|
Post by countrymusic20 on Oct 6, 2014 16:37:36 GMT -5
I think this just wasn't the right single choice for radio. Sure Jake Owen's no A-lister but he's had five #1 records out of his past six radio singles. I don't think Jake's still at the point where he'll have a 25-30 week climb to #1 (which "Beachin'" didn't even have, taking 24 weeks to hit the top) and I also don't think "Ghost Town" would be having the same problems on the chart that "What We Ain't Got" is having. RCA was probably hoping to get Jake Owen more critical acclaim and possibly some award nominations by releasing this instead of an obvious, radio-friendly song, but this single looks like it won't make nearly enough of an impact on radio to even be considered for an award. RCA Nashville will surely stick with this Jake Owen record for a few more weeks rather than just pulling it, but I do expect "What We Ain't Got" to peak in the upper 30's or lower 20's by the end of November and a new single (probably "Ghost Town") to be put out in December or January. Jake fought for this single ... So it's not entirely RCA's fault. They'll probably stick with it til the the Xmas chart freeze. So it might make it to the mid 20's before they pull it.
|
|
sabre14
Diamond Member
Vince Gill & the Muppets make everything better
Joined: October 2013
Posts: 26,916
|
Post by sabre14 on Oct 6, 2014 16:38:25 GMT -5
You know I was just writing a blog about this exact subject yesterday, but looking at "What We Ain't Got's" chart run, I believe that Jake is fortunate that it's 2014 and not 2004. If it was 10 or even 7 or 8 years ago, I think "What We Ain't Got" could have flamed out after just 12-14 weeks. These slower ballads always take time to grow on radio but sometimes it just doesn't click in time to make any sort of impact. And it has slowed down considerably with only a 10 spin increase over the past seven days on MB.
I definitely see RCA sticking with this for the next few weeks to come since the sales are doing fairly for a song in it's position (I agree that Jake is not an A-lister yet) and it's Callout America scores have tested a positive feedback thus far. But count me in as being one who thought this song was just too risky for a radio release. I can totally see why they did it since Jake is coming off a huge #1 single and the fact that it's the right time of year, plus this was a request made by Jake - and I do really like this song and think it's a good breath of fresh air when put up against other releases; But I wouldn't be surprised at all to see this peak in the 20's at best. Again I'm really rooting for this one, but I think that RCA will have quite a fight ahead if they wish to make "What We Ain't Got" a big hit for Jake.
|
|
|
Post by countrymusic20 on Oct 6, 2014 16:43:15 GMT -5
It's already in the "upper 30s." It also has GREAT Callout America scores with only 3% dislike and 8% 'fatigue' on it. So it may take a little while but I doubt it's done by the end of November. You get an A for effort in your avid support for this song. EYB's Dust had amazing Callout America numbers too. It died a slow death in the teens. I don't think WWAG will make it past the mid - 20's ... It might not even make the 20's at all at this rate.
|
|
rsmatto
6x Platinum Member
Joined: December 2008
Posts: 6,528
|
Post by rsmatto on Oct 6, 2014 17:24:32 GMT -5
It's already in the "upper 30s." It also has GREAT Callout America scores with only 3% dislike and 8% 'fatigue' on it. So it may take a little while but I doubt it's done by the end of November. You get an A for effort in your avid support for this song. EYB's Dust had amazing Callout America numbers too. It died a slow death in the teens. I don't think WWAG will make it past the mid - 20's ... It might not even make the 20's at all at this rate. It'll be a shame if radio -- which states 'bro fatigue' -- won't play songs "What We Ain't Got" and "She Don't Love You" but will play other stuff. It should also spell the true end of any real 'downtempo' ballads if this isn't a hit. I STILL think it can and should be a big hit. But if it's not, I guess it just wasn't meant to be.
