The 2025 Saving Country Music State of the Union Address

Welcome, please be seated.
Let’s start this off by saying something that I don’t say enough, which is how much I appreciate each and every one of you who stops by Saving Country music on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. It is you who’ve allowed me to do something that I love, and it’s your presence that has allowed this website to wield positive influence upon country music, however grand or small. We’ve all turned each other onto some of the most meaningful music of our lives, while also hopefully shining a collective spotlight onto important music to help support it and have it be there for future generations to enjoy as well.
Despite the rather large distractions of pop and hip-hop stars like Post Malone and Beyoncé releasing projects pushed to the country market in 2024—and the ever-present drag of radio-oriented pop country tunes—the genre continues to improve in the aftermath of the Bro-Country country era. This includes the mainstream overall, along with the independent side of country music that continues to gain market share, and support artists all the way up to the arena level.
The health of country music is strong, though there is still much to do, with artists worthy of greater recognition still being left behind, women still not receiving their fair share of attention, and the ever-present concern of country music backsliding towards the next potentially dubious era when the bean counters on Music Row attempt to recapture control of the genre from the artists and their fans.
One of the greatest challenges we face moving forward is how to meet the rising volume of songs and albums that make it increasingly difficult find what might most appeal to you. Where a website like Saving Country Music might seem woefully obsolete in the age of streaming to some, even Spotify’s recommendations regularly overlook up-and-coming artists, and have become increasingly anti-democratic in how songs get playlisted and pushed to listeners, making musical Sherpas even more useful than before, at least in certain cases.
It’s not just the amount of artists and albums, it’s the amount of music overall that is increasing on a yearly basis. 20 and 30-song albums are now common, if not the norm, as is a single artist releasing two or three EPS a year, or a full-length album and an EP, along with random singles. This in itself makes for an awesome responsibility simply trying to keep up with everything and present it to the public in some sort of organized fashion, let alone offering thoughtful and valuable review material and curation.
Saving Country Music published 122 individual album reviews for 2024 albums. That doesn’t include song reviews, song features via the Top 25 Current Playlist, and scores of live reviews from festivals and local shows. The sheer volume of reviews is enough to overwhelm even advanced listeners. Add on top of this the release radar posts published three times a year and updated in real time that at least mention most all relevant albums, and you have an insane amount of opportunities to find your next favorite song, album, or artist.
Ironically though, what continues to be the most common and fruitful vector of attack against Saving Country Music is how so and so’s record didn’t get reviewed or featured, and how this is assumed to be a purposeful slight or outright rebuke of the title or artist as opposed to people understanding the impossibility of featuring every single album in review form when upwards of 30 albums can be released to the country and roots market every single week. Exacerbating the issue is how some believe it’s the media’s obligation to affirm their already-established opinions on music as opposed to challenging them and presenting them something new, which is Saving Country Music’s focus.
Certain artists, fans, and members of the industry have completely sworn off Saving Country Music simply because someone’s record didn’t see a review. On a personal level, this also plays against my workaholic nature, and my personal passion to attempt to elevate independent music in album review form. So even though I know it is difficult to impossible to feature everything, I nonetheless attempt to do so in a way that sometimes can be counterproductive and detrimental to other important music coverage, along with taxing on my personal life.
Some still believe that the singular role of Saving Country Music is to post in-depth album reviews as opposed to also broaching critical subjects on the way country music is discussed in the media and Academia, perceived in the public, and managed from an industry standpoint. All of these things are critical issues to the effort to save country music, including, if not especially issues such as Beyoncé and her supposed country album.
Though album reviews always have been and always will be a cornerstone of Saving Country Music coverage, sometimes other subject matter takes greater precedent, even if it’s something you don’t particularly enjoy reading. This isn’t just a music recommendation website. It was a website founded to save country music, with one of its many functions being music recommendation and review.
