Country Music Has Been Saved . . . Almost
This is not just another article about Chris Stapleton. This is an article about mainstream American country music radio.
Yes, Chris Stapleton won big, again. The story coming out of the 2016 ACM Awards held Sunday evening (4-3) is how Stapleton absolutely dominated the show, almost from beginning to the end. The opening skit by hosts Luke Bryan and Dierks Bentley was about Chris Stapleton, with the biggest names in country all claiming they knew him first. The final performance of the evening was Chris Stapleton, because who wants to follow him these days and get outclassed? And in between, Stapleton unexpectedly won Song of the Year, and then secured Male Vocalist of the Year and Album of the Year for his debut Traveller with ease, as if it isn’t unprecedented and groundbreaking in country music for an artist like Stapleton to all of a sudden become the artist of a generation.
Chris Stapleton won four awards at the 2016 ACM Awards, and Luke Bryan won none. Sam Hunt was completely shut out of the entire country music awards season, despite the massive commercial and radio success of his record Montevallo. Thomas Rhett and Florida Georgia Line only walked away with one award each on Sunday; an afterthought of the 2016 ACM’s.
READ: Chris Stapleton Absolutely Dominates The 2016 ACM Awards
Right now we are witnessing something in country music that’s hard to appreciate in the here and now. It’s something as fans of authentic country music—meaning words and sentiments put to song by country-living people—that we thought we’d be relegated to only reliving in history books when we went back read how Bill Monroe’s Bluegrass Boys, or The Bakersfield Sound, or the Outlaws completely turned country music on its head, and put the focus back on the roots and the people fo the country where it belongs. The last artist in country music to have such a revolutionary and wide-ranging impact on the genre was Taylor Swift in the mid and late 00’s, but her revolution had quite an opposite impact as Chris Stapleton’s is.
If there was another big winner Sunday evening, it was Jason Aldean, who shocked many by walking away with the evening’s biggest prize, Entertainer of the Year. Though it seemed like a wild card pick, the win was likely arranged for Aldean since he’s been so big in the business for so long, and has never been bestowed the distinction by either the ACM’s, or the CMA’s. It’s always been believed that Aldean’s personal life has impinged on his popularity in the industry, and kept him from many top distinctions, despite being one of country’s biggest concert draws for many years now. But now the Aldean drought is over. It’s his first Entertainer of the Year award, and it will likely be his last. It may have been now or never for Aldean, because in the coming years, Chris Stapleton might be the one winning all of the Entertainer of the Year awards as well. Stapleton’s assured to at least be nominated if current form holds. So you better get yours now.
But this is not just about awards. For years, traditional and independent country fans told themselves awards don’t matter. It’s all political and pre-arranged. Whether this was true or or not, it is what we told ourselves to justify the colossal losses year after year as we watched our favorite artists get trounced, if they were even nominated. During the beginning of the 2010’s, there was nobody for traditional country fans to root for. Then all of a sudden, George Strait won two Entertainer of the Year trophies in 2013 and 2014 at the end of his career, and the possibility that things could change began to materialize.
Even if country awards are all political, and Chris Stapleton is just the next tool being propped up by the industry (after all, he wrote all those pop country songs for others), it doesn’t matter at this point because the Chris Stapleton steamroller has materialized into massive album sales that have made this much more than a one-dimensional movement. Chris Stapleton has sold more albums in the last 18 months than anyone else in country music, and that was before his big wins at the ACMs.
So does Chris Stapleton’s success mean that country music has been saved? We have an artist, though not firmly traditional country, but certainly an authentic performer from the Kentucky coal mining region with tons of blues in his voice and a steel guitar backing him up, and he’s winning everything: the awards, the album sales, the hearts and minds of American music listeners in country music and beyond like nobody has in years.
But Chris Stapleton’s impact still remains paltry on mainstream country radio.
Though his current single “Nobody To Blame” did crack the Top 10 a couple of weeks ago, it’s still hard to say that the lumbering, insular environment that pervades country radio has woken up to the Chris Stapleton phenomenon like the rest of the world. And even with Chris Stapleton’s massive wins at the ACM Awards, it still remains greatly in question if radio will ever take notice. They didn’t after Stapleton’s big wins in November at the CMA Awards, or his wins in February at the Grammys. It’s been six months now since this trend started, and radio still remains clueless, not just with Stapleton, but the groundswell of traditional and independently-minded country artists, including others in the mainstream, who are still being institutionally ignored despite increasing album sales and unquestionable resonance in the culture beyond the country music airwaves.
As the rest of the industry was ramping up for the ACM Awards last week, iHeartMedia—the largest radio station owner in America—quietly made a bold and important move. A radio executive named Zack Massey announced that iHeartMedia was opening a national content office for country music in Nashville, and that he would be the Country Content Bureau Chief. Despite catastrophic loads of debt for iHeartMedia and its biggest competitor Cumulus, both companies continue to double down on country as the format to dig themselves out of the current hole. But they’re not doing it by trying to become the discovery platform radio has been for so many years to American consumers, they’re doing it by continuing to slash staff and nationalize programming, which is what got the industry in trouble in the first place.
