My View: The Dream Is Very Much Alive

In a thought-provoking Op Ed in a recent Nashville Tennessean former CRS Executive, author and music business professor at MTSU and Cumberland and Belmont universities Paul Allen frets that corporate radio could kill the country music dream for artists coming to Music City in the coming year.

To the talented aspiring country artist, this significantly reduces the odds that their music will be played on their hometown or regional station. It becomes harder to build a fan base and establish a reputation that can get the ear of a Nashville decision maker. If the artist does become signed to a label, it is more difficult for music promoters to get access to radio’s corporate decision makers on their behalf.

Breaking out of the crowd and getting radio spins has never been easy, and that's nothing new.

Wannabe artists give up and head back home with nothing but a bitter taste in their mouth and less money in the bank every year and it's always been thus in the fickle music business, but in a year that gave huge radio success to Blake Shelton, Jason Aldean, Zac Brown Band, Thompson Square, Brantley Gilbert, Miranda Lambert, Lady Antebellum, The Band Perry and numerous others it's hard to convince me that the sky is falling.

New country stations are signing on as 2012 dawns in cities that have only had one station in recent years (some owned by the giant consolidated companies), so competition is actually heating up and that should drive more desire at radio to own the music discovery image as well as offer more variety to listeners.

As always, when consumers are poorly served, the marketplace fixes that very quickly.

Country music stardom has a lot more to do with possessing a unique talent and sound, infectious passion and great music than who owns what and where.

Let's Only Call Them "Labels" After They Last Four Years

David Ross in Music Row online: "Eleven labels recently experienced change in their radio divisions — Country Thunder, Curb, Permian Records, Universal Republic, Sony BMG, Universal Records South, Nine North Records, Big Machine, Equity, Live Nation and Robbins Nashville—all have had staff arriving and/or departing. Additional changes are still likely."

Phil Sweetland, Country Insider/Nashville notes: "In nearly all cases, the same Promo folks are rehired by different labels."

R.J. Curtis in the 7/11 R&R, quotes Capitol/Nashville President/CEO Mike Dungan: "These (labels are) being funded by people who've made a fortune in another industry who have some kind of romantic notion about being in the music business... it's as if they're in show business. Then, they wake up three years later and say 'wow, I could lose everything here very easily.' I think that's happening a lot around Nashville right now."

In the same article, which looks into the use of the word 'label' to describe many of the new 'virtual labels' now working independent music to radio. Former WEA, former now-defunct 903 Music exec and now Fame Records consultant Bill Mayne: "Let's just say exactly what it is. Those are independent promotion companies that started calling themselves labels to get around (radio) corporate rules (against dealing with independent promotion companies) in light of the Spitzer investigation."

Meanwhile, Sunday's New York Times Magazine has a thought-provoking piece on where the music business (?) may be going. (i.e. '...those who choose to download “Feed the Animals” free are asked to take a survey inquiring why. About 3.5 percent have chosen “I don’t believe in paying for music,” 0.8 percent “I don’t value music made from sampling.” The top choice (about 37 percent): “I may donate later.”...')

Billboard.biz: "The split of the Sony BMG merger is virtually a done deal. Well-placed sources say a Bertelsmann supervisory board meeting has been convened (July 11) to examine the sale of the German media giant's 50% stake, with a final decision on a deal expected to be revealed by the end of the month, following a meeting of the Sony Corp board."

Educated guess: The Sony label won't be sold by BMG to any of these new so-called labels. If that happened, it would end the argument over whether they are virtual this or that once and for all.

Instead, most likely, Sony Music will go back to being owned by Sony. And, I'd bet that the best of the 'virtual label' executives will go back to work for a real major label again, writing the latest chapter of Nashville's long history of independent music promotion.

Old Nashville Promotion Executives Never Die

.. they just seem to live on to try to write compelling email memos which are interesting enough to make you read the 'news' they send about artists you've never heard of with songs that have little or no chance of ever being on R&R-Billboard or Country Aircheck's weekly 'most added' rankers.

Like Larry Pareigis, who has been a major market country programmer in the 90's and then rode the Dixie Chicks roller coaster all the way up and then all the way back down again too. He's hawking a guy named Eric Durrance and is into very helpful branding guidance this week:

By most accounts (critics and audiences alike – and I agree), INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL is a fairly mediocre film that hoovered up more than $300M in a mere 5 days this past weekend worldwide.

