These Two Guys Just Pretty Much Spilled The Beans on What Country Radio Is All About
You may not be able to find a more insular, inbred, and ass backwards institution in the entirety of the North American economy than country radio. Run by good ol’ boys in the pockets of big labels, and mid level corporate bureaucratic bean counters who bark orders from on high to hundreds of stations, the idea of country radio either serving the communities they broadcast to or the artists most worthy of being heard died decades ago. It’s all just a system to macro serve formulaic slop to the masses to drive as many ears to advertisers as possible.
We’ve all known this for years of course, but in an article written by Phillis Stark and published in Billboard recently, querying many country radio insiders about the state of the format, a couple of guy told it like it is with refreshing starkness.
“We are not in the music business. We are in the business of connecting our audience with our clients,” says Bob Walker, the program director at WCTK in Providence, Rhode Island. By “clients,” Walker means advertisers, who are the ones who actually pay to keep radio on the air. “You want art? Go to the museum. Then on the way home, drive past the movie theater showing the biggest, mass-appeal hit movies. Which one is going to [achieve] a wider reach for our clients?”
The question posed to these radio insiders was if country radio is where “Difference goes to die” as asserted by the New York Times in an article about the sudden emergence of Chris Stapleton. Rick Kelly, the vice president at Marco Promotions—a radio promotions company that attempts to get their clients played on country radio—concurs.
“While country or country-leaning artists like Sturgill Simpson and Stapleton and [Jason] Isbell have had banner years, outselling many chart-topping radio artists, programmers have not embraced them,” says Kelly. “Largely these artists are more critically lauded than the artists that make up much of country playlists. Lots of music fans consider country radio to be a foreign thing that has nothing to say to them . . . There was a time when radio programmers were arbiters of taste, but that was a pretty long time ago. Now there are more ways to find the music you like than ever before. Country radio . . . is not about music It’s about commerce. Once we all accept that, these arguments are moot.”
But this wasn’t always the case, as Rick Kelly alludes to. Country radio stations used to be pillars of their communities in previous eras, helping to support local and regional musicians by playing their music, promoting upcoming shows at local venues, and disseminating news to to the public. DJ’s were local, and listeners trusted them and were loyal to listening to the same person every morning or during the evening commute home.
Now that has all been replaced by formulaic syndicated programming beamed from on high to hundreds of stations. But how has this new shift to focusing on “commerce” affected the bottom line of radio?
We already knew that Cumulus Media—the second-largest radio station owner in America—was under major financial pressure. The company just ousted CEO Lew Dickey and his brother, who had been at the helm of the company from the beginning. They were also the guys behind the company’s big “NASH” move. Then earlier this month, iHeartMedia—America’s #1 radio station owner—got pummeled as well. Stock values fell a whopping 41% on November 5th (the days after Chris Stapleton’s big wins at the CMA Awards), and an additional 25% the next day. Despite focusing on “commerce,” American radio is in shambles.
It’s radio’s very narrow focus on commerce alone that has created woeful disconnects with the communities it serves. Slashing local talent for syndicated programming to save costs has only worked to undermine what made radio special, and something different than what Spotify or other streaming services could offer. As radio research company Edison Research has pointed out on numerous occasions, the loss of the local flavor of radio, and abandoning country’s classic sound, has helped to kill country radio in America.
Meanwhile, how is Chris Stapleton doing on country radio after his big CMA wins? He is finding traction, but it’s incredibly slow. Here a month after the CMA Awards, Stapleton’s current single “Nobody To Blame” has finally cracked the Top 30 in radio play. It took 30 days to move into the Top 30—exemplifying the slow, plodding way country radio goes about its business, unable to take advantage of marketplace trends.
In a capitalist society, everything has to make money. However when that is all you focus on, when you abandon your roots and your place in the local heart, you run the risk of becoming irrelevant. In a music economy with endless choices, the one thing radio can offer is that ability for listeners to connect with their local community. But by focusing on cost cutting in the name of “commerce,” country radio is aggressively spiraling towards becoming commercially obsolete.
December 2, 2015 @ 10:28 am
Thirty-five years ago, I once heard a radio sales manager describe his job as “putting asses in seats.” In other words, his job was to present the audience to advertisers so that they would hear the advertisers’ messages. So what Bob Walker is saying isn’t new. What’s different is that he’s a program director saying it. Programmers used to focus on the art as well as the science, on the aesthetics of radio programming in addition to the bottom line. They were the guys who tried to have it both ways, and the best of them got both results–good radio and good ratings. Walker is disparaging the art—the art of programming and the art of country music—but the good news for him is that when he’s done killing radio in Providence, he’ll either move up to corporate (where that kind of attitude is rewarded) or find a job in some other industry, where his factory floor mentality will fit right in.