READ: Basically, American Radio Is Being Suffocated By Billions in Debt
There will always be pop music in country, because there always has been pop music in country, from the very beginning. Those who dream of a day when there’s no Jason Aldean’s winning awards, or no Sam Hunt’s on the radio are living in a fantasy world. What there can be is balance, and that is what is symbolized by the emergence of Chris Stapleton. Balance has now been returned to the awards shows. It started with George Strait, and now its being realized fully with Chris Stapleton, not because he’s winning all of the awards, but that he’s winning the awards he deserves, while the huge, concert drawing and radio-dominating artist still are getting theirs.
Balance has returned to the album sales chart, and not just with Chris Stapleton, but with country legends like Willie Nelson and Alan Jackson, and independent artists like Jason Isbell and Aaron Watson. Balanced has returned to other sectors of the entertainment realm, like with independent female artist such as Margo Price and Aubrie Sellers playing the late night talk shows and Saturday Night Live.
Yet on radio, the same insular environment prevails. It is the last stronghold in the country music industry where an antiquated, good ol’ boy system remains firmly ensconced, with no prospects of the format getting on board with the balance country music needs to sustain itself moving forward, and bringing all of the disillusioned listeners it has lost over the last decade or more back on board.
If country music ever is “saved,” meaning an almost universally-recognized moment when balance and at least a modicum of fairness has been instilled throughout the industry, where the roots are preserved and respected at all times, where gender doesn’t hold artists back, and talent is what is put first and foremost when placing artists in line, history tells us that country music is likely to immediately begin its backslide once again. This is the cyclical nature of country music that is as eternal as the Great Smoky Mountains from which the music was derived. So vigilance will always be necessary. But we will never be able to declare total victory in the effort to return country music to its past glory without radio coming on board, or so imploding that it loses its ability to represent what country music is to the people at large.
Chris Stapleton doesn’t need country radio. He has proven that so demonstrably now, it’s not even worth discussing. And if Chris Stapleton doesn’t need country radio, that means nobody needs country radio to succeed. It’s country music who needs Chris Stapleton, and artists like him who are capturing the imagination and hearts of true country listeners once again.
The question is, will country radio listen? Or will country radio be left with anybody listening to it?
April 4, 2016 @ 9:34 am
Great article! Could have done without the Aaron Watson inclusion, but I understand why you did. Thanks
April 4, 2016 @ 10:10 am
Aaron Watson and Blackberry Smoke were officially the first fully independent country (or Southern Rock) artists to go #1 on the albums charts, and they deserve credit here as well, as do tons of other artists not named Chris Stapleton who’ve been chipping away slowly but surely and helped make Stapleton’s wins possible.
April 4, 2016 @ 10:15 am
Like I said, I understand why you included him, I just can’t attribute success to someone that plagiarizes lyrics and refuses to acknowledge his mistake. But I digress.. Credit is earned, not based solely on sales.
April 4, 2016 @ 10:49 am
What are you referring to about the plagiarism? I hadn’t heard anything about that
April 4, 2016 @ 12:23 pm
Yeah, I am curious about this as well. I haven’t heard anything regarding Watson and plagiarism of lyrics. I’m not an Aaron Watson fan, his music is generally a little too similar to the 90’s hat acts coming out of Nashville, but I also haven’t heard many people speak ill of the guy either.
April 5, 2016 @ 10:22 am
See my response below.
April 4, 2016 @ 9:21 pm
I kind of know what you mean. I love Aaron Watson but I did think that 1 of the lines from 1 song I heard was questionable. I thought this even before this post. 1 line seemed pretty similar to a song I’ve heard before. But, I know Aaron doesn’t write all of his songs and who knows, maybe the other writer took it from Aaron’s songwriter. Aaron definitely doesn’t seem like the type to knowingly plagiarize, I agree with others. If it happened, I don’t think he knew about it.
April 5, 2016 @ 8:00 am
Can someone please fill me in on this plagiarism controversy with Aaron Watson? I’m completely in the dark.
April 5, 2016 @ 8:20 am
Anyone can say anything they want in a comments section, and as long as it’s not libelous or threatening, I’m probably going to let it go through. There is no plagiarism controversy with Aaron Watson as far as I can tell. At least not one I’ve heard of.
April 5, 2016 @ 9:10 am
So I’ve been pretty involved in the Texas Music scene for several years and have had the opportunity to befriend a number of well established (and respected) artists in the region. While I can’t remember a lot of the specific songs, there is a general understanding that Aaron Watson tends to take a lot of “creative license” with other people’s music. Of course you won’t hear a lot of artists complaining publicly because it’s just not good publicity for anyone; however, there is a general sentiment that whoever is writing AW’s songs, is not being genuine to the songwriting process.