|
|
Deleted
Joined: January 1970
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 6, 2014 18:18:13 GMT -5
You get an A for effort in your avid support for this song. EYB's Dust had amazing Callout America numbers too. It died a slow death in the teens. I don't think WWAG will make it past the mid - 20's ... It might not even make the 20's at all at this rate. It'll be a shame if radio -- which states 'bro fatigue' -- won't play songs "What We Ain't Got" and "She Don't Love You" but will play other stuff. It should also spell the true end of any real 'downtempo' ballads if this isn't a hit. I STILL think it can and should be a big hit. But if it's not, I guess it just wasn't meant to be. Are you sure radio is experiencing bro fatigue? It seems like a lot of listeners and certainly critics are pushing this idea of bro fatigue very aggressively but most of the comments I've seen from radio programmers are about how much ratings have improved since pop country and "bro country" entered their playlists. Anyway, I don't know if "What We Ain't Got"'s failure will mean that no downbeat ballads will ever get played again or that radio has something against that type of music. I always thought "What We Ain't Got" seemed like a bit of an odd choice for a radio release, even for a ballad. We don't get a whole lot of songs as downbeat and downright sad-sounding as "What We Ain't Got" sent to radio anymore so it's hard to make comparisons and see if radio is playing other songs of a similar nature, but I think this single may have just not been the right one for radio. Let's see if songs like "A Guy Walks into a Bar," "Like a Cowboy," and "Say You Do" end up becoming hits. (I'm still very confident that the latter two will end up in the top 10 on the charts when all is said and done.) I personally think radio will play any type of music as long as they think it sounds good on their playlists, yields generally good sales and research numbers and other feedback, and doesn't have some random strange controversy around it (a la "Cop Car," "Beer with Jesus"). "What We Ain't Got" may have just seemed too dark, depressing, and/or boring. I don't know any of this for sure, of course. This is all just my speculation based on comments I've read and charts I've watched. There are really so many variables that we have to look at trends overtime not just a few singles that don't move the needle.
|
|
dm2081
7x Platinum Member
Joined: April 2014
Posts: 7,031
|
Post by dm2081 on Oct 6, 2014 18:53:41 GMT -5
^Like A Cowboy has been in the same spot on the charts for way longer than What We Ain't Got has, so I'm not so sure how far that one will be able to climb. I've been starting to wonder if the label will get antsy with this song struggling and pull it to put out Ghost Town. The callout scores are definitely a good indicator for this song I hope. But I also agree that if this song bombs, you can forget any non A-lister releasing a piano driven ballad for the forseable future.
|
|
rsmatto
6x Platinum Member
Joined: December 2008
Posts: 6,528
|
Post by rsmatto on Oct 6, 2014 23:09:33 GMT -5
@daydrinker, I didn't say they did. I said they state "bro fatigue" as a reason to want "better" songs. But then they get em and won't play em.
|
|
zjames
Platinum Member
Joined: June 2013
Posts: 1,926
|
Post by zjames on Oct 23, 2014 20:17:52 GMT -5
Interesting live lyric video.
|
|
rsmatto
6x Platinum Member
Joined: December 2008
Posts: 6,528
|
Post by rsmatto on Oct 24, 2014 11:13:18 GMT -5
Interesting live lyric video. The man in the video is the songwriter Travis Meadows. He has his own version of this on iTunes and Spotify. It's pretty damn good.
|
|
dm2081
7x Platinum Member
Joined: April 2014
Posts: 7,031
|
Post by dm2081 on Oct 31, 2014 12:51:58 GMT -5
I'm really glad to see this song have a couple of decent updates the past few days, after weeks of not doing much. With 3 songs in the top 10 set to go recurrent, this should finally crack the top 30 next week on Billboard, and there should be a couple more ahead of this song that will throw in the towel soon as well. I'm hoping this can gain some momentum now and start garnering more airplay as the colder weather months kick in. It's doing great in Callout Scores, and the sales have been about average (So not hurting the song at all), so I don't see why radio should be so hesitant to play this song. It's not like Jake isn't a decent sized name now either.
|
|
rsmatto
6x Platinum Member
Joined: December 2008
Posts: 6,528
|
Post by rsmatto on Oct 31, 2014 14:07:31 GMT -5
I'm really glad to see this song have a couple of decent updates the past few days, after weeks of not doing much. With 3 songs in the top 10 set to go recurrent, this should finally crack the top 30 next week on Billboard, and there should be a couple more ahead of this song that will throw in the towel soon as well. I'm hoping this can gain some momentum now and start garnering more airplay as the colder weather months kick in. It's doing great in Callout Scores, and the sales have been about average (So not hurting the song at all), so I don't see why radio should be so hesitant to play this song. It's not like Jake isn't a decent sized name now either. It's just taking them a while to realize that it's a great song. And many markets won't even touch it til it hits Top 30. Once it does that, I expect more adds/more spins and for it to break out sales wise, even if it 'only' hits Gold. This and Eric Paslay's "She Don't Love You" may be more 'important' for 'traditionalists' than even Maddie & Tae's song.
