New Albums Need to Remain a Focus Through COVID-19 Outbreak
Cancellations and shutdowns due to COVID-19 have decimated the music industry in the live context, putting careers on hold, side players and personnel out of work, threatened the future of venues, festivals, and promoters, with no clear of timeline of when everything will return to normalcy.
But amid all the chaos, it’s easy to overlook the other important aspect to the careers and revenue streams of musicians, which is the release of new albums. It might be live concerts where they make the most money in the streaming economy, but not if there aren’t any shows to play. The lack of live performances places an even greater importance on a new album release to help fortify or move forward the career of an important musician.
It’s hard enough to get the world to pay attention to your record when so many of them are being released every week. Now artists are having to compete with Coronavirus news for the world’s attention, along with the nightly parade of live streaming concerts many artists are offering to help supplement income due to touring losses.
An album release is the moment we often see the most sizable bump in name recognition and status for musicians. A marquee album release is really what helps put performers on the radar of fans so they can make sure to catch them the next time they tour through town. These releases also often coincide with live appearances, either on tour, at festivals, or on TV or at radio stations that are now not an option due to COVID-19.
Sony Legacy recently announced they’re postponing the release of the new Willie Nelson album First Rose of Spring from April 24th to July 3rd. Some other artists with late March or April releases have also pushed back their timelines. Though this might be smart for some artists and their strategies, if everyone starts moving their album releases to the summer and fall, it could result in overcrowded release days where individual artists find it difficult to find the critical attention for their project. Similar concerns have been raised with all the reschduling of tours and festivals to the fall.
“Obviously, [Coronavirus] is going to have an effect on releases, whether they come out in the next couple of months, or they get released in the fall,” David Macias of Thirty Tigers tells Saving Country Music. “As far as our acts go, we’ll let them make the call, and every situation is a little different. But in those discussions, certain patterns are becoming apparent. First of all, it’s going to be hard for all acts just to put their tours on hold and all tour in the fall (assuming that is even a thing by then). It will create a huge glut, and we’re already seeing that. I’ve spoken to managers and agents who are experiencing sixth and seventh holds for fall dates. The idea that you can just put on a sustaining tour in the fall may be a fallacy, especially if you’re not an established act that can guarantee a sell out.”
Ashley McBryde has a much-anticipated album coming out called Never Will on April 3rd. As an important woman in mainstream country with a single climbing the charts in “One Night Standards,” this release could be critical for the continued success of her career.
“I just received a text before I got on the line with you that so far we’re sticking with the April 3 release date, but most of our stuff all the way to mid April is going to be rescheduled,” McBryde told Taste of Country recently. “We had some really cool shows lined up in New York and L.A. and there was some TV stuff. I’m not sure if that’s still going to happen, but we’re just going to have to adjust in real time.”
An artists Saving Country Music has been touting over the last couple of years to break out is Jesse Daniel. His new record Rollin’ On is being released this upcoming Friday (March 27th).
“I believe that my purpose here on earth is to help people through music and I’ve put everything I have (literally and figuratively) into this,” Jesse Daniel said recently. “In this difficult time your support means more than ever … I think we all need music more than ever right now.”
After the first full week of the Coronavirus lock down, sales, downloads, and streams of music are not up like some predicted, they’re actually down significantly across the board according to Alpha Data. Streams dropped 7.6 percent, digital song sales dropped 10.7 percent, digital album sales dropped dropped 12.4 percent, and physical sales dropped a whopping 27.6 percent last week. Such weekly across-the-board drops are rarely ever seen during the year aside from the week after Christmas. Surprisingly, recorded music is becoming one of the casualties of the Coronavirus.
What is causing the sales and streaming slump? Obviously fans can’t get to their local record store to purchase titles, though some select stores are now offering delivery and curbside pickup that patrons should try to take advantage of if they can. Amazon has also now put delivering music and other media as a low priority as they work to facilitate the delivery of more essential supplies. And without many people commuting to work, there’s less time to stream your favorite music, while much of the at-home time is being spent consuming video media, including the wide array of artists streaming live sessions on social media and through ticketed online platforms.
