This Is HUGE: Tyler Childers & “Feathered Indians” Goes Gold
When we look back on “Feathered Indians” by Tyler Childers being Certified Gold—which it just was by the RIAA on February 21st—it won’t be just be about the song and the artist. Undoubtedly, it is a huge accomplishment for Childers, and for a song that wasn’t even really a featured track from his breakout album Purgatory released back in 2017 on Thirty Tigers. “Lady May” and “Whitehouse Road” were the two “singles” released before the record. But thanks to the simple organic appeal of the song, and a live studio performance from LR Baggs on YouTube that has garnered over 14 million views itself, “Feathered Indians” has done something even many up-and-coming mainstream singles can’t accomplish, which is going Gold in the increasingly-crowded music market.
The numbers for the song, and for Tyler Childers in general are incredible. “Feathered Indians” has not only gone Gold due to reaching over 500,000 units in sales, downloads, and streaming equivalents, it actually currently sits at 731,000 in total, meaning it’s on the way to being Certified Platinum. The song has received over 47 million stream on Spotify alone, and 97 million streams total. The RIAA counts 150 streams as a sale or download equivalent for their certification purposes.
But looking bigger picture at the accomplishment, this will be about the opening of a new era in music where non-radio, independently-minded musicians with creative control of their music began to compete with their mainstream counterparts in regards to sales and streams. We can’t call Tyler Childers truly independent anymore since he’s officially signed with RCA/Sony through his Hickman Holler imprint, but “Feathered Indians” comes from his time on Thirty Tigers. Tyler Childers owns “Feathered Indians” himself, and receives that vast majority of the revenue being generated from the song, not a major label.
But Tyler Childers won’t be alone atop that mountain for very long. Cody Jinks and “Loud And Heavy” are about to be Certified Platinum, Saving Country Music is able to confirm. They only reason the song wasn’t announced as a new Gold single in the last round of RIAA Certifications is because it turned platinum during the process. Expect that information to be made public soon. Jinks has another song, “Hippies & Cowboys,” that’s on the way to being Certified Gold as well. There are some other songs from the independent country realm also getting close to certification, like “Long Hot Summer Day” from the Turnpike Troubadours.
“Feathered Indians” going Gold is another shattering of a glass ceiling for artists that are being virtually ignored by the mainstream. Even without radio play or acknowledgement from the CMA, these artists who have creative control over their music are finding success like never before in the modern era, and expect as time goes on, that success to continue to be expanded and amplified as listeners continue to discover they have better options beyond mainstream radio.
February 26, 2020 @ 11:34 am
Right on gang.
February 26, 2020 @ 11:46 am
I don’t know what it is about that song but I could listen to it ten times in a row and look forward to the eleventh.
February 26, 2020 @ 11:55 am
Happy that finally something good is happening to a Weasley!!
No more Burrow living…. He’s casting spells & making a name for himself!!
February 26, 2020 @ 12:08 pm
“ a new era in music where non-radio, independently-minded musicians with creative control of their music began to compete with their mainstream counterparts”
Bring it on. It’s high time.
And good for Tyler.
February 26, 2020 @ 1:15 pm
YAY!
Happy for he and Cody!
February 26, 2020 @ 1:48 pm
This is another example, and in a good way, of market demand “pulling” for a single and/or artist. And in this case, it doesn’t matter if the dorkish labels get on board or not. IT’S WORKING!
February 26, 2020 @ 1:53 pm
Tyler Childers is a well deserving artist who works his ass off in industry and is incredible live!!! Great songwriter!!! “WELL IF I KNEW SHE WAS RELIGIOUS, I WOULDN’T HAVE CAME STONED”
February 26, 2020 @ 2:08 pm
I’d go runnin through the THICKET…just to hear this song for 531st time
February 26, 2020 @ 3:07 pm
Hell yeah!
February 26, 2020 @ 3:08 pm
Great record, well-deserved. Go Tyler.
February 26, 2020 @ 5:27 pm
I am amazed by this.
Someone told me that profanity is often the attempt of a feeble mind to speak forcibly, and I agree.
February 26, 2020 @ 7:10 pm
Oh, fuck off.
February 27, 2020 @ 5:09 am
I won’t. That’s a tactless response, and my point still stands. Profanity in country music is uncouth and generally unnecessary.