The continued challenges presented by the volume of music releases was not the only adversity Saving Country Music faced in 2024. After publishing a critical, but comparatively anodyne article about Morgan Wallen and the challenges country music faced through his stardom, the site experienced a malicious DDoS attack of the size and scope certain internet security professionals said they had never seen brought to bear on a website of this size, making it unreachable for the longest period in the site’s history.
Though this was eventually resolved, gross mismanagement by Saving Country Music’s hosting service and an outside development company meant people still had trouble connecting to the website, and eventually resulted in the website being hacked and taken offline multiple times in August. And while these hacks were actually minor in scope and could have been resolved in minutes, they took hours because of the hosting company dragging its feet. Even worse, once the hacks were resolved, someone had told Google to stop cataloging the website, resulting in a crash of traffic by some 60%.
To add insult to injury, during this time, the same hosting company said they no longer wanted to work with Saving Country Music. So along with having to deal with a litany of daisy chaining technical issues, I had to find a new home for the website. As a result, I probably would never recommend anyone do business with Pair Networks out of Pittsburgh.
The good news is that the new hosting company, rocket.net, has been absolutely incredible. And no, this is not a paid endorsement. As soon as the site was moved, virtually all the technical issues went away or were resolved, the site started loading faster than it ever has, and they continue to be incredible partners for making sure the website is accessible and healthy. The ultimate stress test is the annual live blog during the CMA Awards when many thousands of people try to access the website at the same time. Rocket.net passed with flying colors.
One problem, however, is both the DDoS attack, the hacks, the extended loss of Google traffic, as well as a slight increase in monthly hosting fees, and a slight decrease in ad revenue across the online publishing industry means that despite still receiving strong traffic—especially for a web property with only one primary contributor—Saving Country Music is facing financial headwinds. This is also facilitated by the fact that the site has one of the lightest ad sets you will ever see on the internet, including no video streams for core readers, no paywall, and no ads within the reading space.
For Saving Country Music to be effective, it’s imperative that it remains free, open, and inviting to everyone. So paywalls or subscription schemes even for certain bits of content are a non-starter. The site has always been more of a financial burden than an asset. But to close the budget gap, and ensure a sustainable and long future, ads might start appearing in the middle of longer articles, and/or a tip jar might be employed, along with general belt tightening here at SCM headquarters.
Please feel free to share your opinion as a reader as to what you think might be the least intrusive option, and the one you’re most likely to interface with. And yes, short-run merch sales might finally happen to also support the site.
Yet another emerging challenge is the onset of AI. Though the fear of outright replacement by AI models still seems to be a concern that is years away—and is more deleterious in the realm of image generation and artificial song creation—AI is nonetheless encroaching in more subtle and slowly painful ways. Along with a few isolated incidents of people using chat GPT to reconstitute original articles published here, Google AI now presents search results right on the search page as opposed to facilitating people visiting the website itself to find the information they’re seeking, resulting in further loss of revenue.
To be frank, all of these adversities made it appear that attempting to keep Saving Country Music going into 2025 as a full-time pursuit seemed foolish. Saving Country Music will never go away, but devoting 72 hours a week to it as is presently called for did not feel smart. Yet after the technical revival thanks to rocket.net, and some surprising strength in the latter half of 2024 and early 2025, there seems to be no reason to not keep this thing going into the foreseeable future.
That said, things must continue to evolve so that Saving Country Music as both a website and an organization can both sustain into the future, and hopefully continue to influence the musical marketplace in a positive manner moving forward. This might mean focusing a little less on making sure an article or two is posted every single day (Saturdays have been optional for a while), and worrying less about posting about every little news item, and focusing more on big important subjects.
Similarly, as things continue to move towards video formats and social media, so must Saving Country Music. Some of SCM’s pursuits and objectives happen behind-the-scenes in ways that don’t always result in “content,” but that are critically important for moving the music forward, an advocating for artists. As time goes on, bigger projects and opportunities might be pursued, or perhaps must be, to keep the positive momentum going.