Though these online streams are a great way to directly put revenue in the pockets of touring musicians stuck at home and are an important stop gap during the cessation of touring, music fans should also look at the bigger, more holistic picture, and make sure they’re not ignoring new releases or artists who don’t have the ability to do live streams. Album sales and streaming numbers are an important measure of how artists are being received that is utilized by the greater music industry. Even if and when you purchase physical albums from artists, streaming the album still ensures they rack up important metadata that may help them get into important playlists and garner more attention.
Meanwhile, pushing back album releases until an undetermined time in the future when the Coronavirus won’t be an issue seems tenuous at best, and could come with unintended consequences.
“Not that any act should do anything damaging to their career for this consideration, but I worry a lot about independent record retail if they don’t have albums to see through whatever means they are servicing their customers,” says David Macias. “If everyone pushes back [their releases], it will be one more contributing factor as to whether [record stores] survive or not. There’s no right or wrong answer to any of this, or if there is, it’s not apparent now. We’re just going to work with our acts and make the best choices on a one by one basis, but I don’t take it as an article of faith that pushing back releases is the best course of action for anyone.”
There are many ways fans are trying to step up to help their favorite performers in this time of crisis. But the album release cycle remains a critical component to the career success of a musician, and now more than ever, music fans should make sure to support their favorite artists and their favorite releases, and as always, continue to be open-minded about discovering something new in a time when artists without established fan bases may not be able garner a crowd online for a virtual concert.
– – – – – – – – – – –
Country & Roots Album Releases for March 27th:
David Alan Bell – Self-Titled EP – March 27th
Brian Fallon – Local Honey – March 27th
Jessi Alexander – Decatur County Red – March 27th
James Robert Webb – Self-Titled – March 27th
Jim Lauderdale – When Carolina Comes Home Again – March 27th
The Tender Things – How You Make a Fool – March 27th
Lukas Nelson – Naked Garden (alt. cuts) – March 27th
Lilly Hiatt – Walking Proof – March 27th
Sarah Peacock – Burn The Witch – March 27th
George St. Clair – Do You Feel Strange? – March 27th
Saints Eleven – This Town – March 27th
Rye Davis – Cut To Tape – March 27th
The Brother Band – Vol. 1 – March 27th
Laurie Lewis – and Laurie Lewis (duets album) – March 27th
The Comancheros – Too Old To Die Young Now – March 27th
March 23, 2020 @ 11:54 am
For me there just haven’t been many releases the first quarter of this year worth spending money on. I’ve bout the new ones from Brandy Clark and the Panhandlers, but otherwise the new music recently have been albums I’ve streamed once just to check out then had no interest in revisiting. It’s been a slow start to the year in terms of interesting releases.
March 23, 2020 @ 12:05 pm
It has been a slow start to 2020 when it comes to album releases. I think we’re paying for the fact that the last half of 2019 was so power packed, there was bound to be a deficiency somewhere. But there have been some important ones, and this upcoming Friday has some great options.
March 23, 2020 @ 3:06 pm
I would add Gabe Lee’s new album to the list. I personally think Farmland was more “my style”, but Honky Tonk Hell is exceptionally good.
March 24, 2020 @ 3:41 am
Yeah, I was gonna see him in Nashville on the 26th, but I ended up ordering both of his CDs from his website. I guess we’ll have to support them that way for the foreseeable future.
March 23, 2020 @ 11:54 am
Nice call out to Brian Fallon. His new album sounds intriguing to me. a huge departure from his other solo efforts and his time with the Gaslight Anthem. I don’t see him going full steam ahead country, but he’s rocking the Americana sound quite nicely. I hope the Gaslight Anthem didn’t break up. One of the only really good straight up rock bands left in America.
March 23, 2020 @ 2:20 pm
agree – i love Gaslight.. Brian’s solo stuff is good too but doesnt have the punch that TGA albums did
March 23, 2020 @ 4:44 pm
That’s a great way to put it, I loved the gaslight anthem but I haven’t been able to get into his solo stuff
March 23, 2020 @ 12:00 pm
Let’s try to get Ashley McBryde to number 1 on April 3. She is up against Sam hunt. Gonna be a tough challenge
March 23, 2020 @ 12:31 pm
I don’t get pushing Willie back. Does he need a PR tour to sell albums? Throw it out there and let his base gobble it up.
