Are any stations going to play "Not Ready To Make Nice"

[soundsandsports]

They won FIVE grammy awards! They earned those grammies, so where is the airplay?

"Not Ready To Make Nice" is my favorite Chicks' song to date (even though my only exposure to it has been on CMT and VH1), and I don't get to hear it on the radio is because I guess all the MD's in Nashville voted republican in the last election.

What Natalie had to say had nothing to do with their music, just the fact that some Americans, like me, are fed up with the current President. I can't wait until Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama becomes President in 2008, so maybe we can hear Dixie Chicks music!

 

[jackshell]

I believe 95.5 The Wolf has been on it from the gitgo.

I think it's silly to ignore The Chicks.

How petty can people get?

 

[raydiofreak]

five grammy's and little to no radio air play, mmmmmmhhhhh.

Freedom of speech is the reason we raise the flag everyday, how could she have been more patriotic?

 

[DaleGriffin]

Ok one more time, ready.... EVERYONE PAY ATTENTION!

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This is not a freedom of speech issue. For people who talk about freedome of speech so much you would think at least some of you would be able to grasp it. As long as their is no law against them this continues to not be a freedom of speech issue. Got it. To summarize, this is not a freedom of speech issue. Good

FACT - Programmers will play what the audience wants to hear.
FACT - the country AUDIENCE has turned on the chicks.
FACT - Their are News/Talk PDs that hate Rush Limbaugh but run him because they like success. This works the same way.
FACT - Hillary Clinton as president will have nothing to do with them getting airtime. (I believe she may be President though)
FICTION - This is a free speech issue.

 

[jetfli]

They won FIVE grammy awards! They earned those grammies, so where is the airplay?

"Not Ready To Make Nice" is my favorite Chicks' song to date (even though my only exposure to it has been on CMT and VH1), and I don't get to hear it on the radio is because I guess all the MD's in Nashville voted republican in the last election.

There may not be so many MDs that vote Republican, but fans of Country music by and large do. That's why Maines was in the kind of hot water she was in. Whether or not anyone believes she's on target is irrelevant, the fact is that she violated a rule from Marketing 101: Don't offend your customer base. It was simply an unwise marketing move.

It's also irrelevant that they won Grammys. Grammys are not awarded by the fans, they are awarded by the members of the recording industry. As you're probably aware, members of the recording industry tend to lean toward liberalism. And that is relevant, because the word was out, vote for the Chicks if you want to send a message to Bush (and I know voters who told me they did exactly that). Yes, the Chicks did not win on the merits of the music or performance, they won because of a political cause. I don't believe that's fair to the Chicks, because it would have been nice for them to win on their own merits, and it certainly wasn't fair to their competitors, some of which may have won instead of the Chicks. It's a hollow victory at best.

So back to the MDs. It really doesn't matter what their own personal convictions are, they'll try to appease the fan base and most will continue not to play the Chicks.

And please, don't vote for any candidate based on whose music you may or may not get to hear. Now THAT is petty.

 

[romer979fm]

There may not be so many MDs that vote Republican, but fans of Country music by and large do. [/quote]

and you know that how? I've found the country audience to be much more broad-based than most would expect.

 

[radionekkid]

The question I have is did they win because of their popularity or was it because of their outspoken liberal nature and the embrace of a predominantly left leaning organization? I don't know if i have heard any statistics to back this up or not. I don't even know if any published statistics would be accureate as they are subject to bias as well. These days its hard to get to the truth either way. Freedom of speech is a given, and the Constitution still stands.

 

[KevinFodor]

What I have heard about NARAS from certain people who are members is that the majority tend to lean
left, politically.

And, despite what news networks, websites and newspapers are saying, in my humble opinion...it was not
the Bush comments that did the group in. It was the comments that followed..y'know, "we don't want our
fans to be people who have CD's of Reba McEntire and Toby Keith in their CD players."

The #1 edict in country music is:

A.) Respect the music
B.) Respect the fans
C.) Respect your fellow artists

The Chicks appear to have violated 2 of those 3 things. Is it any wonder an apparent majority of country
fans turned on them?