December 2, 2015 @ 11:01 am
Very good point.
Salesmen should be salesmen, and that’s their job. But now the commerce has entered every aspect of radio. Hey, Saving Country Music runs ads. If the site doesn’t make money, it goes away. But as the editor and writer, I can’t also be the salesman. First off, I suck at it and don’t have the time to do it. But second, as soon as I start focusing intently on that side of the business, it starts to encroach on the quality and focus of the writing.
Something else that is not mentioned enough is that radio makes use of public airwaves regulated by the FCC. In my opinion, they have an obligation to local communities, to serve them with news, information, as well as entertainment. Those radio frequencies belong to all of us.
December 2, 2015 @ 11:08 am
I think the biggest difference isn’t so much in mindset as it is practice: thirty-five years ago there weren’t any digitized playlists. The programmers still physically chose what to play, even if they were being directed at some point or another. I had a great story told to me by a co-worker about the first time he heard Kansas’ “Carry On Wayward Son” on terrestrial radio. He said that the DJ announced the song as a new single from the band and played it. After it was over, the DJ announced that the song was pretty good and wanted to hear it again, so he played it once more. Not that double doses of Kansas or any given song/artist is some sort of band aid, but we once again see how removing the human element from an equation doesn’t make for the optimal process it’s portrayed as.
December 2, 2015 @ 10:29 am
I am actually glad I don’t have to listen to commercial radio to find music. That, and recorded TV I feel healthier.
December 2, 2015 @ 10:34 am
Radio as a format is dying, and even the Sirius music is floundering, because now people have their own personal playlists on EVERY DEVICE.
The Playstation, Iphone, Computer, Tablet, even the Dreamcast and everything else can hold most people’s playlists, and its only the people with massive collections who can’t fit their library on a single device. Why would anyone use the radio? As much as people still hear new music from there (not that anything on the radio is new, it’s all just plagiarized from somewhere) the radio went the way of Bill Cosby’s career a long time ago. (I guess that means Bill Cosby’s career went the way of the radio)
The radio’s only real function anymore is local news, which can also be obtained by practically any modern device.
December 2, 2015 @ 10:56 am
The thing that radio has that none of those devices can offer is a connection to a local community. You listen to a local artist, then you go watch them at a local venue. They give you local news in real time you may rather not hear. That’s what kept local radio strong, even when CD’s and iPods were accessible to the public. Was it streaming, or the abandoning of the local role of radio that killed the format? Chicken or the egg.
December 2, 2015 @ 11:14 am
I’m blessed to live in a city that still has a functioning community-owned radio station (KBOO) that, when you get past the syndicated news and public affairs programs in the early prime-time hours, boasts some distinctive programming.
Unfortunately, community-owned radio stations are few and far between since the mid-90s. I’m talking brick and mortar stations with receivers that can broadcast a signal within at least a 50-mile radius. Those are a rare breed presently.
Podcasts like “This American Life” do a fabulous job unraveling the character and unique charm of numerous locales, but imagine where we’d be if we had five hundred functioning community stations self-producing their own “This Klamath Falls Life” or “This Poplar Bluff Life” or “This Ketchikan Life”.
December 2, 2015 @ 12:15 pm
Local radio was in trouble before streaming became as popular as it is. Corporatization and economies of scale started killing the local element nearly 20 years ago.
Given some of the other comments on this post, especially the one on globalization below, I am not optimistic that commercial, terrestrial radio is ever going to lead the way in music discovery again. Where local radio succeeds today is in hyperserving the area it serves. Local information between the songs, promotion of/involvement in local events, DJs who live in the community and know what’s important. In the end, that will matter to a larger number of people in the community than leading the way in new music discovery. (But if a station can find a way to do both, more power to ’em.)
December 2, 2015 @ 12:26 pm
The Telecommunications Act of 1996.
December 2, 2015 @ 11:11 am
I agree that radio is rather pointless in the current listening environment, but part of that feeling stems from my distaste for what is actually played on the radio. Why would I care to listen to redundant commercials between songs and artists I hate? I loathe the days I forget my iPod or CDs when driving long distances. Sure, I could just sit in silence, but dammit I love driving and listening to good music.