But, I totally get pushing developing artists back until the fall or next year. They need the PR and exposure. Good luck getting your singles played and with no tours or talk show circuit it’s useless to release a new album in this climate.
March 23, 2020 @ 1:39 pm
Yeah. I don’t think this pushing back releases is a good idea. God knows how long this lasts. Can’t push back indefinitely. The new Dirk Powell is a cracker. Also on Bandcamp Phoebe Hunt has released her new album ahead of schedule
March 23, 2020 @ 1:56 pm
More Stuff:
Grace Kelly – before. – EP – 03/26
Brett James – I Am Now – EP – 03/27
Kelsi Mayne – As I Go – Album – 03/27
Raven – The Red Iron Push – EP – 03/27
Suzie Candell – Restless – Album – 03/27
Scott Kurt – Long Road Home – EP – 03/27
Jessie Owen III – Born To The Dirt – EP – 03/27
Josh Gallagher – Turn Around Town – EP – 03/27
Dom Italiano – Songs 1-8 (52 In 2020) – Album – 03/27
The Remedy Club – True Hand True Heart – Album – 03/27
Thomm Jutz – To Live in Two Worlds Vol. 1 – Album – 03/27
The Tender Things – How You Make A Fool – Album – 03/27
Anthony Da Costa – Feet On The Dashboard – Album – 03/27
Kim Richey – A Long Way Back: The Songs of Glimmer – Album – 03/27
Anderson Elswick – Relic – Album/EP (?) – 03/27 – Single: “Broken Man”
In The Pipeline:
Sara Evans – Copy That – Album – Release Date 05/14
A cover album (“Come On Eileen”). The Old Crow Medicine Show is featured on “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry”. First released track is “If I Can’t Have You” (meh).
Gretchen Peters – The Night You Wrote That Song (The Songs Of Mickey Newbury) – Album – Release Date 05/14
So far released: “Why You Been Gone So Long” & “The Night You Wrote That Song”
March 28, 2020 @ 8:10 am
This is Anderson Elswick, thanks so much for putting my name out there!
March 23, 2020 @ 2:55 pm
“Surprisingly, recorded music is becoming one of the casualties of the Coronavirus.”
Seriously? How is it surprising? People are losing their jobs left and right due to the reaction and government shutdowns. We are looking at the potential of 20-30% unemployment. People thought music consumption would go up????? You’re in for a lot more surprises in the months to come, if that’s the case.
March 23, 2020 @ 3:17 pm
Actually, I’m a bit blown away by this. Totally understand that music is a discretionary expense. But with the effort over the last two weeks for people to purchase music from their favorite artists and bands to support them since they can’t tour, and with so many people who’ve already paid money for a streaming service and are not working and just hanging around the house doing projects, I didn’t expect these numbers to skyrocket or anything, but I didn’t expect them to go down.
March 23, 2020 @ 3:40 pm
There are other priorities here as Jake Cutter stated. Not only the disruptions in people’s incomes, but also the fact of purchasing additional food and supplies due to shortages and gouging. Fear will make people hold every penny close because there is no end in sight. Unfortunate but true. Purchases and streaming services and “luxuries” like that are expendable. Lots of people live paycheck to paycheck and this crisis just adds to the pressure.
March 23, 2020 @ 3:47 pm
Let Americans miss that 3rd or 4th paycheck.
CW II anyone?
You just have to love Pelosi & Schumer
March 24, 2020 @ 9:28 am
i knew the dems were behind this whole covid thing. thanks for confirming Di Harrisdiharris.
March 23, 2020 @ 4:32 pm
Clearly many people will have other priorities in this situation other than buying music, and this is not an effort to guilt them into supporting artists if they can’t even support themselves. Many people are hurting right now, and ultimately, being a musician is an elective occupation. But if you’re paying $12 for a monthly streaming subscription or even if you’re using an ad-supported service, you haven’t even had the opportunity for that subscription to lapse yet. People are just not listening to music right now, or they’re watching these nightly video feeds artists are doing, which is not accounted for in the traditional system. I am surprised by this.