In many respects, it’s not if AI will ultimately make many of our jobs obsolete—especially in music—but when, and how. The bigger question is what we can do now to help shape that future in a way that is equitable to creators, and can afford even more freedom to musicians who express things the rest of us struggle to as opposed to sidelining them for inferior technological replacements.
Time and technology are not going to wait around on any of us. They are going to trundle forward boldly and sometimes foolishly. But as technology continues to encroach on our everyday lives, the pull of things that are rootsy and real like country music will only become more appealing as a respite and retreat from digital immersion and incursion. How to continue to leverage technology for the betterment of country music as opposed to bellyaching about how things once were is the exciting challenge we all must tackle.
As always, thanks for reading.
–Kyle “Trigger” Coroneos
January 22, 2025 @ 8:23 am
Ads mid-article, tip jar, merch sales – I’ll personally support any/all options you choose.
Thanks for the years of awesome and here’s to many more.
January 22, 2025 @ 8:34 am
I will just say I had this reaction to your open and free internet article though I didn’t comment then, good work should be rewarded and quality products must cost money. I obviously love that I can read this site for free it’s not like I want to spend more money. But I do not find it offensive the idea that you would charge money for the work you do that is labor intensive and valuable. You need to make money the same as anyone else and you deserve to be paid for what is great work. If there were some paywalls for some stuff I would support that.
January 22, 2025 @ 8:37 am
“To add insult to injury, during this time, the same hosting company said they no longer wanted to work with Saving Country Music”
I hate to say it but not surprised with the perceived political slant some of your articles take. Despite the fact some of your more debated articles are written with poise and made as un-biased as possible, it’s well known that corporations who don’t agree with a person’s views won’t do business with you or even go as far as to not provide the same level of service they provide others. This might not be more than just a conspiracy theory but it makes me wonder. Especially with what you see in the news the last few years.
January 22, 2025 @ 8:49 am
The issue with the previous hosting company has absolutely positively nothing to do with any perceived political slant, and has everything to do with the unique challenges a website like Saving Country Music presents. As I tell people, this is a web 1.0 property that has somehow survived into the web 2.5 world. This is a very small website operated primarily by one person, that at times gets INSANE amounts of traffic, creating technical challenges the previous hosting company was incapable of solving. For years I kept hoping they could grow with the website. But they weren’t only incapable of doing so, they didn’t seem to care to. There were a lot of great people at that company who helped me over the years. But the management simply saw Saving Country Music as more of a liability than an asset, and ultimately, my loyalty to them was not reciprocated.
I also cheesed them off a few times when they screwed up, and the claws came out.
January 22, 2025 @ 8:45 am
Thanks for all you do to keep our ear worms well fed. I’ve gained so much knowledge about music history and music’s impact on our lives from your site. I don’t mind ads, and I don’t mind buying merch (shirts, stickers, etc) to support your page.
January 22, 2025 @ 9:01 am
Put more ads in the articles they are not waited down in my opinion. Sell SCM merch. I would rock some of that on stage.
As far as competing with AI, I believe the solution is that you should start a well produced video podcast. Interviewing artists in studio and remotely. This could help build the brand and tell the story from the artist perspective and give you content that you can license and generate revenue. You already have the connection and the clout. If you need help on the technical, send me a DM.
I never realized you went through a DDOS attack. I had the same thing on one of my websites a couple years ago. It’s a freaking nightmare. I went through 30 different. Webb hosting companies and eventually settled with Wix.
SCM is one of the few publications that I don’t wanna see fail and if that means I have to watch some ads or buy a couple of shirts, so be it.
January 22, 2025 @ 9:17 am
I enjoy your site very much! The work you’re doing makes it possible for me to find artists, because you’re right when you say that Spotify and other streaming sites don’t vary who they recommend to you. Because of you, I found Madeline Edwards and Emily Scott Robinson, and many others. I’m a published author and the market is flooded with books much like the music industry. So I understand how hard it is to get to everyone and that it’s sometimes not possible. You are fighting the fight, and I appreciate it! (Also, AI is scary and I hope we figure out how to stop it!) I would buy merchandise from your site, as well! Love your site and your content!