February 27, 2020 @ 5:41 am
https://www.sciencealert.com/swearing-is-a-sign-of-more-intelligence-not-less-say-scientists
Just words, Ma’ Fucka!
February 27, 2020 @ 5:41 am
Since your original comment was stupid, a tactless response can be allowed.
Play on!
February 27, 2020 @ 5:50 am
Yes, Conrad. We get it. You don’t like Childers and you think you have the rest of us figured out who do. You don’t really need to keep telling us. And this is a cheap shot.
February 27, 2020 @ 6:05 am
It’s not a cheap shot, and I’ve never said I “have the rest of us figured out who do.” I care about Tyler Childer’s career because I think he is the face of roots music to a lot of people outside of that world. In other words, Purgatory and Country Squire are probably the only real country records on a lot of people’s playlists, and that’s too bad because they’re a poor representation of what country music is and can be.
February 27, 2020 @ 6:24 am
Well, it seems to me that you are Inferring that Childers has a feeble mind because there’s an f-bomb (exactly one) in the lyrics of this song. Do I have that wrong? If not, that would be a cheap shot in my book. And I’m pretty sure you have made comments to the affect that people like Childers because they crave authenticity, not because he’s that good. Comments like that feel presumptuous to me.
February 27, 2020 @ 7:11 am
I’ve absolutely made comments to that effect and they are definitely presumptuous, because I have no way of knowing if that’s the case. It’s one way to make sense of it in my head. Tyler strikes me as an undisciplined writer, although he doesn’t seem to lack motivation.
It’s how I feel about a lot of modern writers and performers. The day I see someone as entertaining, authentic, and skilled as Roger Miller, Glen Campbell, Mel Tillie, Cash, Haggard, or Waylon, I’ll hold my tongue. And the day I see five of them on stage together at the same time, I’ll pass out with happiness. Until then, we’re not doing country music any favors by lowering standards. I’m done with this thread.
February 27, 2020 @ 2:07 pm
I kinda like Childers. Hell, I like him alot. Purgatory was about as good as it gets if you ask me. I won’t bother to ask what you listen to, I just don’t care.
February 27, 2020 @ 7:29 pm
So if Childers used a synonym for fucked instead that’d make him more intelligent? How can a word with the same meaning as another be bad and the other acceptable? That’s ridiculous – or absurd… Whichever one you find less offensive.
August 5, 2020 @ 3:46 pm
If you haven’t found yourself in a place where nothing works but some profanity you must live with your eyes closed.
February 26, 2020 @ 7:09 pm
Trig
Purely out of curiosity…what kind of $ and leverage does this provide the artist moving forward…and can Tyler/Jinks use this collectively to gain momentum down the road?
February 27, 2020 @ 12:52 am
man i listened to this and all I could think of was WHY ????
this is pretty -much a bluegrass song and if you are into bluegrass music/writing/artists at ALL you’d understand why this fall so short . to be clear …I like the arrangement …the vocal is terrific and mercifully out front.
but I’m bored by the song .
hey ..its gold heading platinum . I accept I’m in the minority . but guess what ….a LOT of music goes gold that a lot of you would wonder about too . every heard of the monkees ????
February 27, 2020 @ 5:16 am
I’m with you, Albert. This song is unbelievably boring to me. He is obviously connecting with a ton of people, and that’s great. I don’t get it, and I have tried.
February 27, 2020 @ 11:55 am
Hey Conrad…lets hear about a classic 60’s country song you have written that’s sooooo wonderful. What…? Yeah, nothing! Enjoy the Dan and Shay song you are listening to right now, You Suck!
February 28, 2020 @ 8:17 am
Where are you from/ how old are you Conrad?
February 27, 2020 @ 5:59 am
Boring to some of us, but good/interesting/a new experience for millions of millennials & Gen Z’ers who have never heard a real country song before.
February 27, 2020 @ 6:16 am
Ok, now there’s a perspective I can respect. I never looked at it like that.
February 27, 2020 @ 7:15 pm
Tyler writes the way people his age in his part of the country speak.
In fact, his lyric phrasing is probably a little more formal and antique than the common talk. That combination is why he connects.
And the music has all kinds of echoes and roots him to a spot.