 

[jetfli]

There may not be so many MDs that vote Republican, but fans of Country music by and large do.

and you know that how? I've found the country audience to be much more broad-based than most would expect.
[/quote]

Locally, I know what you say to be true. As a group nationwide, it's not.

I don't know what kind of access to research documents is available at the cluster level anymore, but if you check with your regional management, they certainly have the demographic research reports that show that the country audience is generally conservative. Doesn't matter who CC's using for research these days, I haven't seen a report yet that doesn't show the same results within a few percentage points.

 

[Flavin]

five grammy's and little to no radio air play, mmmmmmhhhhh.

Freedom of speech is the reason we raise the flag everyday, how could she have been more patriotic?

All these so called Freedom of Speech crusaders seem to forget the cardinal rule of this right. The door swings both ways. As an artist you can exercise your right to it and say what you want. A public can also exercise their rights and not support your music anymore. The funny thing is, their music was just starting to test postive again and then they had to come out with this song and stir up the whole hornet's nest again. That was sheer idiocy. If they'd just come back and said, "Hey, we've been staying at home for awhile raising our little chicks (they all had babies) and now we're ready to get back to the music" ( and left that really awful "Not Ready To Make Nice" nonsense off an otherwise good cd) I think they'd be in much better shape. And before you bash me about the song let me first say that I've always liked the Chicks music, but come on, the wins we're totally politically motivated. It's the other artists that lost to a statement by the voters and not a song that should be really upset.

 

[Tibbs4]

I think the real issue is that they are more irrelevent by their own actions. Just think what their success could have
been if they had decided to focus on their music instead of "saving the world." People want to get away from
reality with music and entertainment. Some people, I know one person who did this, actually go out of their way
to buy their music to support them. Funny thing, he is the first to hate anything remotely sounding like country.


What does surprise me, and I don't pay them much attention, so maybe it's has or is happened in small ways,
is that they have not had a huge fight or break-up over different ideals. Give it time. Talk about going to your
head.

 

[courier37027]

Freedom of speech is a Constitutional right, with few exceptions such as yelling "fire" in a crowded theatre. Freedom to play or broadcast whatever you wish (within FCC guidelines) is the right of the station owner. Want to run or say something your way? Then start your own business. Then anyone will see how close freedom and responsibilities are linked. For those whom this freedom provides food and roof, freedom includes smart marketing decisions.

 

[MediceneMan]

Free Speech is "NOT" what this is about now, everytime Natalie opens her mouth
she is "Free" to say Whatever she wants, just like this: Jan. 30, 2006...

"We(The Dixie Chicks) are finished with Country Music and we are none too pleased with country

music fans. Natalie Maines says country music fans are "Basicaly Redneck Hicks."

This statement and more like "We are Done with Country Music!" are the reason they
are Not played on Country Stations, and the Stations that are Playing them are slapping
country fans in the Face. FYI: The Chicks record company shopped the current CD hard
to the A/C format First, what does that tell you. Cancelled Concert Dates all over the USA
last summer, what does that tell you. Everybody says Poor, Poor, Dixie Chicks "I don't Think
So!", with airplay in other formats, multi awards, and record sales soaring in the Millions of CDs
sold, before the Freedom of Speech happened. These 3-Ladies are "Far" from Poor.


The Dixie Chicks,-Extremely Talented-Beautiful-Tremendous in Concert---Bewildering!

 

[BogusBoy]

The Grammys have always given awards to country artists that don't receive airplay. Where was your outrage when WSIX didn't add Oh Death from the Oh Brother Where Art Thou CD? Or when KDF didn't trip over themselves to get Johnny Cash's Hurt to the turntable? If we waited to program radio stations until we got our cues from the Grammys, Alison Krause would be bigger than George Strait. You even admit your political bias in your original question. Interesting how the same members who vote at the Grammys for Snoop Dog, and Gnarls Barkley also get to log a say so for the country catagory. If you saw the awards, who won them, and who performed, ask yourself...should these people really also be in the business of deciding what songs get played on country radio?