December 2, 2015 @ 11:22 am
I have a plastic tub, and if I’m going on a long trip then I might spend twenty minutes in front of my shelf picking CDs I’d want to listen to, putting them in the tub, and listening to them on the trip. Just going to work and back is enough time to listen to one CD or cassette.
December 2, 2015 @ 11:23 am
Damn. Might be time for a closer job, Fuzz. The most I get is a whole 40 minute album for the trip there and back.
December 2, 2015 @ 12:20 pm
Well I work between twenty and thirty minutes away. Bill Monroe’s “I Saw the Light” finished up before I get to work, but longer tapes and CDs usually get cut short. I try to listen to one there and one back.
December 2, 2015 @ 12:21 pm
Ah. Forgot that the average classic country album is this side of 30 minutes. We probably go about the same distance, then.
December 2, 2015 @ 2:38 pm
I listen to oldies, now. Mainstream country music has become absolute trash. I used to love Kenny Chesney’s music and now, he’s fighting to even stay relevant, by “reinventing” his career, with stupid.songs like “Pirate Flag”, and “Beercan Chicken”! All I can do.is shake my head! “American Kids” is a great song. But how many more of those will.he be able to pull off? Sadly, not many (if any at all).
December 2, 2015 @ 10:41 am
Country music is worth saving, country radio isn’t. I just wish that they would rename it, and give the genre back to the people who care about it.
December 2, 2015 @ 11:13 am
I’ve often wondered if country pop and country rap would be as offensive as they are if programmers didn’t try to cram it all under one umbrella and sell it to the masses. What if we had country pop and country rap stations, in addition to traditional and neotraditional stations? With NEW content, mind you, in addition to the old. That seems to have been what the seemingly abandoned NASH approach was going for but floundered out of the gate. Nonetheless, I like to think that it would be less offensive. Call these subgenres what they are and give them a different home.
December 2, 2015 @ 12:05 pm
If there was no country radio, how would everybody actually HEAR the music? I have very poor service. I have a hard enough time just watching videos. Attempting to download music is a nightmare. We need a better way to EASILY listen to good music. We need to somehow take over the radio, not get rid of it. Otherwise, what would you suggest?
December 2, 2015 @ 3:02 pm
You can read books. Subscribe to magazines or industry publications.
December 3, 2015 @ 7:00 am
Watch music shows on television, ask people at work what they listen to (I have a coworker who does this, I got him to listen to Isbell) use the internet…
December 2, 2015 @ 10:53 am
Trigger, what you’re really up against here is globalization. That is, a global marketplace for goods, services and even art and ideas.
Instead of a distributed and regional marketplaces, we have an increasingly centralized and global marketplace. This trend of consolidation has been going on for awhile in almost every industry, from banking to the record industry and literally everything in between, and it seems to be accelerating and perhaps even caused by information technologies like smartphones and social media.
YouTube makes more money off of user generated royalty-free content (even if they have been forced in to adhering to the US government’s copyright monopoly) so they don’t really care if professional art goes the way of the dinosaur. No one in the business of selling advertising space really does. If they could come up with a way to have some artificial intelligence pump out “content” that attracted “eyeballs” to sell to their “clients”, they would do so in a heartbeat. That way they could pass their savings on to their customers, just like Walmart.
Florida Georgia Line is the global supply chain of Walmart. Sam Smith is international finance and hedge funds. Luke Bryan is viral articles on Buzzfeed and Twitter.
Hell, even if we’re looking for quality, why go see the local group in town when you can stay at home and watch the world’s best players live, in ultra high definition, from the comfort of your couch?
For going out to see live music, people would rather wait for a Willie or a Sturgill to come to town rather than go see the second-rate local pickers, and this is a problem that has been plaguing musicians since the dawn of recorded music. Globalization might have been started with the printing press if you look at in in a certain light. Consolidation and centralization might be an inherent quality of mass media.
The only thing that has ever benefited the commercial arts is artificial scarcity. From the advent of copyright, to just the vague notion of limiting exposure and adding an air of mystery, being detached from the rest of us has always had a very appealing quality. The allure of the star, hanging high up in the sky, far away from any of us mortals. And with a government enforced right to collect royalties.
We’re seeing musicians making themselves scarce and it is working. Adele and Taylor Swift are pulling back from the content firehose and getting record sales.
But what about more scarcity? What if musicians got off of everything digital? Hell, even stopped recording? What if they wrote songs about their own town, their own people, and kept it local? What if they played to their neighbors, not to some faceless eyeballs on a website covered with click bait and advertisements?