He has a method and a lot to say. I admire him and remain interested in anything he wants to release.
February 27, 2020 @ 10:17 am
I’m a fan of his, and think he’s really good. But it’s hard for me not to realize that some people are putting him on a pedestal because the bar is now pretty low. Even mainstream artists who are half decent, get special consideration here, because they are good RELATIVE to EDM/Pop artists on the country charts. I understand why that’s done, but if we are honest about it, we have to admit our standards are now much lower and we are grasping for anything remotely authentic and good.
February 27, 2020 @ 3:26 pm
” I understand why that’s done, but if we are honest about it, we have to admit our standards are now much lower and we are grasping for anything remotely authentic and good.”
I’m with you 100% on this observation SG . as I mentioned somewhere recently, we’ve somehow drifted so far down river from the good stuff that the references have all but faded away in the distance. its understandable how a young or new listener to the genre may think she /he is listening to the best stuff around if it even SOUNDS the least bit country . I can’t help wondering how much better folks like Tyler might be if they took their talents and passions and wrote ” up ” with the veterans or writers who were simply more gifted in that department .
February 27, 2020 @ 5:28 am
My man Tyler deserves all the praise he get. Such a naturally talented and authentic lad, whose music is as powerfull as it’s down to earth.
February 27, 2020 @ 5:44 am
The way I heard about this song was Grady Smith’s youtube video “This Beat is Killing Country Music,” where he uses this song as a counterpoint to snap tracks. I found Grady’s video through this blog. The video has 3,782,100 views and more than 34,000 comments. This might account for some of the popularity as well.
February 27, 2020 @ 10:49 am
The reason Grady Smith mentioned it was because the LR Baggs live video of it had already gone viral. Nonetheless, that probably helped spread the word as well. When you have all these outlets exposing people to music, who needs radio?
February 27, 2020 @ 5:37 pm
Funny to read you comment that about radio after arguing with you over that fact for 7 year!
February 27, 2020 @ 5:48 pm
Look, I still fight for putting better music on radio, and will continue to do so as long as people are listening. But the rise of Tyler Childers and Cody Jinks is proving you don’t need it.
February 27, 2020 @ 7:18 pm
And a good thing, too. Radio has long needed a viable rival. Here it is. Long live healthy competition.
February 27, 2020 @ 6:33 am
My favorite Childers song! Really glad to see this happening for him.
February 27, 2020 @ 7:25 am
Love the song, but I can see Feathered Indians becoming the next Wagon Wheel. My sister in law asked me to play it and Lady May at her wedding in the Fall, and the reaction from the early/mid-20s bros in attendance was similar to what I remember seeing in high school and college when someone would play Wagon Wheel in their dorm room or at parties.
I’ll be interested to see how many of those same types of guys/gals will be in attendance at the Sturgill/Childers show next weekend, compared to older or more “refined” fans (not really sure how to describe that last category, but I think you get what I’m saying).
February 27, 2020 @ 10:10 am
TOTALLY get what you are saying Crum . ”wagon wheel ” is exactly the comparison that came to my mind also . the vibe of the thing may be different enough for the’ mid 20’s bros ‘ you refer to above that they’ll pay attention . which is good , I suppose for the genre . but again ……this is far from a great example of a well-written COUNTRY song. its more like something you could hear at any late night acoustic campfire jam at thousands of festivals .
and not that it may even matter in these times of background-streaming musical wallpaper …but would anyone even know the name of this song when it was over if they weren’t told or didn’t read it ??
February 27, 2020 @ 12:13 pm
Don’t get me wrong, I think Feathered Indians and to a lesser extent, Wagon Wheel, are great songs, with FI being in my regular rotation since I first heard it when the album came out, but I think a big part of its appeal, and Tyler Childers in general, is that the lyrics are simple and relatable. But there’s a lot to be said about a song and lyrics that are able to convey a feeling or a message without sounding like it was written by an English major. Your point about it sounding like a campfire jam makes sense, but I think it applies more to someone like Zach Bryan, who I described as like my one of my cousin’s buddies, singing at a house party, playing his cheap guitar as hard as he can. It’s a similar style to Childers, and in the right headspace can be quite enjoyable, but without the substance that I think Childers has.