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Mainstream country radio down the tube

W

waymar

What is wrong with the programmers of mainstream country radio? Why do they insist on overplaying a half dozen artists and overlooking good artists. The country stations in my area overplay Kenny Chesney who is barely country and Carrie Underwood and Rascal Flats who are plain old pop. Add that to TIm McGRaw and Taylor Swfit and you have 5 artists that probably are responsible for 20-25% of the songs on mainstream country radio. That IMO is doing the country music listeners a disservice.

True they still play traditional country music artists like George STrait and Alan Jackson but that is only to give themselves some shred of credibility.

Why don't they play more of the following artists? Danielle Peck, Kristsina Cornell, Amy Dalley, Chely Wright, Lee Ann Womack, Clint Black, Travis Tritt and Sara Evans. Those artists have alot of talent and alot of good music but are consistently ignored. can't understant why a genre of music that has many talented acts only playes the bare minimum. IN some ways maistream country is similar to top 40 radio while top 40 radio plays the hottest pop hits and ignores acts that are not hot. Country radio only concentrates on the hot acts and ignores the acts that aren't necessarily selling but are talented.

Come of Carrie Underwood ain't that good.
 
waymar said:
What is wrong with the programmers of mainstream country radio? Why do they insist on overplaying a half dozen artists and overlooking good artists. The country stations in my area overplay Kenny Chesney who is barely country and Carrie Underwood and Rascal Flats who are plain old pop.
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Because they're playing for the thirty-something soccer moms.

waymar said:
True they still play traditional country music artists like George STrait and Alan Jackson but that is only to give themselves some shred of credibility.
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And, sadly, I'm even hearing them less and less.

These are usually the same stations that also play "your all-time favorites." That's fine if your memory doesn't extend beyond 10 years.
 
Does the size of the market make any difference?

I'm in a fairly small market, and they play Chesney, Flatts, Underwood and Swift a lot, with some Toby Keith, Trace Adkins, and still fairly healthy doses of George and Alan thrown in for good measure. Maybe the bigger the market, the more pop on the air ???

The only one I cannot tolerate is Rascal Flatts. The lead singer is like the proverbial nails-on-a-chalkboard to me, but then I ain't no thirty-something soccer mom either ;D
 
Flats is not country and their lead vocalist IMO stinks. Underwood is way way overrated and Chesney is way overplayed. All his songs sound the same.
 
BlueHen said:
waymar said:
True they still play traditional country music artists like George STrait and Alan Jackson but that is only to give themselves some shred of credibility.
Click to expand...

And, sadly, I'm even hearing them less and less.

These are usually the same stations that also play "your all-time favorites." That's fine if your memory doesn't extend beyond 10 years.
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Depends upon where you live but yes country music depending upon the station is aimed more at women as an alternative to a/c stations in the area. Mostly hometown country stations stay truer to country but still play the pop country that people talk about.

You have to remember that also pop has been in the country for years, from countrypolitain in the 60s to now.
Alot of the artists that someone mentioned haven't had a song that really reached out and grabbed someone lately but when they do I find they do go up the charts pretty good such as Trace Adkins having a number 1 recently. Alan Jackson played around with his formula (you can hear it in "good Time") and has alienated some of the classic country and traditional folks.. same as Brad paisley.

In my area, all time favorites go back to roughly young country days of the mid 1980s (and why I still hate the Judds as that seems to be the most played artist then and as classics now)
 
Yes I have to agree about todays country sounds like rock and roll, but like said to keep the young demos tuned in, but us older folks have to deal with it. personally love classic country over the currents but I still keep tuned in on the newcombers.
curse words are seeping in more of the new songs.whats next ,cursing on the Grand Ole Opry,If Roy Acuff and Minnie Pearl were still alive, they would have a field day washing those artists mouths out with some good soap.
 
If some group corpation or whatever could start a country music network of radio stations that played true country music not pop, rap, or any other crap mixed with country music other than just a little then they would have a large listening audance. Has for age being driving force behind our current mixed up mess, this is only true with people that are preprogramed to listen to the in thing, whatever is currently being pushed by the powers that be not by what sounds good or country. I have had WLRE radio a little LP station on the air here in South Carolina for seven years now playing traditional to modern country mix but trying to stick to real country music as much as possible and we don't seem to have just a certain age bracket listening to our station. After seven years of playing a true country mix I can honestly say that given the chance people of all ages that love the sound of real country music will tune in and listen to us every chance they get, and trust me after 7 years of giving them a choice they do. There is still a market for real country music in many areas of this country it just isn't given any kind of a chance due to the control that the newer people in the country music industry (ie last 15 years) have forced on everyone. I wish somone could start a new network of stations across the country that could play mostly real country music to compete with the so called country music junk we have today, I know if that were possible and given 10 years who would win out in the end, I have already proven that in my area.
 
I agree...mainstream Coutry Radio needs to go a lot DEEPER and not focus exclusively on ARTISTS but play good songs period.Also I do believe that you can't do too much harm by going back once an hour and toss in a Bellamy Brothers or Kenny Rogers Classic toss in more from The Judds,Reba,Alabama etc.

We mix it up pretty good on the Internet & we are top 5 on Live 365.Maybe Broadcast Radio will catch on that the same 100 Oldies or the same 13 "HITS" isn't doing anything but losing them listeners.


http://www.frogfm.com
 
There are national networks playing real country... problem is, you have to hear them in rural america.

A lot of the national syndicated country music formats do a way better job of playing a lot of the older country artists as well as the new artists if they are more of a traditional style such as ABC's Real Country.