But then would we ever read Saving Country Music?
December 2, 2015 @ 12:49 pm
“The only thing that has ever benefited the commercial arts is artificial scarcity. ”
This truth in this fact explains why the opposite is THE factor in the downslide of music sales . In fact there is a glut of music and entertainment easily and inexpensively produced by amateur writers, amateur musicians , amateur producers and filmmakers with little to no overhead outside of computer software , of which there is also a glut , and its accessible in so many ways by anyone 24/7 . This has completely devalued the commodity. Completely .The sheer volume of inferior product and its accessibility has severely lowered expectations and contributed to the prevailing mindset that it SHOULD be free or next to nothing BECAUSE it just isn’t THAT rare , THAT creative , THAT original , THAT expressive , THAT universal , THAT timeless or THAT GOOD. In short there is a huge surplus of pap and drivel being mistaken for something of , albeit minimal,value . And a HUGE market that either doesn’t understand , doesn’t care or isn’t cognizant of that fact .THIS is the market being pandered to . And yes , it IS a global issue and as such cannot be dealt with as easily in terms of limiting this barrage of ‘entertainment ‘ and information , for that matter. And globally , we’ve become addicted to the ‘ quick fix’ in terms of entertainment . Sonmgs don’t need to be any better or any more creative or original than they are because people don’t invest the time into appreciating ‘better” . The ‘next thing’ impatiently awaits our attention….our ever-limited attention.
If you really have something worth saying in a lyric , something important , something with some depth or the ability to cause people to think , the chances of THAT getting exposure are slim and getting slimmer .’ Scarcity ‘ ain’t gonna happen while we remain on this technology arc with wider and wider distribution , accessibility and options for info and entertainment and a market addicted to that technology .
December 2, 2015 @ 2:38 pm
All that said (and I agree), there are movements towards the local economy that are taking root. Buy local, grow your own, farmer’s markets and regional chains are all the rage at the moment, especially in certain locations. I don’t know why we couldn’t eventually see this in radio. Perhaps the format is to antiquated to facilitate this, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it happens, at least in some localities.
And yes, there’s way too much “art,” as Albert points out deftly, and I’ve been saying for years. I’ve been posting my end-of-year lists, and have been getting hammered by folks who say “what about this artist?” There’s so many out there, I could write 100 more reviews a year, and I would still be missing tons of music (and being criticized for it). There is nothing wrong with being a local musician, playing in a local bar, helping out local kids to get them interested in playing music, or what to listen for to really enjoy it. It is necessary. Just as much as too much music is a problem ,so is the idea that everyone should have a right to be heard on a national scale. There’s a lot of soul in being a local musician.
December 2, 2015 @ 4:40 pm
“Buy local, grow your own, farmer”™s markets and regional chains are all the rage at the moment, especially in certain locations. I don”™t know why we couldn”™t eventually see this in radio.”
I think we are , in fact , seeing lots of ‘ homegrown’ music produced and marketed locally , Trigger . But most of what I hear is extremely amateurish on all fronts- writing , performing and producing to ‘ standards ‘ . Still ….more and more indie folk are banging up a bushel of CD’s to hawk at gigs ( which pay very poorly ) or gving it away on websites , Reverbnation and similar sites promising exposure. I think if radio were to get more involved supporting local talent , which is a GREAT thing , of course , the quality of the ‘ local’ product may have to improve dramatically to ensure an on-going policy such as this for local radio stations
December 2, 2015 @ 10:57 am
Radio is the Alpha and Omega. Anyone who isn’t played on country radio doesn’t exist. If I didn’t get paid to say stuff like this, I wouldn’t have just gotten my brand new Lamborghini!
December 2, 2015 @ 11:36 am
I have a couple questions.
1. What is clear channel because they own every popular radio station in Houston and some of them say an “iHeartRadio” station. ( I may be misinformed)
2. What about Sirius Outlaw radio 6060? It is pretty darn good and very few commercials.
3. Does radio advertising even work? Not on me. I just change the station, or play a CD( I am too poor for Bluetooth or aux input).
December 2, 2015 @ 12:03 pm
Clear Channel changed their name to iHeartMedia about a year or so ago. You still may see or hear references to Clear Channel, but it’s now all iHeart.
The reason there are few commercials on Sirius is because they make money off of a subscriber base. It’s a different business model.
