The problem with the exposure that the current so-called country artists "enjoy" is the fact that they all sound the same these days. Unless you're looking up at the t.v. and see who it is when they pop it up on the bottom of the screen you have no idea who it is! Back in the good old days, you knew it was Loretta Lynn or Conway Twitty or Don Williams as soon as you heard their voice because everybody did something different and had a distinctive sound.
My theory as to why is simple. Nashville has run out of ideas although it took Music City U.S.A. about 15 years to catch up to the rest of music as a whole on that trend. And when Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, etc. became so huge that record labels were more interested in duplicating the success with almost duplicate acts instead of trying to fashion a better sound with somebody with a totally different style. Every song on contemporary country radio with few exceptions is the same thing with the same meaningless lyrics. They almost sound like what somebody would say to their lover right when they were at the pinnacle of a sexual act, and that's no joke, just jibberish that is repeated over and over again.
A lot of country acts that people still love like George Jones, Sammy Kershaw, Joe Diffie, Clint Black, Tracy Byrd, and Aaron Tippin couldn't get past the receptionist at the front desk at the major Nashville recording companies today. That's a damn shame too.