To the most recent incident and to the one that I can provide proof, his song “Fencepost” on his latest #1 album is a direct violation of copyright material. The hook of the song is “Besides I’d rather be an old fence post in Texas than the king of Tennessee.” Here is the song..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emACEJzEUDo
The problem is in 1996, Chris Wall released the song Texas Time. In the copryrighted song, Chris has the line, “I’d rather be a fence post in Texas than the king of Tennessee.” A simple Google search of these lyrics show multiple websites that attribute the words to Chris Wall. He even had bumper stickers in the 90’s with the lyrics. Here’s the song. It’s right about at the 3:00 mark.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3VU9_wMnqM&list=PL2lmUXJjJqOJ8UbSXYLDLE6VlNAFzsagW&index=7
So when AW was confronted with the charge of plagiarism, what did he do? He released this smug video trying to justify what he had done.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-gRiWmgqRI
Rather than acknowledging his error, he dug in and made up a lie that the original words came from Sam Houston. Even if they did, Chris Wall still received a copyright on the lyrics in the 90’s. After numerous fans and critics began to question him on social media, he began deleting comments and refused to answer the questions. (That’s probably why you can’t find much on the controversy Trigger.) To my understanding, Chris Wall has decided not to pursue the matter publicly. My personal opinion is that AW owes a lot to Chris Wall for this song and his #1 album. At the time of the album’s release, his website was covered in merchandise with those lyrics printed on them. I’m sure AW made some good money off of Chris’ words.
April 4, 2016 @ 9:41 am
Mission accomplished. You saved country music. Now we can all get back to our normal routine…
April 8, 2016 @ 5:17 am
We’re not eating our rainbow stew just yet.
April 4, 2016 @ 9:42 am
I think it is more of a we have won the battle but the war still wages on. When I can listen to Country Radio ( and not Thunder Country in Southern Iowa) and stand what I hear, then the war has been won.
April 4, 2016 @ 9:43 am
I was listening to America’s Morning show and the first thing that mentioned was Jason Aldean’s won award, not Chris Stapleton’s accomplishments. But they talked about his hat
April 4, 2016 @ 10:18 am
You keep preaching balance, but how can anybody even make the argument that Sam Hunt belongs on country radio? Having a little pop in country is one thing, but every pure pop song with nothing country about it should be banned.
April 4, 2016 @ 10:24 am
I genuinely want to know how he gets called Country. I’m so baffled by it.
The first time I heard him on the radio I honestly figured it was a commercial or something, or that I accidentally changed the station. It took me minutes to figure out what was going on. (same thing actually when i heard that Thomas Rhett song that Chris Stapleton wrote that I can’t think of the name of right now. But I at least find that song cute and fun and catchy if you take out the fact that it’s supposed to be country music.) And then I figured it was a one off thing and he’d disappear. but nope.
April 4, 2016 @ 10:54 am
I honestly thought Sam Hunt’s “Breakup in a Small Town” was a commercial parody. It didn’t even sound like a real song. It’s a joke. It literally made me laugh out loud. It’s the worst and least country song in history.
April 4, 2016 @ 1:30 pm
I don’t know, that tire fire he performed last night could give “Breakup in a Small Town” a run for its money.
April 4, 2016 @ 8:24 pm
I gave you a “like” simply because your handle is awesome. “Egotistical son of a bitch. Anybody that would paint his truck like this would to a ministers funeral dressed in feathers”.
April 5, 2016 @ 6:15 am
“Big Enos’ word is gold.”
April 4, 2016 @ 10:28 am
I 100% agree, and I would love to see a reality to where when we say “pop country” we’re talking about Dierks Bentley, Tim McGraw, and Carrie Underwood, and not the extremes of Sam Hunt or Kane Brown. Hopefully we can get there, but aside from Stapleton, Sam Hunt has been the big bread winner for “country” over the last 18 months. The thought that he’s just going to go away if we complain enough is probably not a reality. Instead, if we champion folks like Chris Stapleton, I think it will happen organically. Give consumers better choices, and they’ll make the right ones. THAT is why radio is still so important to this effort, and the effort to put support behind smaller artists whose careers need the exposure of radio to thrive.
April 4, 2016 @ 10:52 am
“Give consumers better choices, and they”™ll make the right ones. THAT is why radio is still so important to this effort,..”
Exactly , Trigger . If you don’t know its out there and don’t take the time ( or have the time or inclination ) to look for it you won’t find it . You’ll accept what’s handed to you as being the only option . As I’ve said ….sometimes we don’t know what it is we really need until we get it .
April 4, 2016 @ 12:01 pm
Often you see folks say that radio listeners can kiss off because they’re too stupid to know there’s something better, but why would they if nobody exposes them to it? That’s the whole reason I cover these stupid awards shows, and why they can be important. Today you have thousands of country consumers asking what other artists like Chris Stapleton are out there and streaming old SteelDriver records. These people deserve good music too, and independent artists deserve the support they can bring.
April 4, 2016 @ 10:31 am
Maybe I’m the only one that thought their little hipster skit was condescending?
Perhaps the true Country Music Savior won’t even show up to accept any BS awards, eh??
Sorry to see you shutting down your web site, then, Trigger. Mission Accomplished–right??? 😉
April 4, 2016 @ 11:08 am
Whatever you call it, that entire C.S. montage was overkill and embarrassing. The entire show was so unprofessional and dull and boring.
Awards shows are fine when there’s creativity and thought behind it. They should ask Dolly and Reba for their input. Let them put a show together. Two highly intelligent and creative artists. It would be redonkulously good.
In hindset, whoever put that show together…it was an epic fail.