Radio advertising may not work on you, but it works on someone. For certain products who are looking for lock step corporate consumers, mainstream country radio is the perfect audience.
December 2, 2015 @ 3:44 pm
Clear Channel changing its name to “iHeart Radio” is like United Fruit Corporation changing its name to Chiquita. It might have a nicer sounding name, but once you peel back the onion, the same stench remains.
December 3, 2015 @ 8:43 pm
Yep, and the more I hear them say “IHeartRadio” on air, I can’t help but think how “I heart” corporate radio less and less for the damage they’ve done to a genre I love.
December 2, 2015 @ 11:46 am
I have three country radio stations on the dial here in MA
They all play the same damn songs.
December 2, 2015 @ 12:15 pm
There’s one around here that plays Merle Haggard almost every day. I’ve even heard Aaron Watson a couple times.
December 2, 2015 @ 12:23 pm
The station we used to have in Northern Michigan did a lot of classic stuff, about one every three hours, plus classic shows on Friday nights and Sunday Mornings. I doubled it up by calling in and requesting more classic songs, but eventually they went under. They were really mismanaged though. The DJs they had in the morning were this man and woman who evidently didn’t get along, and when she left for someplace else he told folks that she died, and after a few months they brought in some new guy with no explanation, and not long after that they just up and switched formats for some reason…
December 3, 2015 @ 8:45 pm
Same here. I’ll change one station to get away from someone who’s horrible, or not country, only to find the same stupid artist and/or song played on the other station, sometimes at the exact same time. It’s totally annoying. Off with those channels and on with the CDs.
December 2, 2015 @ 11:47 am
“Formulaic slop”. That perfectly sums up the situation, sir. Nice read.
December 2, 2015 @ 12:47 pm
My question is what would happen if country radio became non-existent? I mean how much would it really matter when radio does not even play great artists like Sturgill, Stapleton, and Isbell and does not have any connection to local communities. Would it really be the death of country music or just shitty commercial country music? I understand the importance radio stations used to have in the past and how they operated, but now they are so screwed up I don’t see how country radio matters. Couldn’t there still be independent artists out there making music and a living touring selling music online. I don’t listen to country radio and I know a lot of people who are so fed up with country radio that they don’t even listen to it anymore either. I also know there is a hope that somehow one day there can be commercial radio stations who can play quality country music, but I just don’t see it being a likely possibility. I do listen to my local NPR station when they profile bluegrass, Americana artists, and some local artists. I even heard them play part of a Sturgill concert on there before.
December 2, 2015 @ 2:26 pm
I’m not sure we have an answer to that question Coyote, but we may find out in the next few years unless things dramatically turn around.
December 2, 2015 @ 12:51 pm
This is not anything new. Every station I’ve been at the programming people have a contentious relationship with the sales people. We (programming) aren’t particularly interested in the ads, while the sales people view most things we do as just filler between commercials. Unfortunately station managers are more likely to side with sales.
December 2, 2015 @ 12:57 pm
I get that the way radio does business has changed and become more commercialized than ever; that’s evident as soon as you turn the damn thing on. But is it more that radio has changed, or the quality of music demanded by its listeners has changed? Or are the two linked?
Because doesn’t it still come down to the consumer? If people aren’t attracted to the dumb shiny shit in the first place, it wouldn’t help radio “connect them with its clients.” They’d have to raise the bar and play today’s equivalents of the quality music prevalent in the 90s. (Chris Stapleton, Ashley Monroe, Kacey Musgraves, Alan Jackson’s new material, etc.) Radio has always been a for profit business, so what brought on that shift in quality? Will the masses just eat up whatever they’re given, even when it’s “formulaic slop?” Can they truly not tell the difference in quality between Sam Hunt and say, George Strait, who was huge on radio not that long ago? Maybe they just don’t care. The sudden, drastic shift of the last few years just baffles me. If the answer is “It makes money,” the question should be “WHY does it make money?”
I have playlists and I practically live on youtube and iTunes. But I still miss radio, for the reason Trigger mentioned above: being connected to something happening in the real world, in real time. But at this point I just want it put out of its misery.
December 2, 2015 @ 1:11 pm
One more point: I shop at Wal-mart, not because I like it or think it’s great quality, but because it’s cheap and I’m on a budget. Healthy food costs a hella lot more than fast food and ramen noodles. But art is one of the few things that doesn’t work that way. A good song doesn’t cost any more than a bad one. The dumb Adam Sandler comedy and the Oscar winner cost the same price at the theater. I guess I feel the public deserves this choice of quality, at least when it comes to the arts if nothing else in our lives. Of course, quality music is accessible online, but it’s a real shame that a long-standing institution like radio has so utterly abandoned the people.
