{"id":3748,"date":"2015-03-12T08:00:41","date_gmt":"2015-03-12T13:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/?p=3748"},"modified":"2015-03-09T22:56:22","modified_gmt":"2015-03-10T03:56:22","slug":"country-radio-needs-to-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/2015\/03\/12\/country-radio-needs-to-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Country Radio Needs to Change"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Gary<\/a>

Gary Overton, Sony CEO<\/p><\/div>\n

As I worked on my album analysis for Aaron Watson\u2019s album The Underdog<\/em>, which grabbed the No. 1\u00a0spot on the US Country Billboard Chart, I came across an interesting article, \u201cSony Nashville CEO talks importance of country radio.\u201d<\/a> Gary Overton, Sony CEO, said in the interview that he can be quoted several times a day saying, \u201cIf you\u2019re not on country radio, you don\u2019t exist.\u201d This statement angered many people including independent country fans and artists. Many independent artists have much support from fans, but find themselves ignored by mainstream country radio.<\/p>\n

Country radio is not capable of embracing individual country artists. Individual country artists are unique and have an authenticity that cannot be found with the current mainstream artists. I can tell that country fans want something different and country radio should adapt \u2013 playing both mainstream and independent artists.<\/p>\n

\"the<\/a>

Aaron Watson’s No. 1 Album, “The Underdog”<\/p><\/div>\n

Aaron Watson is an independent Texas Country artist who has been in the industry for 15 years, has produced 12 albums and performed over 2,000 shows. However, he has been rejected by mainstream radio despite having the No. 1 US Billboard Country album. His response to Overton\u2019s comment was, \u201cMy name is Aaron Watson. I am not played on country radio. And I have the #1 record in country music this week. I do exist.\u201d<\/p>\n

Charlie Robinson, a Nashville artist turned independent, also offered his opinion on the matter<\/a>, stating \u201cI have a job today but as soon as Florida Georgia Line goes out of style, and believe me they will, you [Gary Overton] will not exist.\u201d Of course, Florida Georgia Line felt compelled to comment on Twitter that they have lost all respect for Charlie Robinson.<\/p>\n

Many factors contribute to the success of artists, but radio play is not the most important. In fact, Overton\u2019s own artist Garth Brooks had to deal with the issue of mainstream radio when they rejected his comeback single \u201cPeople Loving People\u201d and its follow up \u201cMom.\u201d However, due to his loyal fan base, Garth Brooks has experienced no difficulty in selling out shows. Dedication and perseverance are two important qualities that country fans look for in artists. Independent artists certainly contain those characteristics.<\/p>\n

There is no denying that radio play contributes to the commercial success of an artist, but it doesn\u2019t determine whether they exist or their level of talent. I\u2019m sure that many independent artists would benefit greatly if the mainstream radio stations accepted them. However, I don\u2019t base an artist\u2019s success or talent on how much airplay they get. I base it on the music and what I think about their songs after they end.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As I worked on my album analysis for Aaron Watson\u2019s album The Underdog, which grabbed the No. 1\u00a0spot on the US Country Billboard Chart, I came across an interesting article, \u201cSony Nashville CEO talks importance of country radio.\u201d Gary Overton, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64,14,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3748","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-reflection","category-texas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3748","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3748"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3748\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3766,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3748\/revisions\/3766"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3748"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3748"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3748"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}