April 4, 2016 @ 10:36 am
Very good and interesting article. I’m all for balance as I love the likes of Chris Stapleton and Sam Hunt. I listen to very little country radio though. Usually just on my short drive in the mornings in my car to see what’s going on. Concert announcements and such. I’m super thankful for Aaron Watson because had he not popped up on my iTunes radio charts while in the gym one morning, I never would have gone down the huge and beautiful rabbit hole that is Texas country music. I have discovered how much more I actually love music now that I know there is stuff Beyond the Jason Aldeans of the world. I have been thinking about how remarkable it is of all the success Chris Stapleton has received, my local radio stations in South Alabama play exactly one of his songs and it’s not even the best one. Thank you for opening my eyes to how things work around country radio. I will continue to dig around and find great music on my own and not rely on the stations to give it to me. We don’t have a very big music scene down where I live, but we do have one huge Amphitheatre on the beach. I had tickets to go see Florida Georgia line on a Friday. Not in love with them, but it’s a fun show and a good getaway for us. Recently, Chris Stapleton was announced as playing that Saturday so I saw a huge dump of tickets being sold off for Florida Georgia Line mine included, while Stapleton sold out in 10 minutes. That tells me that there are plenty of people listening to music Beyond just what the radio stations give us.
April 4, 2016 @ 10:46 am
Who actually listens to traditional radio anymore in this day and age????My personal fav is Pandora. But there are many more. Chris Stapleton deserves every accolade that is being thrown at him, but there are ways to hear him rather than country radio.
You did fail to mention that in 2011, Jamey Johnson, my personal all time favorite artist, won song of the year with “In Color.” Jamey, in my mind is pure perfection…. a brilliant songwriter and a very talented singer. He plays for at least 2 straight hours every concert that I have every been at, which is quite a few, and then meets his devoted fans outback for autographs, hugs, and just kind words, no matter how late it may be. That’s what a real artist is to me.
April 4, 2016 @ 10:57 am
Good point , Sunfish . Jamey is a guy that SHOULD have been a ‘saviour’ several years back and I admit I have no idea why he wasn’t . I mean , often its just a case of the stars not being aligned , of course , ….and maybe that was the case for JJ . Or personal issues , which I have heard have been problematic for him . Dunno . Let’s hope CS has more staying power and more of a foothold in terms of exposure and a fan base and can ride it long enough to somewhat re-establish what the genre is about for all who follow .
April 4, 2016 @ 11:27 am
The difference between Jamey and Stapleton is that more people like Chris, and he has a “holy shit” voice that everyone, including non-traditional country fans, loves.
April 4, 2016 @ 8:06 pm
I am indeed a self admitted non traditional country music fan. I am a rock and roll KY gal by nature. But I have always enjoyed some country music. For me it’s not about the genre but the feeling.
I think that the powers that be were not ready for Jamey’s kind of music at the time and he was not going to sell out for the fame that others have.
Chris has a very unique voice and a sound that I can’t get enough of right now. But the smooth flawless voice that comes out of Jamey’s mouth keeps me mesmerized whether it’s “Lead Me Home ” or a cover of “Turn the Page.” Success is not necessarily measured by popularity sometimes, but by the mere feelings invoked by the listener.
April 5, 2016 @ 11:28 am
The difference is Chris is buddies with industry insiders and his style of music appeals to a wider range of people. Jamey’s sound is more traditional and his lyrics are harder/grittier. Songs like Traveler, Tennessee Whiskey, Fire Away, and When the Stars Come Out appeal to a large range of people (including many young people, including young females). These are all great tunes and I’m taking nothing away from them, but the sound and lyrics appeal to a wide range of people. For comparison (not many young people, especially young females) are going to ride around listening to the High Cost Of Living, That Lonesome Song, Between Jennings and Jones, etc..
April 5, 2016 @ 11:42 am
When I said “more people like Chris” I meant “he hasn’t spent the last several years burning bridges with industry insiders,” haha.
But yeah, Stapleton offers something for everyone.
Jamey’s music is equally great, but it’s a much more niche audience.
April 5, 2016 @ 12:23 pm
I think a lot of folks are forgetting that Jamey Johnson also got started as an “insider” songwriter, wrote “Honky Tonk Badonka Donk,” collaborated with Colt Ford, wrote hits for pop country stars, etc. etc. I don’t want to bring up the whole ridiculous argument about if Jamey Johnson is real or not because all of that is water under the bridge, just like it is with Stapleton. But I think there’s some Johnson fans that for some reason are feeling a little bitter about all of this Stapleton love. No doubt, Jamey helped open doors. In fact, you can make the case that Stapleton took over Jamey’s spot as the bearded, longhaired songwriter that is changing country music. But if that’s the case, it’s all Jamey Johnson’s fault. He’s shown absolutely positively no motivation to do anything but tour semi-regularly and play 50% covers. Hey, more power to him. If that’s all he wants to do, then that’s all I want from him. But if you’re not stepping up to the plate, you can’t complain when someone else steps in front of you. Stapleton’s success could have been Jamey’s. But he side stepped it. He was also not helped along by a bad publishing deal, but now he’s out from under it, has his own label, and all he has to show for it is a Christmas EP. He hasn’t released an original record in six years. I’m not criticizing the guy. But I’m also not going to feel sorry if nobody is talking about him, because there’s nothing to talk about.