January 22, 2025 @ 9:43 am
I’d support financially in any and all methods you provide. Thank you for the massive amount of perspective and value you have provided to my life. I agree with Lance that a video podcast would be incredible – I know you generally don’t interview artists as a matter of journalistic principle, but think it could be a great route that would draw in more readers and viewers while still creating a net positive in the music community.
can’t wait for the album review of jeremy pinnell’s 2021 masterpiece “goodbye LA”, which rips.
January 22, 2025 @ 10:49 am
An interview podcast is not likely to happen, just because often to get access to artists, you have to give them something in return, and I don’t play that game. My stock-in-trade is honesty, and so it’s important I keep most artists at arm’s length.
That said, I do expect to do more with video, especially when it comes to investigations, historical retrospectives, and addressing the big issues of the day.
January 22, 2025 @ 9:53 am
OMFS said thanks for the years of awesome. I second that emotion. I hit this site daily, sometimes multiple daily hits. I’ve expressed my gratitude for your hard work on numerous occasions – the wide range of coverage, obituaries, live events and festivals and attempting to review as many albums as humanly possible. As other posters have mentioned, the possibility of ads and merch to help support SCM would in no way be a dealbreaker to most of us in return for keeping this page rolling. Good luck navigating these trying times and dealing with the technological pitfalls. Love ya, brother, for all you do and the pleasure and knowledge you’ve given me over the years.
January 22, 2025 @ 10:01 am
Ages ago, while enduring one of the darkest times in my life, a song literally saved my life by stopping me from making the ultimatebad decision. Sometime after, I had the privilege to meet the artist and share my story with them, and a wonderful friendship blossomed that has lasted over a decade. Trig? I never would’ve known that artist existed were it not for this site and the work you do here.
Not only do you do the leg work to find and promote the best artists in Country Music, but you post exhaustively-researched, well-thought articles on critical topics related to the industry. You scour the web looking for these artists, traveling tirelessly to see them perform. You then document their shows and professional growth, and share those experiences with us. Whether battling the elements, crowds, and (occasionally) overzealous security at festivals and concerts, you allow us to live vicariously through your labor of love.
Let us support you. Let us give back. It’s blatantly obvious you don’t do this for the money, and that the idea of charging for access to this site raises your hackles. Maybe start with a tip jar. Use some of that to roll merch out (I’d PROUDLY wear an SCM shirt/hoodie!). I feel certain your scruples would prevent you charging for ad space for the artists you’re trying to promote, but maybe there are industry partners you could advertise (instrument makers, A/V companies, and such…)? Just throwing shit at the wall to see what sticks, I suppose.
Regardless which path you choose, what you do and what this site has become is needed more than ever!
January 22, 2025 @ 10:13 am
I think you under estimate the amount of people who would throw some money at this website. I certainly would as its been a great resource for new artists and music. Not only by you but from the people who comment.
Only thing I would add would be finding a way to allow readers the option to block commenters that continually add nothing to the conversations.
Let us know where to send money…
January 22, 2025 @ 10:45 am
Oh man, I’m sorry, but not surprised, to read about your travails. You’ve worked too long and too hard on this quixotic mission to let this go to zero. One way forward might be to sell part or all of your site. I know a few sympatico and interested people. Perhaps you could get enough money to adjust your business model and maybe bring in some other contributors- get some help.
What do you mean by INSANE amounts of traffic? How many readers do you have? Do you have any employees, or is this just you? There are, of course, a lot of questions, but there might be a good solution to this crazy treadmill you seem to be on. I’ll be happy to help (anonymously) if there is any way I can.
January 22, 2025 @ 11:03 am
The site is not for sale, in part or in whole.
January 22, 2025 @ 10:59 am
You do a great service to fans and artists with this site. I enjoy this site as a fan and an artist. I can’t thank you enough for the exposure you have given my music that would otherwise be buried in the heap of music released daily. I hope you keep forging ahead and find a way to make this work financially. All of us independent artists feel your pain, but appreciate what you do more than you know!