|
|
rsmatto
6x Platinum Member
Joined: December 2008
Posts: 6,528
|
Post by rsmatto on Nov 20, 2014 14:17:13 GMT -5
Just left a q&a after a screening of this song's video. It's simple and powerful, just like the song. It looks like it'll be the final single from the album too. Jake is working on the follow-up album right now.
Look for more about the song and video on Roughstock soon. The q&a was over 50 minutes long.
|
|
Deleted
Joined: January 1970
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 20, 2014 15:15:59 GMT -5
^Well, if this is the last single, I believe Jake Owen and RCA are leaving two potential huge radio hits on the table, "Ghost Town" and "Life of the Party." It's pretty surprising to see a solid B-lister ending an album era with a pretty big disappointment on the charts. Maybe the video will give this an extra burst of momentum but I'd say there's no way this will come anywhere near the top 10 after burning through this many weeks at the bottom of the chart.
|
|
Markus Meyer
Platinum Member
Favorite Single of 2020 So Far: “betty” by Taylor Swift
Joined: August 2013
Posts: 1,625
|
Post by Markus Meyer on Nov 20, 2014 17:58:11 GMT -5
Not releasing "Ghost Town" is an enormous mistake IMO.
|
|
dm2081
7x Platinum Member
Joined: April 2014
Posts: 7,031
|
Post by dm2081 on Nov 20, 2014 19:40:25 GMT -5
If this really is the last single from an album full of potential radio hits, in my opinion, then I hope they're prepared to fight this one into the top 5. I know it's burned quite a few weeks in the 30s, but so did many of the songs around it (Brett, Chris, Randy, Thomas, etc.). This song is up to #2 on the callout scores, and the sales are fine considering it's the position on the chart, so radio doesn't have an excuse to not play this one. I agree with @daydrinker though, "Life of the Party" and "Ghost Town" did seem like obvious hit songs.
|
|
mus1cr0w
New Member
Joined: August 2012
Posts: 475
|
Post by mus1cr0w on Nov 20, 2014 21:02:38 GMT -5
Knowing travis, you know he went through a crap ton to even stay alive. Jake knows this and sings the song with conviction.
I believe the song is slowly resonating with the listening public.
Here's to more good music with zero tailgates.
MR
|
|
rsmatto
6x Platinum Member
Joined: December 2008
Posts: 6,528
|
Post by rsmatto on Nov 21, 2014 18:26:30 GMT -5
^Well, if this is the last single, I believe Jake Owen and RCA are leaving two potential huge radio hits on the table, "Ghost Town" and "Life of the Party." It's pretty surprising to see a solid B-lister ending an album era with a pretty big disappointment on the charts. Maybe the video will give this an extra burst of momentum but I'd say there's no way this will come anywhere near the top 10 after burning through this many weeks at the bottom of the chart. Naw, they'll keep it going as long as they can and so what if it takes a longer time to get to Top 10. He AND his label are fully behind working the tune up the charts. It's always a tougher go right now because there aren't many piano/vocal songs like this on the charts. If it fails to break even Top 20, that'd be a shame and a big shame on radio, especially given how well the audience research scores have been. As mus1cr0w says, this song is directly from Travis Meadows' life and Jake sings it with conviction (he said he didn't relate to the addiction struggles that Travis went through but the line about "I Wanted the world until my whole world stopped" and how he can imagine how he'd feel if something happened to his wife and/or daughter).
|
|
|
Post by countrymusic20 on Nov 21, 2014 23:37:15 GMT -5
This is the last single - no Ghost Town. With this weeks sales 1,171 Days of Gold records and 7,949 single downloads on WWAG, the record label is losing a lot of money right now radio promoting this single. Record sales have flatlined and all the momentum from Beachin' is gone. Once album sales drop to this low a level, a new hit single usually doesn't bump album sales back up much. So it won't make any financial sense for the record label to waste more money on another single. WWAG has taken 16 weeks to get to 27 on the chart. At the rate is has moved, it'd take another 15 weeks to get it to 10 - mid April (with the Xmas chart freeze). Sadly, some really great radio songs on this record are never gonna see the light of day - Ghost Town, Drivn' All Night, Life Of The Party to name a few. All would have performed really well at radio in the wake of Beachin'. Jake is looking hard for and has already recording material for his next record.