March 23, 2020 @ 6:28 pm
Yeah I don’t have an answer even for myself who thoroughly enjoyed my streaming parties last night with Sunny & Kaitlin. I felt like I was comforted and commiserating with friends but I just haven’t been able to throw on even my current favorite heavy rotation albums Cody, Panhandlers, Moonpies etc….. even Gabe Lee this week. Kinda just not in the mood and the round the clock doom media coverage doesn’t help (and I limit myself watching it believe me) but I’m not canceling my Spotify and I’m still looking forward to Jesse Daniel and Ashley McBryde. You know me, I buy music and go see shows. I’m not passive, I will again! Maybe just not as much? Heck I got excited today when I found out Emily Scott Robinson will be here opening for American Aquarium on July 3? It’s a holiday weekend Friday there’ll probably be 3 other shows that night too but who knows anymore….lol It’s the little things sometimes.
March 23, 2020 @ 7:38 pm
Garth has 340k on for his Facebook live tonight at one point
March 23, 2020 @ 3:54 pm
Trigger?
March 23, 2020 @ 4:32 pm
Di Harris?
March 23, 2020 @ 4:42 pm
Trying valiantly to respect your wishes
March 23, 2020 @ 3:58 pm
“But with the effort over the last two weeks for people to purchase music”
What evidence do you have of that effort being anything actually substantial? The problem as I see it is that people haven’t even begun to understand or have completely underestimated the fallout of this. You’ve been very vocal about the direct hits the industry is taking, but honestly I’m a little caught off guard that you thought this unprecedented self-destruction of our economy would lead to an INCREASE in music sales.
March 23, 2020 @ 4:38 pm
“What evidence do you have of that effort being anything actually substantial?”
Well clearly there is no evidence. The evidence is that it has NOT been substantial. But you can’t sneeze without seeing the articles posted through all kinds of outlets—music and otherwise—imploring and explaining how you can support struggling musicians by purchasing music. Clearly, they were either preaching to a choir, or it had no effect. That’s one of the reasons I haven’t posted one of these type of articles. Independent music fans know how to support their favorite artists. They don’t need a tutorial. But they do need the cash to do it, which many don’t have.
This was not an article about how music sales and streams are down. That’s just one component of the greater concern about how artists that are set to release an album in this environment are going to be facing an uphill battle, and why postponing those releases may not be the best course of action.
March 23, 2020 @ 4:20 pm
Trig, your site is a regular, daily read for me nowadays, but somehow I completely glossed over the Jesse Daniel album announcement from a few weeks back. I had never heard of him, but I generally give a try to each of the artists you spotlight and just missed this. Then, lo and behold, YouTube starts filling my feed with Jesse Daniel’s stuff this weekend and now I can’t get enough of the guy.
I can’t fathom why streaming numbers would *decrease* during quarantine – maybe being forced home precludes the normal time you’d spend at the office or on a commute with your earbuds popped in and we are all interacting with each other again – but after giving the guys (and gals) you highlight a listen, you almost always have someone new to drop in my rotation on at least a weekly basis. And on the occasions when I miss that, it seems YouTube’s algorithm is finely tuned to my interests at this point.
I hope, even without live shows, people don’t abandon music. Thanks for giving me new reasons to listen to new music so often.
March 23, 2020 @ 4:22 pm
All weekend on the Outlaw station on Sirius they reran old programming. No new music was played. I know Mojo and Elizabeth Cook were original programming throughout last week. But programming in general is being disturbed or recycled.
The sports talk shows at night have been replaying old NCAA basketball ball games at night.
Besides not having regular channels or vehicles for new music right now, I’m not sure people have an appetite for new music. In times like these, I feel people want what’s familiar and comforting. The boys on the Opry the other night played comfort food. Well worn songs with memories and emotional attachment are need right now.
In addition, I often remember where and what I was doing when I heard new music. I don’t want a new Willie Nelson album forever attached to a virus and toilet paper outages.
March 23, 2020 @ 4:50 pm
Agree.
But when Trigger brings us a Beautiful voice like Coutney Marie, i will remember her as being uplifting during this time
March 23, 2020 @ 4:41 pm
A lot of people have kids and are trying to work and do the schoolwork with their kids at the same time. Also, many parents only have one or two devices and their kids are on them all day doing schoolwork or just pissing around. I haven’t had a second to myself in ten days.
March 23, 2020 @ 5:41 pm
Yep.
