to #1 on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart, Stapleton’s label was trying to push “Nobody to Blame” to radio. Rushing “Tennessee Whiskey” to radio may have resulted in a sure fire #1 radio hit for Stapelton, but getting the labels on Music Row to be swift and take advantage of trends is like trying to turn a battleship on a dime. They’re just not equipped.
In an article posted in the most recent issue of Billboard Country Update touting the importance of Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart that takes into consideration consumer demand beyond radio, former iHeartMedia executive Clay Hunnicutt said, “Certainly a lot of careers have been built around [airplay] No. 1s. But we’ve seen a lot of No.1s that haven’t really sold anything, that haven’t really created a lot of passion in the end. What we want—what we all want—is passion and action by the listeners.”
Program Director Tim Roberts of WYCD says, “The younger generation uses media differently. THere’s more avenues to discovering music, although radio’s still the No. 1 discovery [source]—95 percent of people listen to regular old terrestrial every day. But you can never have too many tools, and if you’re not looking at all the tools, it’s a mistake.”
Having a #1 hit on country radio isn’t a proper register of public sentiment, it’s just a barometer on the popularity of an artist among radio professionals, and how well the label has marketed a song to them. Artists like Sturgill Simpson and Jason Isbell are proving you don’t need radio to be successful in country. Even some major label artists like Kacey Musgraves and Ashley Monroe are doing just fine without charting singles. Garth Brooks was the highest-grossing touring artist in all of country music last year, and he did it without the support of even one significant radio single. But try telling that to some in the country industry, and the lessons of Stapleton, Sturgill, Garth and others seem to not be registering.
Up and down Music Row, albums are in limbo, and artists’ careers are on hold because lead singles failed to chart on radio successfully. Nowhere is this more evident than in the roster of MCA Nashville. Gary Allan, Josh Turner, and David Nail are all in country music purgatory as MCA Nashville sits paralyzed after lead singles failed to show significant radio success. Meanwhile their fans get restless waiting for new music. But MCA Nashville isn’t the only one. Major country music franchises like The Band Perry, and up-and-coming stars like Mo Pitney are the victims of a system where if your lead single doesn’t chart well, nothing else will move forward.
But artists like Gary Allan and Josh Turner have strong grassroots followings, and they will sell albums without the support of radio if just given a chance and handled the proper way. Mo Pitney would be perfect for trying to follow the same flight path of someone like Sturgill Simpson, but instead his label Curb Records continues to try and push traditional country singles in country radio’s insular environment where they will never succeed. It’s a force of habit that won’t allow country music major labels to operate any other way, while the ability for new artists to reach radio has never been more difficult. Left and right on Music Row, independently-owned radio promotions companies are shuttering, and smaller labels who hope to have a chance on radio seem stuck in a reality that is many years outmoded.
And amid all of the challenges for facing artists, radio itself appears to be on the precipice of collapsing. America’s two largest radio firms—Cumulus and iHeartMedia—are both leveraged to the hilt with debt, while trying to make an unsustainable business model work in a changing environment.
“Our thesis since late 2014 has been that there was about $1 billion of [Cumulus] equity value that would disappear over time as investors come to recognize that an antiquated business with an unsustainable debt load from an ill-fated acquisition spree would ultimately destroy all equity value,” says Seeing Alpha about the prospects of Cumulus Media moving forward.
The prognosis for iHeartMedia is not much better. According to reports, the company is expected to lose $50 million in 2015, $80 million in 2016 and $120 million in 2017, and currently is holding $21 billion in debt. Relying on radio in the long-term just doesn’t make smart business sense.
For some artists, radio is still very much a viable way to get music to the masses. But it is no longer the only way. It can still be the best outlet for some, but for others, it can’t even be considered an option. With the success of so many artists without the benefit of radio, artists and albums being held hostage up and down Music Row should be part of a new movement to retool the industry to take into consideration the current realities of how consumers listen to music.
Ryan
February 2, 2016 @ 9:53 am
I’m scratching my head trying to understand how you have the horsepower to crank out articulate articles as a one man shop. Good work. Seems like now is also your time to ‘breakthrough’, such as it is, along with the artists you’ve championed for so long.
Pool
February 2, 2016 @ 1:26 pm
Coffee
Clovis
February 2, 2016 @ 10:05 am
Loved both “Lay Low” from Josh Turner and “Clean Up on Aisle Five” by Mo Pitney. I know that Mo’s since released a few more singles, but I’d really love to hear more music from each of them. Shame on the labels for not allowing fans to get ahold of their stuff. For the time being, I’ll have to make due with listing to Mo’s random appearances doing covers on shows on YouTube.
