Is the South the worst area for country?

[Runrigger]

Saw this in the AOL entertainment section. Most record promoters and label executives now rank the South as the worst when it comes to breaking a new act or getting airplay on a single. Paraphrasing, the Western region has become the most fertile ground while the Northeast, the area thought of as least attuned to country, is the second-best area for promoters.

Label execs say Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, & The Carolinas are difficult states for new music. Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, & Arkansas are the worst states for new music or performers. Gator Michaels, Senior VP of promotion at WB Nashville cites the Southwest as the hardest place to start a new record whether it's by a new or established artist (other than George Strait). Consolidation & conservative radio brand managers (and naturally Clear Channel) are cited as the culprits.

I'm in the Northeast & am curious as to whether or not this is a reaction to listeners'tastes in these areas or competition from other formats. Here in New England I strongly believe people turn to country when they get tired of other formats they may have grown up with. There are probably fewer instances of listeners growing up with country. I was on a group tour in Europe a few years ago & 75% of the bunch was from the South, mainly Georgia & Alabama. These were people in their 30s & 40s, native Southerners, & seemed to be educated professionals. When I mentioned I worked country radio I got the kind of negative reaction you'd expect from someone from Brooklyn. Is this a forced effort to shatter some Southern stereotype that carries over to programming decisions? That stereotype does exist somewhat in the Northeast mainly among people who know nothing about country.

Just wondering if the feedback from music execs is the result of actual listener tastes or if stations are just overly cautious with the format.

 

[smashedcd]

> Saw this in the AOL entertainment section. Most record
> promoters and label executives now rank the South as the
> worst when it comes to breaking a new act or getting airplay
> on a single. Paraphrasing, the Western region has become the
> most fertile ground while the Northeast, the area thought of
> as least attuned to country, is the second-best area for
> promoters.
>
> Label execs say Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, &
> The Carolinas are difficult states for new music. Texas,
> Oklahoma, Louisiana, & Arkansas are the worst states for new
> music or performers. Gator Michaels, Senior VP of promotion
> at WB Nashville cites the Southwest as the hardest place to
> start a new record whether it's by a new or established
> artist (other than George Strait). Consolidation &
> conservative radio brand managers (and naturally Clear
> Channel) are cited as the culprits.
>
> I'm in the Northeast & am curious as to whether or not this
> is a reaction to listeners'tastes in these areas or
> competition from other formats. Here in New England I
> strongly believe people turn to country when they get tired
> of other formats they may have grown up with. There are
> probably fewer instances of listeners growing up with
> country. I was on a group tour in Europe a few years ago &
> 75% of the bunch was from the South, mainly Georgia &
> Alabama. These were people in their 30s & 40s, native
> Southerners, & seemed to be educated professionals. When I
> mentioned I worked country radio I got the kind of negative
> reaction you'd expect from someone from Brooklyn. Is this a
> forced effort to shatter some Southern stereotype that
> carries over to programming decisions? That stereotype does
> exist somewhat in the Northeast mainly among people who know
> nothing about country.
>
> Just wondering if the feedback from music execs is the
> result of actual listener tastes or if stations are just
> overly cautious with the format.
>
its true. i am in louisiana they want touch a new artist here untill its already on the charts..they dont add to test here..its realy lame down here. i listened to wsix this weekend. thats a good radio station..and i dont even like new country..i was shocked to hear how diffrent wsix is from wynk..both owned ny clear channel..<P ID="signature">______________
note to the NAB..satellite radio..its worth paying for!!</P>

 

[KeithThompson]

A theory...

Here's a theory...but (disclaimer alert) I don't claim to definitively have the answer.

Anyway, I think a lot of it may have to do with in format competition. Generally in the Northeast, you'll only have one country station per market so their only competition is out of format. In that situation, a station can afford to be a bit more aggressive on newer music. I've never really been to the West, but it does seem that markets are a lot more separated geographically so there's far less competition in that region of the country...I think also in that region of the country, you have more diverse audiences. However, in the South you have a heavy concentration of country listeners but you also have lots of markets with two or more country stations. The surest way to be the #3 listened to station in a market with three country stations is to have the widest playlist.