March 23, 2020 @ 5:09 pm
FYI – Charley Crockett, always hustlin’, put out a surprise album yesterday called “Field Recordings Vol.1”.
Thirty lo-fi covers and versions. Download direct from his website for $10. Pretty sure he gets 100% of the proceeds.
It was an instant buy for me and, thankfully since I’m still gainfully employed, I’ll gladly continue to support artists like this.
March 24, 2020 @ 4:40 am
Thanks I had not seen this. Just downloaded and it’s great.
March 24, 2020 @ 7:09 am
James Steinle also put one out three days ago on Bandcamp.
March 23, 2020 @ 6:26 pm
Not meaning to make a blasphemous comment, but some times we can overstate people’s perception of the value of music. I do expect that from those in the industry, and of course I cannot blame them. Most people have a sense of overvaluation in their respective fields, including me. It is typical human behavior, and I for one am typical.
It is not just discretionary income, it is discretionary priorities. And it “appears” many people’s priorities for help, assurance, and answers are not coming from the music industry. At least not primarily when compared to other things.
I love music. I play music. It’s important to me. But after all, it is music. It is not milk and bread. It’s not a safe home and healthy children.
Don’t misunderstand. I am not saying I feel this way. It just may be that the aforementioned assertion may apply to others.
March 24, 2020 @ 11:04 am
well here in Italy i am in quarantine since the beginning of march and my streaming has doubled. I keep on torturing my whole family with country music, but somehow i can understand people who don´t feel like jamming to a record. I can´t survive without music and appreciate Trigger´s work even more in this time
March 24, 2020 @ 11:07 am
Daniele,
Keep torturing your family. It’s good medicine.
March 24, 2020 @ 12:16 pm
Saw on the Mike And The Moonpies site they booked a second show here in Illinois. Our actual Chicago Country Dive bar Carol’s on June 26. So hopefully possibly we’ll have back to back Moonpie shows here. If you’re bored like I am, here’s a great podcast interview I found to stream with Mike and producer/manager Adam Oder that was obviously from pre Coronavirus February 28.
https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/dancablepresents8530/episodes/2020-02-28T13_55_39-08_00
March 26, 2020 @ 10:17 am
Did you see they are playing in Pekin on July 25? Outside all day thing, not familiar with the other acts, promotor is billing it as “A full day of Americana and country music”. Will finally get to see them.
March 24, 2020 @ 6:42 pm
Ok Trigger, I love the site and all, but this perspective is just skewed. I’m a hell of a lot more concerned with say, Nurses, Doctors, Grocery Store Clerks, Teachers, Cab Drivers, etc.right now. Country music artists are pretty much at the back end of my list of working classes folks to be looking out for right now.
I cancelled $100 bucks worth of preordered LP’s and gave it to my College’s foodbank because those kids were missing meals BEFORE they got laid off last week. Country can at least shift to a paid live stream format to replace some concert revenues with minimal technological acumen and they can still sell music digitally. Love your work man, but anyone pushing aw albums like this right now is full of shit.
It’s been one journalistic trainwreck after another since that straight up negligent response to the cancellation of SXSW piece. While I know no one cares what I do, but I’m probably not the only one ready to walk away from this site and not come back.
Country’s proven resilient as hell. In the last 100 years a depression, 5 major US wars, Richard Goddam Nixon, digital distribution, and Garth F’in Brooks couldn’t kill it. We might need a “savingsavingcountrymusic” movement though.
March 24, 2020 @ 7:22 pm
What a bad comment.
This article is not about compelling people to spend money on music instead of other places. Saving Country Music is one of the very few outlets that has NOT posted pleas or instructions on how to support artists through this difficult time. The reason is I have a very firm grasp on the fact that music is an elective occupation, and there are much more important things to be trying to support right now. But if do so is engaging in this “journalistic trainwreck” as you say, then you need to speak out against NPR, Billboard, The New York Times, No Depression, Rolling Stone, and scores and scores of other media outlets that are directly engaging in promoting donations to musicians and others in the music industry. The idea that I stepped out on some sort of limb here is ludicrous.
What this article is about is how IF you choose to spend money on music, prioritize the new album releases of your favorite artists so they don’t get buried in the news cycle. It’s also a forward-thinking warning that if everyone postpones their releases (and tours) until the fall, it’s going to end up glutting the marketplace and being worse for everyone. Then, I backed this up with statements from artists themselves, as well as from a label owner responsible for 50 to 60 releases a year.