January 22, 2025 @ 11:01 am
I’m very grateful for this site- the music I’ve discovered through it has really enriched my life. I’d definitely buy some merch. Maybe a Patreon page with different tiers of monthly fees could be an option- I’ve actually had that thought before when reading about your road trips to festivals and wondering how you could afford it.
January 22, 2025 @ 1:56 pm
For the record, the reason I can afford to travel is because I don’t fly and I don’t stay in hotels. Instead I drive a van-style motorhome to festivals and expense/per diem the miles. Otherwise I couldn’t do it. I am probably going to scale back travel in 2025. But I also think it’s very important to be out in the field to cover country music properly. A big problem with so much country music journalism these days folks don’t spend enough time out in the wild seeing what resonates, who the fans are, and what’s going on in music.
January 22, 2025 @ 11:21 am
Maybe doing a weekly syndicated radio show highlighting new releases and artists could help draw some ad revenue. I play a few syndicated shows that include their own sponsors inside the show.
January 22, 2025 @ 11:42 am
I would buy merch/pay a subscription. Subscriptions are where things seem to be headed.
One idea for a subscription that doesn’t put content behind a paywall would be a discussion board, basically peer to peer music discussion between your readers. Donate $25/yr and get access to the discussion board, donate $40 and a sticker is included, donate $75 and get a t-shirt, donations of $100 or more will get a mention in the yearly appreciation article.
January 22, 2025 @ 11:42 am
I think some merchandise should be first step. Sell some shirts and hoodies. Wouldn’t be bothered by a few more adds either. Crazy idea, maybe you could put on a big show, or small festival or something. IDK.. But I love the site and the work you do.
January 22, 2025 @ 11:49 am
It is a great site and it has introduced me to some great music, I would never have heard or paid attention to. I note Wikipedia in order to remain free invite an annual donation and welcome a monthly contribution. I take the view that it is well deserved and I would feel the same about savingcountry.com. If everybody contributes a little (few are going to miss a few dollars), it would add up and put the site in a better position. Keep up the good work.
January 22, 2025 @ 11:54 am
Put up a tip jar. Your time is worth money.
January 22, 2025 @ 12:02 pm
Hey Trigger,
Thanks for all the good work.
I would really support a tip jar. And by support i mean I would actually put money in it. I feel bad because i run an ad blocker so i know i’m not paying for content that is definitely worth it.
Possibly even through patreon?
Also, please don’t switch to video. I can’t stand it. I come here because it is traditional magazine style articles.
Thanks for everything
January 22, 2025 @ 8:12 pm
I like reading too! No time to watch video.
January 22, 2025 @ 9:35 pm
Definitely not going to switch to video, or video only. I work much better with a backspace, and video is very labor intensive. However, some articles I can make audio recordings of, and then put to produced videos. I’ve done a little of this in the past to very mixed results. But with better production behind them, this might be a way to reach more people who would rather watch or listen that read.
Another good way to reach people is simply to post small videos of live performances on social media. It’s a great way to spread the word about artists. This is what SCM’s Instagram feed is primarily for.
January 22, 2025 @ 12:28 pm
Ads + ad-free subscription option is a good model, although managing forms of payment might not be what you want to get into. But I’d pony up $50/year for your content without a second thought.
January 22, 2025 @ 12:31 pm
Thanks for what you do and keep up the good work, Trig. I would fully support your monetizing ideas, especially the tip jar and merch. I’ve moved almost all of my social media consumption to X in the last year or two and so I would fully support your move in that direction as well.
January 22, 2025 @ 12:54 pm
I would definitely put money in a tip jar, probably buy some merch. I’m good at scrolling past ads so if that’s what it takes, I’m good with it.
I echo the comment about video content. I am a reader. Period. I don’t listen to podcasts or watch videos. But as long as there are articles, I’ll continue to read.