Razor X
February 2, 2016 @ 10:10 am
I understand that a lot of people get their music nowadays through subscription services like Spotify and it makes sense to include those streams in Billboard chart tabulations. However, streaming an album is NOT buying an album. It seems bogus to me to include them for determining gold and platinum album awards, which are supposed to be sales based.
the pistolero
February 2, 2016 @ 10:45 am
Precisely. What good is such a certification if there isn’t any tangible benefit from it?
Brandon F
February 2, 2016 @ 1:49 pm
It requires a certain number of album or song streams before it counts. It isn’t 1-to-1. I spend more annually on music with a Spotify premium subscription than I did on album/song downloads prior to having a membership. I think streaming should definitely count.
Razor X
February 2, 2016 @ 9:36 pm
Streaming still isn’t buying. Radio airplay was never taken into account for gold and platinum certifications so why should streaming? Gold and platinum albums are sales awards — or at least I thought they were.
Wallace
February 2, 2016 @ 10:34 am
Country music seems like it is run by Vince McMahon of the WWE sometimes. It’s the whole “we’re going to tell our story, screw what you really want” mentality coupled with “if you got over on your own outside of the system, we’ll take you, but it’s not going to be pretty.”
See Ya
February 2, 2016 @ 10:44 am
— The death of radio – at least when it comes to putting songs on the radar and driving subsequent sales interest – is greatly exaggerated.
Maren Morris’ song is selling like hotcakes, and the iHeart deal, which has put it on high-profile stations throughout the country, is the most notable reason. The video didn’t hurt, but it hasn’t generated enough in streaming activity to explain that rise. That’s a radio rise.
This international act Lukas Graham has only started to gain airplay here in America, but that airplay has sent “7 Years” soaring up the charts (it may also be On The Verge at the adult pop format, but iHeart hasn’t announced). A Late Night with Seth Meyers performance didn’t hurt, but it was adult pop/Hot AC airplay that sent it into the Top 50.
On the other hand, there are hip-hop/R&B songs that are blowing up from a streaming standpoint and not selling nearly as well.
— As for the Billboard Country Update piece, there are things to consider:
*That was something of a defense piece. “Hot Country Songs” takes a lot of crap from country fans, who still see the Mediabase and Billboard Country radio charts as the Holy Grail.
*The methodology is a bit questionable. It seems that they’re ranking their top “radio songs” based on overall audience impressions, rather than how successful those songs were from a week-to-week chart standpoints.
Songs by guys like Lee Brice, etc take months if not years to climb the charts, and thus amass more impressions than the Sam Hunt, Thomas Rhett, and Luke Bryan type songs that fly up the chart and then immediately fall off as they go recurrent and the label switches to the next single.
But you would never actually say, for instance, that Frankie Ballard’s “Young & Crazy” was more successful at radio than Sam Hunt’s “House Party.”
Trigger
February 2, 2016 @ 11:05 am
This is all true stuff, especially the breath of singles that is not fairly measured by any of Billboard’s metrics.
I’m definitely not saying radio is dead. I’m actually saying the contrary. It’s really hip to say that radio’s dead, especially among independent music fans who haven’t listened to it for years, and don’t know anyone who does. All I’m saying is there’s new, different options now, and just because an artist can’t be successful on radio doesn’t mean they can’t be successful. There are other ways, and those artists shouldn’t be held hostage by labels simply because they can’t get a Top 10 single on country radio.
Andrew
February 2, 2016 @ 3:26 pm
I think the really interesting thing regarding the health of radio will be if it shifts back to more local programming. I was hired at a station recently because they’re planning to get off satellite and go back to totally live and local so they needed to add a couple jocks.
the pistolero
February 2, 2016 @ 3:45 pm
That’s fantastic. That shift away from local programming was throwing away terrestrial radio’s biggest strength, IMO.
albert
February 2, 2016 @ 6:07 pm
some of the best news I’ve heard in a while
congrats…make us proud
Razor X
February 2, 2016 @ 9:40 pm
One of the obstacles facing terrestrial radio is that there are too many commercials. People who have become used to listening to satellite radio, Spotify or their own playlists will have a hard time readjusting to all that advertising — just like its hard to go back to watching network TV after watching a lot of HBO and Netflix.