Nobody said country music was going to be “killed.” I simply made the important point that through this difficult time, the industry and fans should train their limited resources on new albums to make sure they don’t go forgotten.
March 25, 2020 @ 7:39 am
What is the point of your threat to walk away exactly?
March 25, 2020 @ 7:52 am
I know I’m of no marginal consequence, but if there’s one person with this opinion, namely me, the conditional probability of there being more offput readers spikes. It’s either nothing or the canary in the coal mine
Trying to build a cohesive community with a shared vision is hampered by a lack of respect and inclusion. I suspect, for example, the Doctor the community was collectively dumping on in the SXSW threads isn’t all that excited about the site at present.
90% of the value of SCM to me is the spotify lists. The remaining 10% has close substitutes with WhiskeyRiff, YouTube, Facebook, etc.
Trig’s house. Trig’s rules. But I don’t have to live here anymore and everyone else here is in the same boat. The internet’s littered with belly-up alt-country blogs, many of whom were legitimately good. I don’t want to see SCM on the pile, but the last few weeks aren’t doing the site any favors.
March 25, 2020 @ 8:10 am
You didn’t answer the question. What is your intention in posting a shallow threat to stop reading? Why not just do it? For example, are you trying to force the author to change, to being more inline with your vision of the site? Just want to be heard? What is it?
March 25, 2020 @ 5:10 am
Gotcha, this “now more than ever, music fans should make sure to support their favorite artists and their favorite releases” or “Also, only 3.4 percent of the people who contract the Conronavirus die from the disease” kind of talk doesn’t really do much to counter my claim.
Those are pretty imperative declarations of how to prioritize our time and resources. It’s straitup editorializing in what are ostensibly news pieces. I’m seeing the journalistic tendencies of Fox or MsNBC the last few weeks.
Thanks for a good run, I’m out.
March 25, 2020 @ 11:31 am
“It’s straitup editorializing in what are ostensibly news pieces.”
This was not a new piece at all. Each article is categorized, and that information can be found right under the title. News is categorized as “News.” Reviews are categorized under “Reviews.” This was categorized under “Random Notes,” which is the heading for think pieces, and opinion pieces. Hard information was also included in this article, but it was done to back up the opinions. It is my opinion that in this current environment, it is imperative that we take the limited resources still afforded to the music community to support the new album releases from important artists lest they go ignored and their careers severely affected by this. I then backed up those opinions by the words of artists, and a label owner who releases the majority of albums in the country/roots/Americana realm, Dave Macias at Thirty Tigers. Additional, John Strom, who is the President of Rounder Records, which is the company that released the 2nd largest amount of music in the country/roots/Americana realm retweeted it.
You don’t want to read Saving Country Music anymore? Well that breaks my little heart. But you hate read this article, and when you couldn’t find anything to complain about, you made something up, including pulling a quote from an article that isn’t even relevant to the current topic. I never said anything about supporting music over more critical occupations. On numerous times, I’ve said we can’t allow that to happen.
I appreciate and respect everyone’s opinions. That’s why I host a forum for them, and specifically lobby for folks to speak up if they disagree with me. But if you’re going to grossly mischaracterize my opinions, I’m not sure I want you reading, or commenting.
March 26, 2020 @ 10:23 am
Bye…
March 25, 2020 @ 2:56 pm
Your whole take on everything coronavirus related has been way off. First you call the SXSW cancellations as hysterical, you question Zac Brown’s finances, and now this? I understand the desire to examine how the virus affects a particular industry — that’s what everyone’s been doing. But these opinions feel undercooked, which is why people are responding negatively.
March 25, 2020 @ 4:25 pm
“and now this?”
What is the “this” you’re referring to?
Only a few people seem to be responding negatively, and it seems to be tied to previous articles as opposed to this one, just like your comment.
March 26, 2020 @ 9:14 am
Trigger,
Stay encouraged. A forum exists for many reasons, one of which it to provide a platform for differing opinions. I have certainly taken exception at times to posts; however I was allowed to state such exceptions. Why someone decides to leave a site because they do not agree with some parts of original posts is a wonder to me.