December 2, 2015 @ 2:17 pm
Good point about the price being the same. That’s always left out of the “McDonald’s vs. prime rib” analogy when comparing music.
December 3, 2015 @ 6:00 am
Well then, McDonalds vs. Whataburger, how’s that? 😀
December 2, 2015 @ 1:53 pm
I am probably a young person on this site. I am 19 and I grew up listening to pretty much all different decades of country music although I did listen to country radio a lot as well. It was not until I heard Luke Bryan’s music that proceeded his “Rain is a Good Thing” single that I began to question country radio. I started listening to Dierks Bentley’s deeper tracks in his albums and hell I even tried out Justin Moore for a while trying to find some good new music haha. After I figured out that those tracks did not suffice my need for substance in music which did not take long, I quit listening to country music altogether. Last year when Sam Hunt came out with his shitty music I typed in Sam Hunt is not a country artist into a search engine, and lo and behold clicked on a link to this site and finally it was like an epiphany. Everything I had been wanting and thinking was right in front of me. In the past year I have discovered so many great new artists I have never heard about and found great songs. I have even managed to turn some of my friends on to some of the artists I listen to. The point I am trying to make is that people just listen to what they are used to hearing and do not have a lot of time to discover new music so whatever gets on country radio is what people listen to and that’s it. It took me 3 years to get where I am now. I didn’t know there was a different world out there of country music outside of country radio and would never have known there was one had it not been for this site. People have too many other things to worry about than country music. After all most people listen to the radio when they are doing something else and rarely just sit and enjoy the simple pleasure of a good song anymore.
December 2, 2015 @ 2:08 pm
That’s why I think radio is still important. Whenever I post stories like this, you get the invariable “Who cares, radio sucks” comments, but it still is the best way to reach the most folks. You can’t blame the consumers. They’re too busy to see out a site like Saving Country Music. But you put one song on there by Sturgill Simpson, and it could open up a brand new world of musical possibilities for them. It will always be a format for the masses, but it doesn’t mean it can’t be better.
December 2, 2015 @ 2:23 pm
Mainstream country music nothing more than a promotional arm for the corporate culture. The artists rap about trucks and beer, and then the commercials come on and they’re about trucks and beer. Then the consumers go out and buy them. It’s a very targeted demographic, and that’s why radio still works for those consumers. The rest of the world already moved on from radio years ago. But mainstream consumers still listen because it reinforces their consumerist ideologies. The majority of people hate mainstream country radio. But the ones that listen are so loyal, and buy in so hard, and have so much expendable income, it makes enough money to keep it going. You add one some from someone outside that model, and the entire thing would fall apart because it would awaken those consumers to what they’re missing.
December 2, 2015 @ 2:59 pm
That’s an interesting way of looking at it, and it makes a lot of sense. Thanks
December 3, 2015 @ 8:31 am
Eureka!!!!!! This post is the most logical, correct, and relevant post I have heard or will ever see on this subject!
December 2, 2015 @ 4:17 pm
Was it always the case that Country Music Radio was so vehemently courting people who weren’t really Country Music fans? Maybe it’s unique to where I live (?) but I find that there has been a HUGE spike in people who listen to Country Music radio who aren’t actually country music fans (as in, they have no history of appreciating country music, and tend to like the radio stuff more the less country it actually is.) So courting these people may account for the quick and epic downslide in quality. But maybe it was always that way?
For myself, I grew up always loving Country music. I think I abandoned country radio altogether around the early 2000s (and my earlyish 20s.) I tuned back in to the radio maybe 4 years ago, and they mostly lost me again pretty quickly. I still listen some, but not too much. Thank God I discovered this site!
Has it been steadily declining since the early 2000s? It seems to me personally that it has gotten MUCH worse very quickly even in the last couple years. I couldn’t account for why it would be that suddenly people who never cared for Country music are such rabbid fans of BAD country music.
December 5, 2015 @ 10:31 am
I think that the music wasn’t reaching the traditional country demographic, and so as a result, radio programers started to try to look for other ways of reaching people, instead of making better country music, they just switched genres more or less.