Joel
February 4, 2016 @ 7:29 pm
That Maren Morris song was heavily advertised on Spotify, actually so much that we bought a subscription at work just so that we wouldn’t have to listen to it. I thought it was pop(what I dislike) and my coworker thought it was country(what he despises) and my Atheist coworker thought it was Christian. Imagine my dismay when I heard it on a local country station a week later… lol.
I can imagine that the heavy Spotify advertising did it some good.
Joel
February 4, 2016 @ 7:30 pm
BTW, now that I have heard the whole song, I do not hate it as much, but it’s still too formulated for me.
Applejack
February 2, 2016 @ 11:02 am
This article basically sums it all up. It gets right to the true root of the problem with modern mainstream country. Not much more to add!
One thing, though:
“95 percent of people listen to regular old terrestrial every day.”
Ok, but probably half of those are listening to sports talk.
Or possibly even… political talk. (shudder)
Frank the Tank
February 2, 2016 @ 12:05 pm
I thought that 95% number seemed very high but I think your point explains it well. I know that the only time I listen to the radio is to listen to the sports talk station.
the pistolero
February 2, 2016 @ 3:43 pm
probably half of those are listening to sports talk.
Yep. We’ve lost two country music institutions to those very formats in the last 15 years. KVOO-AM in Tulsa, which propelled Bob Wills to stardom, switched to news/talk in 2002, and KWKH-AM in Shreveport, the home of the Louisiana Hayride, switched to sports/talk in mid 2012.
Applejack
February 2, 2016 @ 11:50 pm
I think this also ties in with the above conversation about terrestrial radio abandoning its greatest strength with regard to live and local programming. If you think about it, talk radio is basically the only live, local programming left on the dial, and it’s the format that seems to be growing.
the pistolero
February 3, 2016 @ 4:00 am
Well, to an extent, anyway. Last time I listened, WOAI here in San Antonio had a live and local morning show, but the rest of the day, at least till 5 pm, was filled with Glenn Beck, Rush, and Sean Hannity.
Of course, the whole radio consolidation and syndication discussions probably go hand-in-hand. I have a theory as to how the consolidation bit was enabled, but it’s probably better suited for a political site. 😉
TheCheapSeats
February 2, 2016 @ 9:42 pm
And those that aren’t listening to talk or a morning show with more talk than music are listening passively, i.e., working in a retail store or a mechanic shop with the radio on as background.
Brian
February 2, 2016 @ 12:04 pm
What is considered an “on demand stream”?
Blaine Jacobs
February 2, 2016 @ 1:20 pm
An on demand stream is something you choose to listen to or watch, such as Netflix, Hulu, Spotify, Apple Music, etc. I don’t know if streams on Pandora count because you can’t choose the exact song you’re listening to, rather, you select a station based on an artist, album, genre, etc. and their algorithm creates a playlist/station for you.
Chris
February 2, 2016 @ 3:31 pm
People went to see Garth for the hits, not new songs going to radio. Garth fans would go see Garth regardless is what I’m trying to say, which is why I think that reference is a terrible example. I would also argue that you can be successful without radio but if you want huge dollars headlining stadiums and arenas you’ve got to have the radio play.
Convict Charlie
February 2, 2016 @ 7:42 pm
That’s wildly incorrect with just the Garth analogy. Most markets he’s selling 90k tickets. If he decided to turn that into a stadium show he very well could. He may just want a more intimate setting. It would be a lot less work for himself too. FYI when he was doing stadium shows it was 60 trucks, and power equivalent of running 300 homes.
Chris
February 2, 2016 @ 11:49 pm
I feel like that’s what I just said here. I’m saying Garth radio play doesn’t matter. He could still sell out stadiums, because no one is going to hear new music they want to hear Friends in Low Places, Baton Rouge, etc.
Convict Charlie
February 3, 2016 @ 11:17 am
Perhaps I misread it with the last sentence being involved in your post. Chesney had about fifty trailers his last stadium bit. He charges much more for tickets. It’s a longer bill though. I’m guessing it was 08 I went to Heinz field in Pittsburgh to see him I paid $140 a ticket for 100 level. I’m guessing it hasn’t gone down.
I met and interviewed Garth here in buffalo it was about $75 a ticket. Just got another one for the late March show in Hamilton it was $59 with the conversion rate.
Chris
February 3, 2016 @ 1:51 pm
I hear ya. I saw one of Garths shows in St. Louis. 75 for basically next to the stage. Best live music performance I’ve ever seen. I doubt I’ll ever see anything like it again. With my last sentence in that previous comment I was trying to talk about performers other than Garth. As in he was the exception. My apologies for the confusion.