At this point last year, 7 movies had zoomed past the $100M mark domestically – this year only 3 have:

Horton Hears A Who
Iron Man
Indiana Jones 4

People’s mental folders are so full with overstimulation these days coming at them from every conceivable angle that superbrands rule the day, even if they’re mediocre – name recognition is a major part of success but can also fail when what’s being sold doesn’t match the perceived caliber of the name (see Clinton, Hillary – Campaign 2008).

To be an active superbrand, one must not only be useful, fun, cool & meaningful, but also have to provide a place of community – a rallying point of fellow enthusiasts, and the 3 properties above do that for the young (Horton), the tweeners (Iron Man) and the not-so-young (me taking my nephew to see Indy 4).

Brandchannel.com asks fellow marketers yearly several questions about their favorite brands, really clever questions like:

What brand would you most like to sit next to at a dinner party? Why?

Dinner parties have several implicit and unspoken rules. Do not, for example, do or say anything that would embarrass yourself, your host, or a fellow guest. Dinner parties are about being civilized, interesting, and engaged. And which brand would brandjunkies prefer to sit next to?

The Top Five: Apple, Virgin, Google, Coca-Cola, Nike

Or:

What brand, if sent back 100 years, would have the biggest impact on the course of history? How?

Ah, the time-traveling brandjunkie dilemma. Where modern branding intermingles with history and creates a different, perhaps unrecognizable, present. Crank up your time machine and bring your branding expertise.

The Top Five: Apple, Microsoft, Google, Coca-Cola, Ford

Also:

If you were to describe yourself as being a brand, what brand would you be? Why?

We all know the saying, "You are what you eat." Well, you are also the brands that you are inspired by. Every time you connect with a brand—or go all out and purchase it—you're saying something about yourself. Here is what brandjunkies had to say about themselves as brands.

Top Five Answers: Apple, Nike, Coca-Cola, Virgin, BMW

We’re all trying to build brands that are meaningful or lasting, whether it’s the clients or companies we work for…or ourselves.

How best do we all arrive at that destination?

Then, there's Tony Benkin, who has been through four different record promotion posts over the last few years and is now being paid to hype some fellow named Joshua Stevens who sounds to me like he could be the guy Alan Jackson was singing about in "Gone Country."

Tony isn't as lengthy or thoughful as Larry in his weekly update. He just wants to make you smile, critique radio today and adds a famous quote:

Did you know?
- There is a city called Rome on every continent.
- Honey is the only food that does not spoil. Honey found in the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs has been tasted by archaeologists and found edible.
- The average person laughs 10 times a day!

Here’s a problem with Voice-tracking...on 2 different stations in the Nashville market, I heard a weather break where they both talked about how it was Sunny and 85...even tho it rained all day long. One even called it “the perfect day to get outside”. Whoops.

Quote of the week: "Old age is like everything else. To make a success of it, you've got to start young." -- Fred Astaire

It's too late for me to start young, I fear, but heck their efforts did not end up in the Temple Of Doom (the deleted messages folder) and actually did pay off today in getting me to blog about Eric and Joshua.. and (if they are really lucky) perhaps even motivated you to click on their websites and listen to a few bars of their new music.

C'est la promotional vie, eh Indie!?

April In Nashville: CMT Awards, Gospel Gathering, Marathon + More

AP's Roger Petterson opened up the "Events Calendar" at Nashville's Visit Music City website and (type "music" into the "Event Type" box plus the dates of your visit!) got enough fun events to find his list printed today in a bunch of Sunday paper travel sections.

* On Monday, it's the CMT Music Awards - www.cmt.com/cmt-music-awards - at Nashville's Curb Event Center. Even if you can't get in to see the show, it will be broadcast live and will be simulcast on the CMT Web site. And some of the performers could turn up at other venues after the show.

* Nashville music isn't all country. The Gospel Music Association - www.gospel music.org - is holding its Gospel Music Week April 19 through 24, highlighted by the GMA Dove Awards on April 23 at the Grand Ole Opry House. Look for the GMA Week star logo and click on it for events.