April 6, 2016 @ 6:31 am
As a bigger Johnson than Stapleton fan, I’m happy for all of the Stapleton love. Chris Stapleton makes great music and is an outstanding talent. Anytime a comparison to Johnson is made, I just speak the truth of the differences in the two.
Yes, Jamey wrote a few stupid songs, but it is obvious he isn’t and never has been an industry insider to the level of Chris. Chris is friends with everyone and seems to be a well liked person in the industry and around Nashville. Its fair to say everyone likes Chris Stapleton and Jamey didn’t build that same friendship/reputation with everyone in the industry.
While Jamey could have been a bigger mainstream success if he kept releasing new music, I still don’t think he would have achieved the level of success as Stapleton due to his connections in the industry and his music being a little harder(more traditional sound, grittier lyrics, etc). As stated in my above comment, Stapletons style of music appeals to all people (young, middle aged, male and female can all get into the guy). Jamey’s sound doesn’t appeal to as wide of a range as Chris’s.
“I don’t know that I don’t fit in the country music industry. I do quite prefer to do things on my own, aside from any industry. I’m not a very industrious person. I’m more of a singer and a songwriter, and I have a pickup truck and a gas card. And that’s why I get around and play my music for people. I enjoy meeting people and I enjoy singing. The parts about it that I didn’t enjoy, I really didn’t enjoy at all, and so I quit doing those parts. I think it’s OK to be my level of success, or my level of celebrity, or whatever. I chose this for me. I could be a lot bigger. There’s ways to go about becoming more popular. I don’t want to do that. That’s got nothing to do with writing songs, and it’s got nothing to do with traveling and singing, or being me. And I’m not willing to give up the parts of me that I’d have to give up to gain things like that. I don’t want to be famous. I’m happy being almost famous. I don’t have to be successful. I’m happy being almost successful. I’m successful by my own standards because I’m happy.”
http://www.al.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2015/08/jamey_johnson_alabama_native_c.html
April 4, 2016 @ 11:25 am
Albert, thanks. Jamey has not chosen to have the approval of the establishment for sure and perhaps that’s why, but for me that makes me admire him even more. JJ is so humble. I have seen him several times playing along with others, like when he played the Opry with Bill Anderson when Bill’s guitar was returned. Jamey just stepped up and played his part then faded away bc the “spotlight” was on Bill for having found his guitar that had been lost for so many years.
April 4, 2016 @ 12:04 pm
ACMs saw a huge ratings drop. They pulled 11.18 million viewers. For comparison, “Little Big Shots” pulled 11.11 million. Viewers age 18-49 fell from 3.6 to 2.3. Further proof that country is losing popularity.
April 4, 2016 @ 1:13 pm
I do think country is losing some popularity overall in the fall of Bro-Country, but I also think that the entire show was flat, and there was such incredible competition last night with Wrestlemania, The Walking Dead, and the iHeart Awards, that everyone with special events took a bath last night. They really should have held this think on a Wednesday.
April 4, 2016 @ 2:49 pm
Not to mention Opening Day for baseball. But even with the added star power of Nick Jonas and Katy Perry they still lost 18-49 viewers in a big way.
April 5, 2016 @ 8:22 am
Must admit that I was watching the Walking Dead finale, and recorded the ACMs.
April 4, 2016 @ 12:18 pm
I almost hate to say this, but I am not totally sold on Stapleton being the Saviour yet. I have been fooled way too many times by artists who have been given that mantle only to sell out so hard it makes Judas look like Waylon. I will bide my time, but I hope I am wrong.
April 4, 2016 @ 1:11 pm
I’m against calling Chris Stapleton a country music savior because I’m against calling anyone a country music savior. That is a unfair mantle to lump on someone’s shoulders, and in the end it is going to take many artists, and many people to “save” country music.
April 4, 2016 @ 12:52 pm
At this point, I think a success would be returning to the early to mid 2000’s style pop-country, when you still had a country sound, but there was also a good amount of pop, the song sticking out to me being something like Tomorrow by Chris Young. I wish it’d go back to 80’s style country, but I think realistically it can only go back to the 90’s or 2000’s style before the money hungry labels fear they’ll lose all their mindless pop supporters. We’ll see what happens, but I’m not expecting anything drastic.
April 6, 2016 @ 8:54 am
You really think we could go all the way back to 90’s country sound before the labels freaked out? Hell, I’d love that.
April 4, 2016 @ 1:03 pm
Let’s keep that momentum rolling. I’ve got Hayes Carll and Sturgill Simpson pre-ordered. Hoping for a good chart performance for those two.
April 4, 2016 @ 1:33 pm
Still, in an 3 hour show there where only 3 performances – Stapleton, Dolly & Katy, and Miranda – that appealed to me and where worthy of YouTube-ing this morning. Speaking of Lambert, 7th consecutive win?!?! Where are all the whiny Underwood fans today? Any way you cut it, it’s an impressive, unprecedent streak and I feel this year she had some competition on an off year.