> Saw this in the AOL entertainment section. Most record
> promoters and label executives now rank the South as the
> worst when it comes to breaking a new act or getting airplay
> on a single. Paraphrasing, the Western region has become the
> most fertile ground while the Northeast, the area thought of
> as least attuned to country, is the second-best area for
> promoters.
>
> Label execs say Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, &
> The Carolinas are difficult states for new music. Texas,
> Oklahoma, Louisiana, & Arkansas are the worst states for new
> music or performers. Gator Michaels, Senior VP of promotion
> at WB Nashville cites the Southwest as the hardest place to
> start a new record whether it's by a new or established
> artist (other than George Strait). Consolidation &
> conservative radio brand managers (and naturally Clear
> Channel) are cited as the culprits.
>
> I'm in the Northeast & am curious as to whether or not this
> is a reaction to listeners'tastes in these areas or
> competition from other formats. Here in New England I
> strongly believe people turn to country when they get tired
> of other formats they may have grown up with. There are
> probably fewer instances of listeners growing up with
> country. I was on a group tour in Europe a few years ago &
> 75% of the bunch was from the South, mainly Georgia &
> Alabama. These were people in their 30s & 40s, native
> Southerners, & seemed to be educated professionals. When I
> mentioned I worked country radio I got the kind of negative
> reaction you'd expect from someone from Brooklyn. Is this a
> forced effort to shatter some Southern stereotype that
> carries over to programming decisions? That stereotype does
> exist somewhat in the Northeast mainly among people who know
> nothing about country.
>
> Just wondering if the feedback from music execs is the
> result of actual listener tastes or if stations are just
> overly cautious with the format.
>

 

[no1uknow]

Maybe, but places like Atlanta, Dallas, Houston and Pheonix to name a few are responsible for an enourmous amount of unit sales with their core artists and they still need them desperatly to get the song they do have to higher chart positions.

I dont think the west (outside of KZLA)or the northeast is any more risky with new product than many places throughout the US. Probably if you ask six different label heads you'd get a variety of answers.

Look at todays charts. When in recent history could you have seen such new artists as Jason Aldean, Trent Tomlinson, Eric Church,Keith Anderson, Little Big Town...all occupying space at the same time with major spins in todays radio ... and it doesn't seem to be just regional, its everywhere.

I think it still depends on the artist and the song. but new stuff is getting played it seems, and it just might be that your particular artist hasnt cut thru yet with reason enough to get played.

All the artists i mentioned above are very new in our world, and awhile ago we would have waited longer for familiarity.. or "test" scores before we added ONE of them. So outside of companies that have taken control of the music from their PDs and MDs ( very bad for everyone IMO), it seems stations across the board are finding the change of new artists refreshing. To me, the spins almost everywhere reflect it. but were not stupid enough to throw just anything on the air because the label decides it to be their next project. I dont think Music Row should have as much to complain about today. Almost everyone has new product breaking...and getting played.