December 2, 2015 @ 1:24 pm
I marketed a music festival using country radio. Used several stations, as required by artists, and spent thousands of dollars. We used a system to track where ticket buyers learned of the festival, both before and day of show. 95% learned through social media, and ads on websites. Most people told us they heard the ad on the radio but did not remember to purchase tickets until they saw the show on social media or websites. Never again would we use country radio or radio in general. I can’t remember the last time I went and bought something because I heard an ad on the radio.
December 2, 2015 @ 1:56 pm
Here in RI, we have 1 station that I know of, as well as one that broadcasts out of Boston. They play so much Cole Swindell, Sam Hunt, Luke Bryan, and Thomas Rhett it’s almost nauseating. Needless to say, I’m not at all surprised by these comments.
WTCK is by far the worse one though. Again, no surprises; its total trash.
December 2, 2015 @ 3:16 pm
The question I ask through comments or once in awhile if I get into a little verbal spar with who loves country radio. What will you do when your car doesn’t come with a radio? That question is never answered by them or is by the DJ. People in the business don’t even have an answer. Vehicles are already coming without them, and many have satellite radio included in the package for free (for awhile).
December 2, 2015 @ 3:21 pm
Dont you think that the radio station would want to play the music people acualy want to hear so that more people would want to listen to there station. Becuase in my mind the more listeners would mean more money from your advertisers. But what do i know im just a mechanic who fixes cars for a living
December 2, 2015 @ 4:21 pm
But they are playing music that A LOT of people do want to hear, it seems. I know A LOT of people who LOVE what they are hearing on Country radio. Granted, these people have never heard of even someone like Jamey Johnson and can’t name 3 Merle Haggard songs (I know because I asked, lol.)
Although, based on what I’m reading here, that fanbase is decreasing, so maybe they’ve finally gone too far.
December 5, 2015 @ 1:32 pm
I have come to the conclusion that they are playing what the majority wants to hear, or they wouldn’t keep playing it. Fine, I don’t have to listen to it anyway. I have come to to the conclusion that what is on the radio IS “country music” to too many people, and it’s only going to get worse. Whatever, I’ll just listen to my own stuff and never hear their advertising. I’m sure that I’m not their target advertising demographic anyway, age-wise and for other reasons.
December 2, 2015 @ 3:46 pm
As a teen I wanted to be a DJ when I grew up. Then I took a Comm 101 class and found out that music had nothing to do with radio. Music was simply what was played between commercials.
December 2, 2015 @ 6:34 pm
This “music” sounds exactly like a money grab. Also, advertisers have a shitty taste in music.
December 3, 2015 @ 8:29 am
I don’t have a problem with the notion of “commerce” as it pertains to country radio, but those folks have to remember that it’s a two-way street. I’m not obliged to listen to their radio stations; they have to give me a reason to want to listen.
I shouldn’t have to do this, but I’m feeling generous so I’ll give them a hint: not only do they need to play music I like at least some of the time (I’m not looking to hog the whole thing, just throw me a bone!) but they also need to stop pissing on me and the music I like.
And if they judge that showing me a sliver of respect is just not worth the trouble, that’s fine too but I won’t be there for them if their market collapses.
December 4, 2015 @ 10:03 am
Great article. I just wanted to add that Cumulus owns two of the five 24/7 Texas Red Dirt stations in the country. And they allow, me at least, to play local bands. At any given time you can hear one of the 30+ local Amarillo artists I play.
December 4, 2015 @ 10:57 am
Yeah, I didn’t mean to throw every single iHeart/Cumulus station and DJ under the bus. When you’re dealing with big topics like this, sometimes it’s necessary to paint with a broad brush, which admittedly is not always fair.
December 4, 2015 @ 11:28 am
No offense taken at all man! You’re spot on with your article overall. Cumulus getting a new CEO has been a good thing so far. They’re starting to let local program directors make more decisions based on local experience. Not sure what that will mean for the Nashville side of things or their other formats, but for me it’s been great. I presented a case to keep two local artists, Zac Wilkerson and Dan Johnson, in current rotation just yesterday and I didn’t get any resistance at all. Keeping local artists on the air with my format is easy though. There’s a lot of artists coming out of Amarillo and Lubbock right now who are recording quality music. There aren’t any bands that I know of here who even want to jump into the corporate Nashville machine.
December 4, 2015 @ 11:43 am
Good to hear. Lew Dickey was unpopular with everyone. That’s why it was so confounding how he held on as long as he did. I hope Cumulus begins to open up more under new management, and would love to report those events as well.
December 5, 2015 @ 10:39 am
What station? I could use a good Texas country station to stream out in California.