April 4, 2016 @ 3:33 pm
Chris Stapleton doesn’t need country radio. But trust me when I say that there are plenty of mainstream “country” stars that do ”” Chase Bryant, Michael Ray, Kelsea Ballerini, David Nail, Canaan Smith, Chris Janson, Billy Currington, LoCash, Randy Houser, Old Dominion, Rascal Flatts, Jana Kramer, Maddie & Tae, Chris Lane, Chase Rice, etc. Because all of these acts have had pitiful album sales and bad single sales as well, but have relentlessly pushed their singles to radio because their labels see the bad sales and therefore think that radio is their only chance to keep the artist relevant. If any of these artists fail to get a radio hit, then their label will be hard-put to save their careers.
Conversely, Chris Stapleton can and will have multiple singles bomb at radio, but “Traveller” will keep selling like hotcakes no matter what. Adele and Taylor Swift are perfect examples of this. Both of their recent singles have underperformed, but their current albums have been sales smashes, especially considering the streaming-heavy climate in the modern music industry. And so will their next albums. I’m willing to bet that we’ll see a similar thing happening with Stapleton, though probably on a smaller scale.
The problem is that you can also look at Adele, who’s a great artist that’s had huge success in mainstream pop, but has she “saved” pop from shit like Justin Bieber, Meghan Trainor, and Selena Gomez? And has Kendrick Lamar “saved” hip-hop? I wouldn’t really know very well, since I don’t listen to either of those genres, but it doesn’t really seem like there’s any “balance” between good and bad music there IMO. So if Chris Stapleton’s success is parallel to Adele’s, Taylor Swift’s, and Kendrick Lamar’s, might he just end up being a sole shining light in the midst of the awfulness of mainstream country?
Personally, I feel like Stapleton will definitely open doors to more authentic country. We’ve already seen that happening with Margo Price’s success. But mainstream country is churning out even worse artists by the minute (Kane Brown comes to mind), and radio is still stubbornly holding on…so I think it’s a little early to be hoping for balance in country music anytime soon.
April 5, 2016 @ 9:17 am
“Chris Stapleton doesn”™t need country radio. But trust me when I say that there are plenty of mainstream “country” stars that do ”” Chase Bryant, Michael Ray, Kelsea Ballerini, David Nail, Canaan Smith, Chris Janson, Billy Currington, LoCash, Randy Houser, Old Dominion, Rascal Flatts, Jana Kramer, Maddie & Tae, Chris Lane, Chase Rice, etc. Because all of these acts have had pitiful album sales and bad single sales as well, but have relentlessly pushed their singles to radio because their labels see the bad sales and therefore think that radio is their only chance to keep the artist relevant. If any of these artists fail to get a radio hit, then their label will be hard-put to save their careers.”
Every one of those performers you mentioned that need country radio could drop off the face of the earth tomorrow and not be missed.
April 5, 2016 @ 11:46 am
I’d miss Maddie & Tae! They’re excellent.
David Nail ain’t half bad, either.
April 5, 2016 @ 2:26 pm
I don’t mind Maddie & Tae either. Not really my thing, but I can respect that they actually use a fair bit of country instrumentation and have solid voices. But the fact is that they made the worst possible choice in releasing “Fly” as the anchoring single to “Start Here” ”” not because it was a bad song (which it isn’t), but because it generated hardly any buzz among mainstream listeners. Judging from its callout, most people considered it to just be “there” ”” which didn’t help their album sales at all. “Start Here” hasn’t even crested the 100,000 mark in sales yet. And “Shut Up And Fish” didn’t even crack the top 20 at radio, so it looks like they’re quickly fading into irrelevance.
April 4, 2016 @ 4:51 pm
Wait… I thought he had to be on radio to exist~ and if he’s not on radio, then he doesn’t exist ~ and if he doesn’t exist, then… Just who won all those awards?
Confused as ever…
April 4, 2016 @ 6:57 pm
Well, I’ve said it a thousand times. That awesome moment when the headlines read “Opry refuses Luke Bryan, not Country” and ‘Sam Hunt deemed not Country by poll” and when some guy with an Ira Louvin belt buckle puts “Crazy Arms” back into the top ten is never going to happen, but we’re too busy looking for it to see what’s right in front of us.
The Stapleton train shouldn’t be possible, and so many artists have fallen out trying that you’d almost say it isn’t possible, but somehow, somebody is able to defy the laws of industry physics and do what wasn’t supposed to be possible, and that person is Chris Stapleton.
April 4, 2016 @ 7:42 pm
Twice in the past couple of months I have heard station identification on the Washington iHeart “country” station be broadcast wrong. Once it was the call letters for a rock station and once it was the call letters for a pop station, both also obviously owned by iHeart. Since I don’t listen to the D.C. station very often, I wonder how many other times the station has broadcast its wrong call letters.
If even iHeart doesn’t know what music/call letters a particular station should be broadcasting, there’s truly no hope for a pure country station to appear again under their watch. So far I haven’t heard country call letters broadcast on the rock station, but I listen to that one even less. I long for the days when I don’t have to change the channel every two or three songs. Thank goodness for CDs!!!
