iHeartRadio Country Festival Caused Major Conflict with ACM Awards
On March 29th, Clear Channel Radio threw their inaugural iHeartRadio Country Festival in Austin with many of the genre’s biggest mainstream acts performing, including Carrie Underwood, Jason Aldean, and Luke Bryan. Apparently behind-the-scenes, the festival caused a big stir with artists, managers, and the Academy of Country Music, whose own big event, the 49th Annual ACM Awards, is set to transpire on Sunday, April 6th on CBS.
According to the New York Post, the iHeartRadio Country Festival was originally set to be taped live in Austin, and then air on television April 5th—the day before the ACM Awards. This plan did not sit well with many in Nashville.
“A lot of people in Nashville are upset,” a source told The Post. “The iHeartRadio Country Music Festival was going up against the Academy of Country Music Awards, so they pulled it.” Another source states, “Managers and artists in Nashville were very supportive of the [ACM] and were horrified [about the conflict]. They were aggressive in letting Clear Channel know that.”
The iHeartRadio Country Festival was eventually streamed on CMT.com the day of the festival, though in the initial press release for the festival, NBC was listed as a primary sponsor of the event. NBC is also the only one of the four major American television networks that does not host a major country music event, and it is where iHeartRadio is airing their upcoming music awards show on May 1st. ABC has the CMA Awards that happen every November, and recently Fox began broadcasting the ACA Awards. CBS not only broadcasts the Academy of Country Music Awards, but has very intimate ties to the ACM.
Review Inaugural iHeartRadio Country Festival
A spokeswoman for Clear Channel said to The Post, “When we realized how crowded the country music calendar was this spring, we decided to give some space between the dates because, at the end of the day, we wanted to do what’s best for the artists.”
The issue shines a spotlight on just how crowded the country music landscape is becoming as nearly every major media outlet in America looks to cash in on the rising popularity of popular country music. This invariably will create even more conflict in the midst of a country media arms race.
April 4, 2014 @ 11:07 am
I’m not sure I understand why this is such a big conflict? Sure, they could have spaced out the two shows on TV a little better, but it’s not like the festival was set to air the same day as the ACMs. And it’s not like the festival was handing out any awards. And there’s also several artists who performed at the festival and will not be performing at the ACMs.
I bet NBC isn’t too happy they were forced to cancel the television airing. I wonder if they will air it at a later date?
April 4, 2014 @ 3:03 pm
2% to 4% changes in the viewership of these award shows year over year can mean life or death for their producers. They’re expected to increase their viewership every year, and if they don’t, it’s considered a failure. If they feel the iHeartRadio event airing the day before will effect their awards show even by the smallest of margins, they’re going to complain.
My guess is the festival will not air at a later time. But what might happen next year is they may schedule it better so that it happens at a time that won’t conflict with any other events. I thought Clear Channel was quite hasty in throwing this thing together like they did, though I think overall they see it as a success, aside from not getting their iHeartRadio brand in front of a national TV audience, which has to be a heartbreak for them.
April 4, 2014 @ 11:53 am
I’m glad they got that worked out since I have no interest in watching either show.
April 4, 2014 @ 12:05 pm
I guess a little bit of pop country really does go a long way, considering that people who actually claim to be fans of this garbage apparently could not be counted on to tune in two nights in a row to see their musical heroes perform on television
April 4, 2014 @ 12:19 pm
I feel both events are guilty of false advertising, there ain’t no fucking country music in either.
April 6, 2014 @ 4:09 pm
Trigger,
I think you’re just an angry little man, and you’re trying your damnedest to find something to nitpick about the iheartradio country fest since it wasn’t the dismal failure you wanted it to be.
I was there, it was jam packed, and was a monstrous success. You apparently don’t know the first thing about Austin, Texas.
April 6, 2014 @ 9:36 pm
And you deduced this all from me reposting some stuff from the New York Post?
I said from the very beginning I thought it would be a success, and I said in my review that from the perspective of the promoters, it probably was a success. I may be bitter, but I think you’re making me out to be much more bitter than I am.