Jason Aldean on Rock Radio

[Jay F]

On the Country board there is often criticism of artist Jason Aldean (who has become a consistent country hitmaker in recent years) as being too rock for the format. Some country purists go as far as saying he is an example of everything that's wrong with Country radio today.

So my question is how would rock listeners react to Jason Aldean's music. Could it work for some rock stations, especially those in the South. Or would it be soundly rejected as being too country? If you are not familiar with his music check out the clip for "She's Country" the song that Aldean critics most often cite as over the top rock that has no business on Country radio.

 

[TheBigA]

So my question is how would rock listeners react to Jason Aldean's music.

I think those who like it and seek out that kind of music are now part of country's growing and diversifying audience. It's how Uncle Kracker or Kid Rock can have a Top 5 country song. They get exposed to Jason's music in ways outside of traditional radio formats, and then seek it out and discover it's country. While in country, they discover other new artists they've never heard before, like Zac Brown or Justin Moore, who bring roots rock or southern rock to the overall mix of country. That's why country is such an active and vital radio format, and why some others aren't. Those formats don't look beyond the tried and true.

My experience with the rock audience is it probably wouldn't see Jason as a rock artist because he doesn't live the lifestyle. Rock isn't just music, it's a complete package. It seems to me that rock isn't looking outside its borders to other genres for artists the way country is. And as I said, that's why rock is stagnant.

 

[Talk_Dude]

On the Country board there is often criticism of artist Jason Aldean (who has become a consistent country hitmaker in recent years) as being too rock for the format. Some country purists go as far as saying he is an example of everything that's wrong with Country radio today.

So my question is how would rock listeners react to Jason Aldean's music. Could it work for some rock stations, especially those in the South. Or would it be soundly rejected as being too country? If you are not familiar with his music check out the clip for "She's Country" the song that Aldean critics most often cite as over the top rock that has no business on Country radio.

Of course rock listeners would listen to any of Aldean's songs that they liked. Music fans are not the people who worry about what pigeonhole some suit forces a song or artist into. The listeners like what they like. It's only people working in radio, and to a lesser degree the suits at the record companies who even care about what genre an act or song has to be classified as.

While radio programmers are wasting their time debating how to classify an artist or song, the actual listeners are simply listening to whatever they like.

 

[spunker88]

I listen to rock, but come from a rural area so theres always country music playing wherever I go, and its on where I work. And I have to say I like some of the more upbeat stuff like Jason Aldean. It probably wouldn't be well received by rock listeners since the music still has that definite country feel to it.

But theres classic rock songs out there that have a country feel to them. Theres also ones that are more bluesy. But over the years rock emerged and developed its own distinctive sound.

We might just see country begin to split into a genre of upbeat, heavily instrumental based country and another genre that plays the more traditional country.