* People even run to a musical theme in Nashville. The Country Music Marathon on April 26 - www.cmmarathon.com - features something called Bands on the Course. According to the entry under "Entertainment," 50 local bands will play on 28 stages along the marathon route. And there's a concert after the running. Imagine if they did this for the New York and Boston marathons.

The De-Idolizing (and AO-CRSization) of Phil Stacey

A & O's Annual Pre-CRS Seminar, Tuesday, March 4, 2008's special guest performer got a rave review for his performance yesterday at WUSN, Chicago.

You are cordially invited to our meeting if you are an A & O client or work at a station not in a competitive situation with us.

BUT, you must RSVP to receive an invitation. Email Jaye@albrightandomalley.com or Mike@albrightandomalley.com to get one.

The Music City Bowl Looks Like A Cakewalk For UK Over FSU

.. at least, that's how the LA Times' Helene Elliott saw it in yesterday's pre-game write-up:

"In the cradle of country music, where songs lamenting loss and hardship spill out the door of every honky tonk along Broadway, no one is singing a more mournful tune these days than the Florida State Seminoles. The Seminoles -- or what's left of them from an ongoing investigation into an academic scandal -- are scrambling to fill holes just about everywhere as they prepare to face Kentucky (today) in the Music City Bowl."

Meanwhile, the Gaylord-sponsored bowl's website is counting down to game time.

How Many Artists Will Thank Radio On ABC-TV?

.. after resignedly watching the last few TV awards shows, I have to say two things.

1. The above is a rhetorical question (for reasons which elude me).
2. Garth Brooks "gets it."

Garth Brooks has now surpassed Elvis Presley as the top selling artist in the history of American Music and top selling solo artist Worldwide with album sales in excess of 123 million.

When Garth retired some 8 years ago, his total sales were around 104 million albums. Since then he's continued to sell 19 million more albums bringing his total to in excess of 123 million. That deed was announced officially yesterday morning on the steps of Capitol Records in Hollywood, when the RIAA General Manager, Joel Flatow, presented Brooks with his plaque commemorating sales of more than 123 million units. (take a listen to what Garth said)

Music Row: TK, Keith Urban, Country Grammy Nominees, JMC

Music Row:

Toby Keith has secured six consecutive sellout shows on his Ford Trucks sponsored Hookin' Up & Hangin' Out Tour. The first stops of the busy star/race horse owner's 2007 leg were in Albany, NY, Verona, NY, Portland, ME, and Manchester, NH.

Keith Urban is set to perform a three-song set on the Today Show on Fri., Feb. 16. The concert will be at Rockefeller Center in New York City. Urban’s first U.S. performance since leaving rehabilitation was held last night (2/8/07) in Chicago at a benefit for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. He is also gearing up for the first leg of his Love, Pain & the whole crazy World Tour, which takes to North American soil on June 8 in Phoenix.

The 49th Grammy Awards will be held Sunday night Feb. 11 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles and will air on CBS at 7 p.m. CT. Nominees Rascal Flatts and Carrie Underwood will perform a tribute to country rock and two-time winner LeAnn Rimes will present. Also performing are nominees and past winners the Dixie Chicks. XM will broadcast “Grammy Radio” on XM channel 200 from Feb. 9-11. Yahoo! Music is handling the official online coverage.R&B mainstay Mary J. Blige was the most-nominated Grammy artist, with nods in eight categories. The Red Hot Chili Peppers received six noms; James Blunt, the Dixie Chicks, John Mayer, Danger Mouse, Prince, Rick Rubin, will.i.am and John Williams earned five nominations.Dixie Chicks' "Not Ready To Make Nice" is up for Song and Record of the Year, and Taking The Long Way earned an Album of the Year nomination. Underwood scored a Best New Artist Nomination and her hit "Jesus, Take The Wheel" won a Song of the Year nod for Brett James, Hillary Lindsey, and Gordie Sampson.

The debut album from Arista Nashville’s Jason Michael Carroll was released this week, and he is amid a multi-city launch tour of radio, television, concerts, and personal appearances. At his kick-off performance in Raleigh, NC, fans snapped up more than 600 copies of Waitin’ in the Country. As part of a non-stop stretch that took the singer through Atlanta, Louisville, Kansas City, and more, Carroll stops today (2/9/07) in Minneapolis.