January 22, 2025 @ 1:08 pm
Start a tip jar and sell some merch.
SCM deserves it.
January 22, 2025 @ 1:29 pm
Tip jar.
January 22, 2025 @ 3:02 pm
By reading SCM, you have added such an incredible depth to my music collecting, mostly from opening my ears to new unknown artists I would have had no other avenue of learning about. I am so grateful for your work and this website! I would love to wear some SCM merchandise and help to support your wonderful passion!
January 22, 2025 @ 3:30 pm
Hello Trigger! Have a question not sure you’ve answered before – if there’s a link to a past post about this, hope someone will share.
I’m planning my first trip to Nashville in the Spring – any tips on restaurants/museums/clubs that are a must hit? Anything I should definitely avoid (I know enough to avoid bars named after current performers).
I hope this comment isn’t ambushing your post – but I looked for a SCM Discord and couldn’t find one. Feel free to delete if necessary.
January 22, 2025 @ 6:22 pm
Three places I would strongly recommend are:
– Robert’s Western World on Broadway for traditional Country Music and the Recession Special lunch
– the Station Inn for great bluegrass (a fun jam session on Sunday nights)
-Monday nights, the Time Jumpers at 3rd and Lindley, with some excellent sessions musicians playing Country and Western Swing led by the vocal stylings of the great Wendy Moten!
January 22, 2025 @ 8:08 pm
Those are good ones. In general, I’d say the earlier in the day the better on Broadway. Even the “celebrity bars” have some good talent sprinkled in. I saw an act at Chief’s that I had seen at the Ameripolitan Awards and a couple of others who have played Americanafest.
January 24, 2025 @ 11:03 pm
Echo the Station Inn.
January 22, 2025 @ 6:54 pm
After many trips to Nashville here’s my thoughts:
Do: Mas Tacos Por Favor (East Nash) for lunch, Five Points Pizza for dinner, Dino’s for late night smash burger, Lower Broadway as long as you get out by 9 pm (Robert’s Western World is a must, Legends, maybe ACME, Printer’s Alley), for ticketed shows Basement East or Third and Lindsley or The Listening Room, tour The Ryman. Ask your Uber driver where the locals go.
Don’t: Lower Broad after 9 pm, any bar with a pop country star’s name on it (Eric Church’s and Miranda’s places are OK if you need to say you hit a couple), Bluebird Cafe (tourist trap), pedal bars, buy one get one free boot stores, The Gulch.
January 22, 2025 @ 11:31 pm
Avoid Nashville and Austin.
It’s not what you think it is.
January 22, 2025 @ 3:42 pm
Tip jar, Merch (for sure), more ads/mid ads and patreon (with ad free articles, not paywalled articles, and maybe a discord) would all make sense to me. I personally prefer reading your articles more than I care for video or audio formats but I’m sure others would love more video/podcast material.
January 22, 2025 @ 3:50 pm
I stood up and cheered at the end of each paragraph.
Then the people at Wendy’s asked me to leave.
(For the record, I’d wear the heck out of a Saving Country Music hat.)
January 23, 2025 @ 7:54 am
Love your humorous way to share the sentiment that is common to the other posts here.
January 22, 2025 @ 3:53 pm
Man I would Love to add a SCM T-shirt to my rotationof favorites!!
January 22, 2025 @ 6:00 pm
Trig, I think we can all live with a couple less articles a week so you can actually have a life and get some sleep. Tip jar, merch, more ads…whatever it takes to keep this ship afloat do it. I will absolutely contribute. Folks are talking about Patreon, I’m not entirely certain what that is but if it has anything to do with Facebook please don’t, I’m not on any social media and I want to contribute. I also don’t use Venmo so however this tip jar would work please provide options like PayPal and credit cards.
January 22, 2025 @ 6:12 pm
I’d be happy to see an ad after every paragraph, knowing that you were getting adequately rewarded for your hard work.
January 23, 2025 @ 1:49 am
No, that’s a bit too much, I think…
January 22, 2025 @ 11:31 pm
Just a peanut in the gallery here…..