|
|
dm2081
7x Platinum Member
Joined: April 2014
Posts: 7,031
|
Post by dm2081 on Nov 22, 2014 0:00:30 GMT -5
I don't agree with it not making financial sense to keep promoting this. Don't get me wrong, I'm by no means an accountant, but if they were to just let this song go right now, I think they'd risk going too long without Jake's name on the radio. I think their best option is to push this song into top 5 if they can, then wait a month or two (bringing us to around April/May), and would be a good time to release another summer type of anthem , like Barefoot Blue Jean Night. Not only would that be the type of single to drive album sales for the next album, it also would make sense following a real slow ballad like this one. And yes, this song has taken a long time to reach the top 30, but so have other artists around his level of fame (Lee Brice, Randy Houser, Chris Young). There are some more songs in front of this that should be dropping soon (Kiss You Tonight, Look At You, Tattoo which could be passed by Jake soon, Show You Off, and possibly Close Your Eyes and Feelin' It), not to mention quite a few songs should be going recurrent soon (Leave The Night On, Neon Light, and eventually both Somewhere in my Car and Day Drinking). That's almost 10 spots right there before Christmas. Plus, the label probably wants to get this as high up the charts as possible so they can promote for some award recognition at the upcoming April awards show (forgot the name of it).
|
|
Deleted
Joined: January 1970
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 22, 2014 0:13:11 GMT -5
I can't imagine an artist like Jake Owen taking any more than 25 weeks to reach the top 10. His slowest-climbing #1, "The One That Got Away," only took 21 weeks to reach the top 10. Jake Owen's at a point in his career where if a single doesn't pretty immediately climb the chart it's probably not going to go anywhere. "What We Ain't Got" won't be a mark of shame or anything. I should still make the top 20 and I'm sure critics will appreciate Jake releasing a balance of party music and deeper stuff from his album. I'll just be interested to see the direction Jake takes with his next album. This record was pretty diverse, with pop-country party tunes like "Beachin'," emotional stuff like "What We Ain't Got," southern rock song "Days of Gold," and a lot of moderate music that could satisfy both critics and regular listeners.
Gary Overton seems to be trying to get all his artists to release/record less party music lately. I'm not sure how well this has worked out for most of Sony's artists. We've seen songs with decent sales but struggles on the chart like this Jake Owen single or Tyler Farr's "A Guy Walks into a Bar," songs like Kenny Chesney's "Til It's Gone" with decent airplay but mediocre sales, songs with good sales and good airplay like "Something in the Water" and "Perfect Storm," and a few songs that haven't really done anything like singles from Sara Evans and Swon Brothers. I can see Jake trying to record a moderate, diverse album like this record again, but I'll be interested to see whether he sticks with the radio fodder that gets him decent airplay for singles or tries to get another ballad up the charts.
|
|
|
Post by countrymusic20 on Nov 22, 2014 14:49:28 GMT -5
I don't agree with it not making financial sense to keep promoting this. Don't get me wrong, I'm by no means an accountant, but if they were to just let this song go right now, I think they'd risk going too long without Jake's name on the radio. I think their best option is to push this song into top 5 if they can, then wait a month or two (bringing us to around April/May), and would be a good time to release another summer type of anthem , like Barefoot Blue Jean Night. Not only would that be the type of single to drive album sales for the next album, it also would make sense following a real slow ballad like this one. And yes, this song has taken a long time to reach the top 30, but so have other artists around his level of fame (Lee Brice, Randy Houser, Chris Young). There are some more songs in front of this that should be dropping soon (Kiss You Tonight, Look At You, Tattoo which could be passed by Jake soon, Show You Off, and possibly Close Your Eyes and Feelin' It), not to mention quite a few songs should be going recurrent soon (Leave The Night On, Neon Light, and eventually both Somewhere in my Car and Day Drinking). That's almost 10 spots right there before Christmas. Plus, the label probably wants to get this as high up the charts as possible so they can promote for some award recognition at the upcoming April awards show (forgot the name of it). To clarify, I for sure think they should keep promoting this single ... It just makes no sense financially for the record label to put out another single after this one.