Derek E. Sullivan
February 2, 2016 @ 3:46 pm
Radio is just like TV. It wants to attract teens and young adults because that’s what advertisers want. Of course, iHeart’s stock might say differently.
Songs that speak to older adults will be ignored by radio, and will have to find a home somewhere else.
And let’s be honest. They people who read this blog are looking for good, story-driven country music, not some tune about a guy getting drunk and hitting on girls or two people hooking up at bar. The music that is championed on this site will never do well on radio because we are not teens or at least not looking for teen music, but you know who is, your local country music DJ.
albert
February 2, 2016 @ 6:20 pm
Nailed it Derek …..on all counts . Commercial radio ‘ music ‘ stations are for teens .. or 30 somethings who THINK they ‘re still teens .As with so many other areas of entertainment ( movies , TV ) the ‘ youth ‘ demographic is a highly impressionable mindset and is targeted for that reason . ” Being a part of something everyone else is a part of ” is very important to young people .The entertainment biz gets this and delivers to that mindset , Fifteen sequels to the same movie , pretty boys who can’t act but sell tickets , generic song after generic song calling itself country music because its ‘ hip’ . A mature listener knows after the second or third time the SAME song is foisted upon her that she’s being taken advantage of and moves on . A younger listener first determines whether or not their friends are still listening to what radio TELLS them is good and then decides if they SHOULD be liking this song or not . Its always been thus . What’s changed is that the industry has realized it doesn’t need a great product to tap into this youthful ” evaluation’ process . It just has to be sure that the product is seen to be hip and trendy .
Jake W
February 2, 2016 @ 8:46 pm
Yeah you guys got it, so what can we do about it. If only there was a progressive website/blog where real country music fans and adults could get together organize and boycott radio and send a message to ad exec, iHeartRadio, cmt, gac, and country “artists” that we won’t buy into your BS anymore. Flood the websites of the products and corporations that have radio and TV in a stranglehold with emails, negative reviews, and demand for substance. Together we could topple the empire, and bring about a revolution in musical artistry. But this movement would need a leader, someone who championed indepence from corporate influence since the beginning, someone who has helped a lot of independent artists get exposure, a real champion of country music.
Man if we only had that maybe we would get off our butts and pull the Trigger on this thing. I don’t know guess I’ll go buy Luke Bryan’s next CD, put it on repeat til it sucks out my soul.
HelloWalls
February 2, 2016 @ 10:19 pm
I’ve never heard radio play any of the songs in my music library, so I have no need for it. Boycott it till it dies.
John Conquest
February 3, 2016 @ 6:34 am
Follow the money. The way artists and songwriters, and radio promoters, do best is with airplay. The reason the TV show Nashville features Americana music rather than country is that indie promoters have stated publicly that they’d rather have a star like Miranda Lambert take a song to radio than have it featured on TV, simply because they make more money that way. Mechanicals are just that, mechanical, the money rolls in, while streaming doesn’t do shit for anyone.
Razor X
February 3, 2016 @ 10:26 am
“… indie promoters have stated publicly that they”™d rather have a star like Miranda Lambert take a song to radio than have it featured on TV”
So why can’t they do both?
Tiffany
February 3, 2016 @ 6:47 pm
I am wondering something and this comes from having a business major background. But, since these labels are having so many misses from these major artists like, TBP, Gary Allan and a few others trying the EDM/Pop route, you would think the labels would see that that trend is working. Meaning that it is not selling to their target audience. You would think that the labels would see what worked best for these artists and have them to stick to what was working for them instead of having them try something that worked for Sam Hunt. Because, what worked for Sam Hunt or Old Dominion may not work for an artist like Gary Allan or TBP.
I’m not saying that an artist needs to sound like the same like they did when they came on the scene or not grow or evolve, but find what appeals to their core audience and go from there. It really don’t seem like these labels on Music Row know what they are doing when it comes to marketing and promoting their major acts here lately, for example, like the whole yellow phase with TBP.
Six String Richie
February 3, 2016 @ 6:59 pm
Any updates on country radio ratings? Are they still falling?
Dennis Ledbetter
February 5, 2016 @ 8:28 am
Getting credit for streaming doesn’t do anything for the artist in terms of being able to pay the bills and generate enough capital to produce the next project. You will not hear traditional country music on the “radio”. But, there are many internet radio stations that will play it. I am a virtual unknown artist and have had 5 #1 songs on the New Music Weekly Internet Charts. There is hope. All I care about is that my music is being heard. Real airplay is the objective. Internet airplay is fine with me.