It’s almost as if you’re your own worst enemy on this endeavour. So many people that read this, as demonstrated by comments above, would love to contribute in multiple different ways to see your ideas and mission expanded and fulfilled. Most good ideas don’t make it to great ideas because of lack of strong leadership and lack of focus, great ideas become great because more than one person is on board with the mission. Noone with sense could deny you focus, determination, perserverence, and while it’s harder to demonstrate in a one man show I highly doubt you’d be far from a strong leader. You portray fear that your pureness of heart endeavour will turn into something corrupt if you accept an iota of help. Stop being fearful. Make a plan to take this shit to the top and cherry pick you a team of people on the same page with the same passion to take it there. Sorry if I didn’t hit the right note on this one. It is just an opinion.
January 23, 2025 @ 10:13 am
Hey Tedge,
I appreciate the comment.
Over the years, people have said I should seek outside investors, hire employees, start a record label or music festival, etc. The truth is if I had done any of these things, the likelihood Saving Country Music would still be around are slim to none. 90% of the media websites founded around the same time this one was are now extinct, or so downsized they might as well be. Believe it or not, keeping it a one-man operation is what has allowed it to survive because I don’t have to feed anyone but myself.
And by the way, I don’t want to act like I’m going broke or anything. That’s not the case at all. But if we want to keep this website around into the future, I am going to have to swallow some pride, and open up new revenue sources. Hopefully, this will have minimal if any effect on the reader experience, and not take away from the mission whatsoever.
January 22, 2025 @ 11:44 pm
Wet t-shirt contests to raise some bucks?
Me and the other guys here will do our duty, leave our ego on the floor and bring our own t-shirts.
January 23, 2025 @ 1:02 am
I’ll keep checking back about the merch. I’m more of a lurker than a commenter but I like that interviews, guest interviews, reviews, and features are long-form. Not the same ol’ softball questions like “Where did you start playing?”
January 23, 2025 @ 4:56 am
This website is actually one of the few for which I would pay a subscription fee, especially if it meant there would not be an increase in ads. Some websites are so ad heavy that I give up reading the content that brought me there.
January 23, 2025 @ 8:19 am
The comments above demonstrate the respect and appreciation that is more wide spread and deeper than probably you or any of us realize. Your integrity is highly valued. I don’t know how a tip jar would work, but I would want it to be safe and go directly to you. Whatever you do needs to be the least labour intensive for you as possible. I think SCM merchandise allows all of us to promote and support you and what you represent. Cheers from Canada
January 23, 2025 @ 8:41 am
I’d drop some money in a tip jar, or whatever else. What you do is important.
January 23, 2025 @ 9:52 am
Thanks for your work. Thanks for this site.
Advertising windows are no problem. It would be nice if they had something to do with country music or music in general, instruments or country lifestyle (clothing, horses, agricultural machinery or similar). But that’s not a must either. Every advertising window that serves this fantastic site is good.
Merch would be great too. Personally, I would love to wear a “Saving Country Music” shirt.
January 23, 2025 @ 10:34 am
Kyle, I just wanted to say I appreciate very much what you do. I’ve been a reader for many years now but rarely ever comment. You’ve introduced me to countless artists that I never would have discovered otherwise, many of which I’ve shared with friends who never would have found them. Thanks again and keep doing what you’re doing.
January 23, 2025 @ 11:46 am
I’d love to buy some SCM merch! Also would be down to leave tips and watch some ads. Whatever keeps things afloat.
Thank you for everything you do, Trigger.