I do agree on country needing to broaden up, but some of the stations that broaden up still limit the musical variety... One in my area says here's another legend and will probably be some Judds hit... I'm sorry but I was not a fan of theirs then, but I got to hear 2 Judds songs a day when I hear 0 from say Alabama come on.

But many stations won't even go as far back as Froggy asks about. I know of some like someone pointed out thinks 2000 is too old for their station it seems.

Chesney had his beach bum run but from the songs I've been hearing lately, it's gotten at least a little better. But I do agree on Rascal Flatts... that's as pop you can get into country without permanently crossing over.
 
RFLA said:
But I do agree on Rascal Flatts... that's as pop you can get into country without permanently crossing over.
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...and, as someone on here pointed out a couple years ago, Faith Hill and Martina McBride rival Celine Dion and Mariah Carey for that "cats in a meatgrinder" sound which gives me a headache.
 
BlueHen said:
RFLA said:
But I do agree on Rascal Flatts... that's as pop you can get into country without permanently crossing over.
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...and, as someone on here pointed out a couple years ago, Faith Hill and Martina McBride rival Celine Dion and Mariah Carey for that "cats in a meatgrinder" sound which gives me a headache.
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Hahaha "Cats in the meatgrinder" Yeah right. also they sound like Cats inheat at 2am in the morning. Whinning.Screeching,Screaming. I agree about headaches.who cares about Marish's or any others vocal octive range, just sing normally.
 
Mainstream country has been going down the tubes ever since a certain man with a mullet sung a song about his damn heart being breaky or something, and somehow that song became the song people think of when they think of country music. Add in Garth and then in 2000 when Toby sung a song wanting to talk about himself, and you have today recipe for this pop garbage passing for country today.

I like my own local classic country station The Range here in Albuquerque, they have a great variety and they play a whole lot of forgotten hits. Know any other station that plays a song from Baillie and the Boys? Or plays an early Shelby Lynne song? Or plays John Conlee, Don Williams, Dottie West, Desert Rose Band and Johnny Lee all in a row? My only problem is that they will often fit in some newer stuff. Nothing really awful like what passes for music on the other two stations, but I would like to keep my country music pre-1990 with a few exceptions. However, since they are the only station that plays the Dixie Chicks here, I have to give them some sort of a pass.


RFLA said:
One in my area says here's another legend and will probably be some Judds hit... I'm sorry but I was not a fan of theirs then, but I got to hear 2 Judds songs a day when I hear 0 from say Alabama come on.
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It could be worse...they could play Crystal Gayle... ;D
 
What a lot of people may not realize is that when you go to a concert, the band thats playing on stage may not be the same musicians on the record. Some record labels use the same musicians on numerous albums. Thats why so many records all sound alike. Its the same people on the record. Only the soloist is different. Plus the fact nobody records anything live to tape anymore. Everything is recorded seperately and mixed together on computers or Pro-Tools software. Or with midi files and not any real instruments at all. It no wonder so much of todays music stinks. Give me some old Buck Owens or Conway any day. Pop music is worse. Its gotten to the point in order for them to play your song you have to get Akon, Chris Brown or Timberland or some other "rent a homie" to stink up your record. Give them time and Timberland will start remixing country songs. If they haven't already. Well Tim McGraw had that God awful Nelly song.
 
Take a look at the ratings in many midwest markets and tell me they should change anything. When a station like K99.1 in Dayton or WFMS in Indianapolis can remain solid performers, often number one book after book after book for years or even decades, even fending off competitors, they should play different music why again?
 
It seems that more and more non-country songs are finding their ways onto our favorite country stations. Just yesterday, of all people, I heard Jessica Simpson.

I mainly listen to The Roadhouse on SIRIUS nowdays though. Of the modern country artists, I spend my days listening to Toby Keith, Alan Jackson, George Straight, Tim McGraw, and a whole assortment of 90's artists.

One band I just can't bare to listen to is Big & Rich. Their songs aren't country at all, yet they get loads of airplay.
 
Didn't you get the memo? Jessica Simpson's label is turning her into a country star! :p

Having said that, my station doesn't play her.
 
Well,guess what----we would love the country you don't ON A NY MARKET SIGNAL!!!!!!you are lucky---we have had to:tape country radio on cassettes on vacation,buy a HD radio and get a computer/internet service JUST TO LISTEN TO THE STUFF YOU DISLIKE.
 
WPPCProductions said:
Yes I have to agree about todays country sounds like rock and roll, but like said to keep the young demos tuned in, but us older folks have to deal with it. personally love classic country over the currents but I still keep tuned in on the newcombers.
curse words are seeping in more of the new songs.whats next ,cursing on the Grand Ole Opry,If Roy Acuff and Minnie Pearl were still alive, they would have a field day washing those artists mouths out with some good soap.
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I refuse to deal with it, and where I live, at least during the day or in the car, I don't have to.

I was amazed to hear one of those Montgomery Gentry type songs on a station I thought was playing the good stuff. I suppose if you play the good stuff you think that gives you license to play the bad too. No thanks. I feel sorry for the poor folks stuck listening to that station over the great stations around here.

Oh, yeah, curse words. I would enjoy Brad Paisley's "I'm Still a Guy" but it's got that WORD in it.
 
The Swift woman is awful. Her performance at the CMAs was embarassing. I saw Carrie Underwood on "Pure Country" and the song was alright. "Pure Country" mostly plays authentic country like Tift Merritt but they throw in a few clunkers also.
 
Ever heard that formats move in cycles. Country works like CHR: Doldrums and peaks.

Once a HOT new country act gets going the format's wheel will be moving again.
 
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