> > Saw this in the AOL entertainment section. Most record
> > promoters and label executives now rank the South as the
> > worst when it comes to breaking a new act or getting
> airplay
> > on a single. Paraphrasing, the Western region has become
> the
> > most fertile ground while the Northeast, the area thought
> of
> > as least attuned to country, is the second-best area for
> > promoters.
> >
> > Label execs say Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi,
> &
> > The Carolinas are difficult states for new music. Texas,
> > Oklahoma, Louisiana, & Arkansas are the worst states for
> new
> > music or performers. Gator Michaels, Senior VP of
> promotion
> > at WB Nashville cites the Southwest as the hardest place
> to
> > start a new record whether it's by a new or established
> > artist (other than George Strait). Consolidation &
> > conservative radio brand managers (and naturally Clear
> > Channel) are cited as the culprits.
> >
> > I'm in the Northeast & am curious as to whether or not
> this
> > is a reaction to listeners'tastes in these areas or
> > competition from other formats. Here in New England I
> > strongly believe people turn to country when they get
> tired
> > of other formats they may have grown up with. There are
> > probably fewer instances of listeners growing up with
> > country. I was on a group tour in Europe a few years ago &
>
> > 75% of the bunch was from the South, mainly Georgia &
> > Alabama. These were people in their 30s & 40s, native
> > Southerners, & seemed to be educated professionals. When I
>
> > mentioned I worked country radio I got the kind of
> negative
> > reaction you'd expect from someone from Brooklyn. Is this
> a
> > forced effort to shatter some Southern stereotype that
> > carries over to programming decisions? That stereotype
> does
> > exist somewhat in the Northeast mainly among people who
> know
> > nothing about country.
> >
> > Just wondering if the feedback from music execs is the
> > result of actual listener tastes or if stations are just
> > overly cautious with the format.
> >
> its true. i am in louisiana they want touch a new artist
> here untill its already on the charts..they dont add to test
> here..its realy lame down here. i listened to wsix this
> weekend. thats a good radio station..and i dont even like
> new country..i was shocked to hear how diffrent wsix is from
> wynk..both owned ny clear channel..
>

 

[smashedcd]

Re: A theory...

> Here's a theory...but (disclaimer alert) I don't claim to
> definitively have the answer.
>
> Anyway, I think a lot of it may have to do with in format
> competition. Generally in the Northeast, you'll only have
> one country station per market so their only competition is
> out of format. In that situation, a station can afford to be
> a bit more aggressive on newer music. I've never really been
> to the West, but it does seem that markets are a lot more
> separated geographically so there's far less competition in
> that region of the country...I think also in that region of
> the country, you have more diverse audiences. However, in
> the South you have a heavy concentration of country
> listeners but you also have lots of markets with two or more
> country stations. The surest way to be the #3 listened to
> station in a market with three country stations is to have
> the widest playlist.
>


so thats why country sucks in louisiana...too many stations
>
> > Saw this in the AOL entertainment section. Most record
> > promoters and label executives now rank the South as the
> > worst when it comes to breaking a new act or getting
> airplay
> > on a single. Paraphrasing, the Western region has become
> the
> > most fertile ground while the Northeast, the area thought
> of
> > as least attuned to country, is the second-best area for
> > promoters.
> >
> > Label execs say Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi,
> &
> > The Carolinas are difficult states for new music. Texas,
> > Oklahoma, Louisiana, & Arkansas are the worst states for
> new
> > music or performers. Gator Michaels, Senior VP of
> promotion
> > at WB Nashville cites the Southwest as the hardest place
> to
> > start a new record whether it's by a new or established
> > artist (other than George Strait). Consolidation &
> > conservative radio brand managers (and naturally Clear
> > Channel) are cited as the culprits.
> >
> > I'm in the Northeast & am curious as to whether or not
> this
> > is a reaction to listeners'tastes in these areas or
> > competition from other formats. Here in New England I
> > strongly believe people turn to country when they get
> tired
> > of other formats they may have grown up with. There are
> > probably fewer instances of listeners growing up with
> > country. I was on a group tour in Europe a few years ago &
>
> > 75% of the bunch was from the South, mainly Georgia &
> > Alabama. These were people in their 30s & 40s, native
> > Southerners, & seemed to be educated professionals. When I
>
> > mentioned I worked country radio I got the kind of
> negative
> > reaction you'd expect from someone from Brooklyn. Is this
> a
> > forced effort to shatter some Southern stereotype that
> > carries over to programming decisions? That stereotype
> does
> > exist somewhat in the Northeast mainly among people who
> know
> > nothing about country.
> >
> > Just wondering if the feedback from music execs is the
> > result of actual listener tastes or if stations are just
> > overly cautious with the format.
> >
>
<P ID="signature">______________
note to the NAB..satellite radio..its worth paying for!!</P>