January 23, 2025 @ 12:19 pm
I’ve been a regular reader to SCM for maybe a decade. It is my favorite site on the internet. It is the only site I publish any comments and that was more recent than readership. SCM gave me a new world of music. I am in debted. You gotta grow or you will perish. Sucks, but that’s how it goes. So, IMHO 1. Sell merch. (I’d rock it with pride.) Heck, have a design contest for shirt 1, then 2, etc. Guarantee crowd sourcing the idea would be a whoot and I’m sure there’s talent to be found out there. 2. To grow you must also delegate. Find a Lt. in whom you trust. Then standardize the record reviews a bit and let the Lt. submit the review to the Editor in Chief aka Trigger. You’re the bell cow of country music on the internet. Even the great newspapers of yesteryear had good writers submit good copy to good editors and they did well. You’ll just have to trust your editorial judgments more than your writing judgments. Either way, I’m here until the end. Thanks for everything to date!!
January 23, 2025 @ 1:30 pm
The SCM logo on a shirt and/or hat would be awesome!
January 23, 2025 @ 1:41 pm
I’m good with a “tip jar” of some sort. Or I’d be happy to wear a T shirt and/or ballcap too. Really enjoy SCM.
On the country music front, it was alive and well for my first trip to the Ryman in Nashville this past Saturday. Was introduced to Erin Viancourt, who has a great voice and solid music. She brought the house down with “May the Circle be Unbroken”.
Then Whitey Morgan & the 78s came out and killed it. Jamey Johnson even showed up for two songs… incredible evening.
Country music is alive and well, if you know where to find it. And SCM leads me in the right direction !!! Much appreciated.
January 24, 2025 @ 10:50 pm
I’m all for a tip jar and merch sales. Ads mid-article are generally obnoxious for screen readers, but I’d rather have ads than not have SCM. Thanks for all you do for this community!
January 25, 2025 @ 1:34 am
Appreciate all of your hard work, Trig. I was late to the party – only started reading about a year or so ago – but now I’m hooked.
I worked in print journalism for 15 years and one thing that became abundantly clear to me is that good journalism – whether it be music, sports, politics, etc. – has value. Your work has a great deal of value, and if you did start charging a subscription fee, I’d be happy to pay it. I would be proud to rock an SCM hat or hoodie, too!
SCM is the only website I make a point to check on pretty much a daily basis. (That said, I totally understand if you have to scale back some, for the sake of your own sanity.) I’ve been turned on to so much great music and actually learned a lot about music in general through this site. I’m not a fan of podcasts, watching videos, etc., so I also appreciate the way your content is delivered in long-form articles. Finding this site was a highlight for me.
Anyway, thank you for all of the great content and keep fighting the good fight. You’re one of the good ones, and those are further and fewer between these days. You’ll always have my support.
January 25, 2025 @ 12:41 pm
Trigger, I’m sorry to read about a lot of your recent challenges with SCM and am grateful that you’re committed to not putting the site behind a paywall.
Regarding ads in the body of articles, I wouldn’t mind that, provided there wasn’t more than one auto-play video ad per article. I hate websites where, every time you scroll down, there’s another auto-play video ad whose audio and video are distracting and annoying and for which you’re constantly needing to find the stop button.
January 25, 2025 @ 1:34 pm
I hate all video ads in general. Definitely would make sure they never intrude in the reading space.
January 25, 2025 @ 1:42 pm
That’s good to hear, Trigger — thanks.
January 25, 2025 @ 9:53 pm
Agree with many suggestions already noted (merch, tip jar, ads). I also wonder if the idea of guest reviewers (of albums and/or events) to help with some of the heavy lifting (with your review and approval, of course) helps your cause. You have done great things and succeeded in helping save country music. I am also a regular visitor to your website and greatly appreciate your content and insight. Go make your money (you deserve it) and find a way to balance your good work here and your life outside of SCM.
January 25, 2025 @ 11:53 pm
I would absolutely rock SCM merch on stage! This website has been the go to for many many years to find my favorite artists.
I wouldn’t mind ads so long as they aren’t popups, but please don’t make a subscription, me and my musician friends who all follow this site can’t afford it.
Keep up the excellent reporting and please make some merch!
January 28, 2025 @ 4:51 pm
My friend has a podcast and she uses some program called “buy me a coffee” which acts as like a tip jar or support type site. Get in!