December 7, 2015 @ 9:41 am
http://www.kpur107.com We’re in Amarillo. Ignore the crappy website with Nashville ads, it’s still put together by corporate.
December 5, 2015 @ 10:14 am
And the sky is blue…
December 5, 2015 @ 1:26 pm
Haven’t listened to radio in decades, haven’t watched teevee in decades, listen to/watch things in the world of my own. Undoubtedly nobody’s missing my one little self, but it sure keeps my aggravation/level of “fed-upness” down. Being a stay-at-home housewife, I don’t even have to listen to the dreck because of co-workers etc, nor defend the fact that I don’t know what’s happening on “America’s Idol” or “Survivor” or whatever’s on these days. It’s actually quite freeing to live the separated life. Radio and teevee could both go the way of 80 cent gas and I’d never know it or miss it (though I wouldn’t mind the 80 cent gas still being around).
December 5, 2015 @ 5:08 pm
I’ve sort of given up on radio in general. Maybe my attention span is becoming shorter but I really can’t abide most of it.
I have programmed NASH fm, the local oldies station, ESPN radio, the local sports station and WFUV which is the radio station of Fordham University here in the Bronx (free form NPR-ish). The only ones I listen to for long periods of time are the sports ones and that’s mostly during baseball season as the other sports talk can be mind numbing.
The absolute worst thing is the advertising. WFAN is the local sports station and they have such a stranglehold on revenue that the commercial time is at least 10-12 minutes long and maybe even 15! Especially during drive time which for me is only 10-15 minutes.
Then I am dial hopping only to find that ESPN has timed their ads with the FAN’s so I check out NASH and I have to change it because they string along Bryan, Hunt and the others. But I will say the morning show on NASH is fairly entertaining, even if it is kinda corny.
The oldies plays too much 80’s/90’s ( I prefer 60/70’s) and often FUV can get too artsy/smartsy for me.
So yeah, it’s the cd route for me and I usually obsess on genres from country, American Songbook to Latin and hip hop (old school East coast).
BTW, Coyote, I loved your comment back form Dec 2.
Dierks is actually one of the few mainstream artists I really like. I always forgive him his trespasses because he does show love and respect for tradition on his deeper cuts. While he may not be as deep as you may like, he does try. I really liked Up On The Ridge and hope he feels free enough to do another like it.
Trigger, I wonder if the comments of Walker and Kelly are their true beliefs or are they just being pragmatic? Do they wish it were different? Because, really, the truth hurts. Radio really is down for the count.
December 9, 2015 @ 8:44 am
Kale,you asked if there was no Country radio,how would we hear good music? We can go to our favorite stars website,and find out if our favorite stars have new music that way.
After all,even with so-called Country radio,the majority of the stations in the US & Canada won’t play the stars songs,old & new,anyway.So,your not gonna find out about it by listening to the majority of stations out there.
The majority of stations listen to the consultants,not the fans.
With the execption of WSM radio in Nashville,the majority of stations did not play John Anderson’s new CD,nor did they play the current CD by Buddy Jewell.And they majority of stations are currently not playing Mo Pitney’s new single “Boy and A Girl Thing”.(Thank God WSM IS playing Mo’s new single,and they also played John & Buddy’s new CD too.Hopefully they,WSM, will play songs from Loretta Lynn’s new CD “Full Circle” when it comes out in March,Lord willing).
If your local station is playing these stars songs Kale,and real Country music,great! I’m happy for you.There are a few stations that do play these stars new songs.But very few.
December 9, 2015 @ 8:55 am
And Stephaine & Melanie,my opnion is the majority of stations DO NOT play what the majority of listeners wanna hear.
The reason I hold to that opnion is,common sense tells me,if the listeners did not wanna hear these stars songs on the radio,they would not be selling out concert venues either(big and small venues.Arenas & theaters).Yet,great superstars like Loretta,Dolly,Gene Watson,Merle Haggard,Reba Mcentire,etc,continue to sell out theaters,arena’s,etc.They either sell out,or draw big crowds @ these venues,enough to where the venues make great money by booking these stars.And the venue books them back 99.9 percent of the time.
Also,many of the stars I just mentioned (plus others) have been in the business 30,40,or 50 years,and they still sell out venues.Speaking for myself,that tells me,people still wanna hear these stars sing or else the stars would not be touring,performing,etc.And if the fans wanna hear them in concert,that tells me they wanna hear these stars songs on the radio too.
Again,just my opnion.I respect y’alls too.