April 4, 2016 @ 7:54 pm
Not to mention that now both the D.C. and Baltimore iHeart country stations are advertising themselves as “#1 for New Country” in their respective regions. In fact, the DC station is playing *only* new country for a whole hour from 10 to 11 or 11 to 12, can’t remember which one for sure since I have no desire to tune in during that time. Now if they played only classic country during that hour, I’d be all over it. I love it when I need to get in range of the Frederick, MD station – WFRE – on Sunday mornings. For four hours they do a rewind show. So nice to be able to listen, know which song it is right off the bat because they sound different and relive a time when there were stories, good voices and good musicians with no overproduction.
April 5, 2016 @ 7:18 am
That WFRE show is great. At least in the past couple of years, they have done the rewind show all day on Memorial Day and Labor Day. I drove back and forth from PA to DC on Memorial Day two years ago and never changed the station.
April 4, 2016 @ 9:08 pm
I skipped the Acms as I always do because of a multitude of reasons, probably the same reasons as others have mentioned. Too many pop stars, not enough country singers or country legends, nominees are ridiculous (Fgl, etc.). I am glad that Chris Stapleton won though. I am. It was to be expected, but I still am. I still question some of his lyric choices but the song is different enough from others that I can listen to it. It’s not a station changer. I have been meaning to say though… I don’t mean to be Negative Nancy, but I don’t see mainstream country music getting better. I see it getting worse. It’s a gut feeling I’ve had since November, so despite the Chris CMA sweep I still jumped ship. What do I think the future is? Other people jumping ship and going to red dirt. It’s not worth listening to sustained crap for that 1 good song. I’ll still check in to this website but I spent last night singing along with Aaron Watson, Bri Bagwell, and You can have the crown. And it was great. Watching Katy Perry on an ACM show and seeing Fgl win over Maddie and Tae would have just depressed me beyond belief. I am enjoying being in my own little red dirt bubble. I know others will follow. It’s a gut feeling.
April 5, 2016 @ 4:40 am
Country music is still in terrible condition. There is way more bad than good.
April 5, 2016 @ 10:20 am
I think you need to be cautious of the impact here or at least the praise as if this is the first go around for this type of situation. Several others above mention Jamey Johnson. He kicked in the door a few years ago as much as Stapleton is doing now, but nobody, including people here, knew what to think of Jamey??? Real outlaw or fake? Most chalked him up to fake.
This site seems to have taken to Stapleton much easier, but as time has passed, we see Jamey is real, and sustains in his own way, and doesn’t need country radio. So I think we need to hold off on “savior” for Stapleton until we are say, 3 years down the road. Stapleton should still be around, but may not be at the ACM/CMA’s, but FGL and Luke Bryan will.
Perhaps Stapleton has come along with similar attitude and talent as many others before him, but he has come when the industry has rung out the rag of piss music and now they need to acknowledge real talent.
I’ve predicted this long ago, that it started with Jamey, will be a slow change, and will need more than just one artist. You are seeing that now, but until we see a nomination list of Jamey, Stapleton, and Sturgill up for male vocalist, using the term “savior” for a guy that is doing what another guy did a few years ago, who you called fake, seems a bit reckless.
I am glad to see Stapleton winning. I’m very excited to see the music put out by Stapleton, Johnson, and Simpson, in the near future when Dave Cobb and Shooter are at the wheel. You start to get all these guys running into one another, buckle up.
April 5, 2016 @ 12:27 pm
Nobody is calling Chris Stapleton a country music savior. It’s not about “this site” taking to Stapleton, it’s that Stapleton’s accomplishments are significantly more unprecedented than anything Jamey Johnson did. Song of the Year is great, and no doubt it opened doors. But Stapleton has swept all the major awards now twice. It could have been Jamey, but he seems content to sit back on that Song of the Year win. I don’t fault him for it, but if Jamey wants a piece of this action, he needs to step up to the plate and get his head in the game.
April 6, 2016 @ 8:47 am
Okay, I guess you haven’t used the word “savior” but certainly there is that insinuation with titles of articles like this.
I guess I just caution that Stapleton’s recent popularity may not be an immediate change in the tides. Sure, he has racked up some big awards, and well deserved, but it is also at a time where the best mainstream music is at the low of lows. I mean, look at the male vocalist nominees??? Who else was a valid pick?
The country music industry has proven that it is in it to make money and they follow trends. So, much like they have done with so many other great artists, rather than push them, they try to find copy cats. Stapleton can’t be copied. Much like Jamey Johnson couldn’t, Sturgill can’t be although he hasn’t quite hit the awards yet….or go back further, Garth (yes, he is a legit great country artist) he couldn’t be copied…so, if they try to trot out some long hairs and beards, that don’t have talent, but make money, we are still in a mess. I.E. I see FGL is growing out some hair and beards. The teenage rebel bro-country has faded.
So if the industry follows the path it always has…Stapleton may go the way of Jamey and Sturgill. They don’t need to be “in the game” to actually be leading the game.
April 6, 2016 @ 9:38 am
“Okay, I guess you haven”™t used the word “savior” but certainly there is that insinuation with titles of articles like this.”
No, it’s not. I have gone as far out of my way as humanly possible to say that NO artist should EVER be lumped with the title “Country Music Savior,” and specifically Chris Stapleton.