|
|
Deleted
Joined: January 1970
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 24, 2014 13:44:42 GMT -5
I know that there was a deluxe edition of Days Of Gold released, but did they just re-release it or something? It's suddenly being advertised on iTunes again (banner ad on the top of the iTunes country page), and when I clicked on the album, over on the left side of the track list it says "Released November 17, 2014". But the track list is the same as it's always been, as far as I can tell--it's got the 12 standard edition tracks plus the 4 deluxe tracks, "After The Music's Stopped", "I Like You A Lot", "Summer Jam", and "Surefire Feeling".
The November 17 release date thing is the only thing that's confusing me.
Anyway, "What We Ain't Got" is up 320 spins over the last 7 days and looks like a sure bet to crack the top 20 in the next couple of weeks. I'm disappointed to hear that this will be the last single from the album, though. I do like it well enough, and it's certainly a nice change of pace compared to most other radio songs, but I think "Ghost Town" and "Drivin' All Night" are even better and I also think they would have done better on radio. Still, I can hardly blame Jake for releasing this song--a lot of other artists wouldn't have taken the risk.
|
|
sabre14
Diamond Member
Vince Gill & the Muppets make everything better
Joined: October 2013
Posts: 26,916
|
Post by sabre14 on Nov 24, 2014 13:50:02 GMT -5
Anyway, "What We Ain't Got" is up 320 spins over the last 7 days and looks like a sure bet to crack the top 20 in the next couple of weeks. I'm disappointed to hear that this will be the last single from the album, though. I do like it well enough, and it's certainly a nice change of pace compared to most other radio songs, but I think "Ghost Town" and "Drivin' All Night" are even better and I also think they would have done better on radio. Still, I can hardly blame Jake for releasing this song--a lot of other artists wouldn't have taken the risk. I completely agree with your take on "What We Ain't Got" and the bummer that "Ghost Town" will likely never see radio. Your last line her made me remember a conversation I had with my Dad a little while ago. When this song came on and I told him that it was Jake's call to have this song be released he said "Good for him". I think that sums up a lot of people's feelings. Many understand that country radio rarely sees songs like this released and the fact that Jake wanted it released made some respect him for making that risky decision. Even though he hit big with "Beachin'", when it comes to these songs (a straight up piano ballad), you just never know if its going to completely flounder inside the top 40.
|
|
Deleted
Joined: January 1970
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 24, 2014 18:21:27 GMT -5
Yeah, that November 17 deluxe edition is a real head-scratcher. All the retail sites show a deluxe edition as having a Nov. 17, 2014 release date but it's the same deluxe edition that's been out. I'll ask around and see if anyone else knows what this is about.
|
|
rsmatto
6x Platinum Member
Joined: December 2008
Posts: 6,528
|
Post by rsmatto on Nov 24, 2014 20:34:30 GMT -5
Anyway, "What We Ain't Got" is up 320 spins over the last 7 days and looks like a sure bet to crack the top 20 in the next couple of weeks. I'm disappointed to hear that this will be the last single from the album, though. I do like it well enough, and it's certainly a nice change of pace compared to most other radio songs, but I think "Ghost Town" and "Drivin' All Night" are even better and I also think they would have done better on radio. Still, I can hardly blame Jake for releasing this song--a lot of other artists wouldn't have taken the risk. I completely agree with your take on "What We Ain't Got" and the bummer that "Ghost Town" will likely never see radio. Your last line her made me remember a conversation I had with my Dad a little while ago. When this song came on and I told him that it was Jake's call to have this song be released he said "Good for him". I think that sums up a lot of people's feelings. Many understand that country radio rarely sees songs like this released and the fact that Jake wanted it released made some respect him for making that risky decision. Even though he hit big with "Beachin'", when it comes to these songs (a straight up piano ballad), you just never know if its going to completely flounder inside the top 40. Jake is WELL aware of being the 'barefoot blue jean night' and 'beachin'' Guy. He repeated that multiple times at the round robin for the video. Now, they MAY release "Ghost Town" after this single for a 4th single from the record but he hinted at the presser that he was feeling like they were going to go with only one more single from the album and that's why he fought so hard for this. He was really adamant about taking the risk with this song that he 'had to do it' to have the career he wants to grow into yet. He clearly has received a lot of "Good for you" for releasing the song moments too. Also, the track had 9 more adds today so it seems as if the song is getting support after all that great research (and the new fantastic video). Yeah, that November 17 deluxe edition is a real head-scratcher. All the retail sites show a deluxe edition as having a Nov. 17, 2014 release date but it's the same deluxe edition that's been out. I'll ask around and see if anyone else knows what this is about. That's the Target version now being released from exclusivity. it's EXACTLY like what happened with the Luke Bryan CRASH MY PARTY exclusive earlier this year. I can't imagine an artist like Jake Owen taking any more than 25 weeks to reach the top 10. His slowest-climbing #1, "The One That Got Away," only took 21 weeks to reach the top 10. Jake Owen's at a point in his career where if a single doesn't pretty immediately climb the chart it's probably not going to go anywhere. "What We Ain't Got" won't be a mark of shame or anything. I should still make the top 20 and I'm sure critics will appreciate Jake releasing a balance of party music and deeper stuff from his album. I'll just be interested to see the direction Jake takes with his next album. This record was pretty diverse, with pop-country party tunes like "Beachin'," emotional stuff like "What We Ain't Got," southern rock song "Days of Gold," and a lot of moderate music that could satisfy both critics and regular listeners. Gary Overton seems to be trying to get all his artists to release/record less party music lately. I'm not sure how well this has worked out for most of Sony's artists. We've seen songs with decent sales but struggles on the chart like this Jake Owen single or Tyler Farr's "A Guy Walks into a Bar," songs like Kenny Chesney's "Til It's Gone" with decent airplay but mediocre sales, songs with good sales and good airplay like "Something in the Water" and "Perfect Storm," and a few songs that haven't really done anything like singles from Sara Evans and Swon Brothers. I can see Jake trying to record a moderate, diverse album like this record again, but I'll be interested to see whether he sticks with the radio fodder that gets him decent airplay for singles or tries to get another ballad up the charts. "What We Ain't Got" is a completely different song than those other songs from Jake. Radio was reluctant for it at first for the simple reason that it was a ballad (he said as much at the press event). But then once early believers started getting great callout and research scores, other stations have slowly jumped on. This song is a completely different animal. As for other artists. it's too early to tell whether there is an anti-bro move or not...
|
|
dm2081
7x Platinum Member
Joined: April 2014
Posts: 7,031
|
Post by dm2081 on Nov 25, 2014 18:39:11 GMT -5
tasteofcountry.com/jake-owen-spotify/Thought this article was pretty interesting. I think the decision about Spotify is going to become bigger, and is this generation's "Napster". We've seen Brantley, Jason, and Taylor all pull their albums from the streaming site, so it'll be interesting to see who will follow suit. I like that Jake is taking this position, and I hope most side with him.
|
|
Deleted
Joined: January 1970
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 25, 2014 19:34:01 GMT -5
^I can't say if Jake Owen truly feels that way about Spotify since he's obviously got some close ties with them after participating in the Uber-Spotify team-up promotion. I realize that for true artists it's usually not all about making money, but who doesn't want to earn what they deserve?
|
|
dm2081
7x Platinum Member
Joined: April 2014
Posts: 7,031
|
Post by dm2081 on Nov 26, 2014 0:35:09 GMT -5
|
|
Uncle Lumpy
3x Platinum Member
The poster formerly known as Lumpster
Joined: September 2005
Posts: 3,425
|
Post by Uncle Lumpy on Nov 27, 2014 9:58:39 GMT -5
Damn! I already loved this song & usually avoid videos, but that is some powerful stuff & left me a blubbering mess.
|
|
Ten Pound Hammer
9x Platinum Member
Banned
I watched it all on my radio
Joined: August 2006
Posts: 9,595
|
Post by Ten Pound Hammer on Dec 7, 2014 18:26:13 GMT -5
Wow, that's Sarah Buxton on backing vocals? Barely sounds like her at all.
|
|