Go read this article titled, “The Case Against Chris Stapleton As Country Music”™s Savior”
https://savingcountrymusic.com/the-case-against-chris-stapleton-as-country-musics-savior/
We all agree that the follow through is going to be the next important piece to the Chris Stapleton legacy, and it will be interesting to see how the industry reacts. But we can’t assume anything, and start downplaying Stapleton’s success just because of what MIGHT happen. That’s why we should remain vigilant and continue to try and push the genre in the right direction.
April 5, 2016 @ 1:57 pm
I’m new to this. I started to listen to Texas country/red dirt when a friend became a DJ at a local station which only plays that kind of music. Before then, I liked Willie, Jerry Jeff, and Kinky – I went to school in Austin in the 70’s – but didn’t much care for most country music. Listening to my friend on the air and taking some of his recommendations, I discovered – though I couldn’t define it – that there was a real similarity between Texas/red dirt and Willie, Jerry Jeff, and Kinky which I liked and that it was very different and very much better than what I would hear if I tuned to mainstream country stations. I developed a taste for it and it’s about all I listen to today.
I picked up on the anti-pop-country/anti-Nashville theme common in Texas and red dirt. A couple of weeks ago – after discovering Dale Watson for the first time and following his name here – came onto Saving Country Music. Since then I’ve been reading through back posts and trying to find out exactly where people draw the line. I now think that it varies from person to person. I’ve tried to figure out all the various “lines” that people draw in the sand. Here’s the ones I’ve found so far and I’d like Trigger’s and others’ comments about whether I’ve got them right or missed any. (To mention one oddity: I’ve done a 2A, 2B, and 2C to try to explain why some folks dislike Nashville sound and Countrypolitan but revere George Jones and other artists who were in the Countrypolitan vein.) Finally, two questions: As noted in #7, Auto-tune is considered to be outside the veil for a lot of people, but I’ve never heard a word of objection about guitar stomp-boxes (aka effects pedals) and very little about synthesizers; should those be another line, below? Also are there any online essays about what folks consider to be authentic and not?
Levels of fan-desired country music authenticity. Some of these overlap or can be combined; some may not exist alone:
1. Those for whom the use of drums or electrified instruments are too much. (Mostly historical today.)
2A. Those for whom the addition of horns, strings (other than fiddle), and choirs are too much, i.e. those for whom the mid-1950’s Nashville sound or Countrypolitan were objectionable.
2B. Those for whom 2A is too much if accompanied by the elimination of fiddle and steel guitar.
2C. Those for whom 2B is too much if accompanied by smooth, crooning vocals.
3. Those for whom either 2A or 2B is acceptable but any introduction of rock elements is too much, i.e. those who object to rockabilly or pop country/country rock.
4. Those for whom it is objectionable if the artist does not have a true country background, even if the artist’s music generally otherwise sounds authentic.
5. Those for whom certain topics or themes in the lyrics are objectionable because they are outside the scope of what traditional country covered, i.e. those who object to truck-driving country or bro-country, even if the music generally otherwise sounds authentic.
6. Those for whom musical conventions used by popular music, such as repeated lyrics or choruses, are objectionable.
7. Those for whom any computer-aided voice processing (e.g. Auto-tune) is objectionable, especially (but not only) if used for pitch correction.
8. Those for whom some combination of the foregoing is objectionable.
9. Those for whom country music is generally acceptable so long as it is played on traditional country instruments, electric or acoustic, includes fiddle and steel guitar, and has “country sounding” vocals.
10. Those for whom anything coming out of Nashville today is objectionable.
April 7, 2016 @ 1:46 pm
Trigger, when you mentioned the topic about consumers wanting to seek out artists similar to Chris Stapleton….and artists who play country as authentic as they can….it made me think of azon and how they have the section “If you like (artist/group), check out (artist/group)” and they’ll list a good half dozen or so. I appreciate Amazon doing that. I can’t say if every artist/group they find similar is actually similar, but at least they’re trying to let people know there are other choices that may fit their tastes. Great article!!!
April 14, 2016 @ 5:38 pm
This is an older thread so not sure if anyone will see this comment but…
Does anyone have a theory as to why Traveller is the Number 1 country album but got so few critical reviews? If you look at Chris’s Metacritic compared to Sturgill’s or Jason’s, it’s fairly sparse. Those who reviewed it liked it – there just weren’t many reviews.
April 15, 2016 @ 12:03 am
Independent artists tend to get more reviews believe it or not, because in the independent realm, reviewing albums is still a thing. In the mainstream, there are no true album reviews, because nobody wants to say anything negative. It’s all “features” and puff pieces promoting the albums. It’s also because the major label likely didn’t seek out reviews like the publicists for independent artists do.
April 15, 2016 @ 2:10 pm
Thanks for the reply. Chris is such an interesting case study to me because he has the raw talent and authenticity of the indie acts who don’t sell out artistically, but he also successfully maneuvers inside the mainstream crowd. Unlike most indie acts (for whom a lack of critical reviews would be a death knell but who also end up being somewhat at those critics’ mercies), his lack of reviews keeps him as untouchable as the bigger acts. But while the big names are just avoiding negativity and striving to keep up the (wispy) smoke and mirrors, Chris’s music is so good that the review thing just adds to his mystery… because I can’t imagine the reviews would be negative.