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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2015 14:15:40 GMT -5
^ I don't even know what to say to the above thoughts... I will try to come up with an adequate analogy. It is like watching someone trying to make hot dogs, only to cook them they just throw them into the fire. Then the person observing, rather than criticizing the technique of the hot-dog-maker, says, "Man, I wish they had been given the opportunity to try cooking higher quality hot dogs." There are a TON of problems with country radio today, and literally zero of them have anything to do with FGL getting too little airplay. As you said, this album era has been "incredibly forgettable", but in my eyes the blame falls squarely on the shoulders of FGL. You're right, they could release better music! But instead, we are forced to face the visual of them putting their pink umbrella in some girl's drink every time we turn on the radio... I do agree that it is unfair to have labels manipulating spins. Everyone flies off the handle when it happens to Carrie Underwood in favor of her male label mates, and it is equally unfair when it happens to FGL. But to say that Big Machine has been treating them pathetically has got to be the grossest overstatement I have ever heard. So the label released only bland, forgettable songs to radio from the album? Well, if FGL didn't record music that ranged from being bland and forgettable to being downright insulting, they would not have that problem, would they. And I will never for a moment believe that FGL has no say in which songs get sent to radio... Yes, it is an outrage when any #1-bound song misses the top due to their label's miscalculated shenanigans. But there is certainly no grounds whatsoever to start having a pity party for how "poorly" BMLG treats FGL... They are hotter than just about any other act in the genre today, and they have hit #1 on literally every song released so far except "This Is How We Roll" and this one, which is still climbing. I wasn't saying all the single choices were bad. Actually, I only disliked "Sun Daze" as a single (though still enjoyed it as a mildly catchy album track). I guess I can't entirely fault Big Machine for this since Jamie said a while back that FGL wanted this released as a single, but when an album full of great, "non-bro" material only gets four singles, it's incredibly frustrating that one was wasted on SD. "Sun Daze" isn't really representative of the kind of material FGL is making. It's basically the fourth weakest song on the album, and I view it as album filler material, not single material. So it's kind of like someone makes hot dogs, and most of them turn out great, but the guy serving the hot dogs isn't paying much attention and only serves the few hot dogs that were mediocre to customers. The server just thinks, "This hot-dog-maker is already pulling in most of the money we're making, so any hot dog of his is a great choice to serve, and if I want to help break other, new hot-dog-makers, I'll ask the customers to try the new hot-dog-makers' hot dogs over his." I wasn't saying the album era as a whole has been entirely forgettable, but it would be much more interesting if some of the songs with more meaning had been sent to radio. Luke Bryan's label has handled his singles much better. Not only did they fight for multiple weeks at #1 with every single from the last album to cement Luke's role as the biggest radio star, but they released a balance of bro-country songs and some deeper material to capture the interest of a larger audience. If a song like "Smoke" had been released, FGL might have caught the attention of some casual radio listeners who have mostly only heard bro-country from the duo on the radio, and they could be selling even more albums. Not releasing "Smoke" is just insane, since the past three FGL singles' music videos have had one of the top-rated comments be something about how much better a single "Smoke" would have made. As you said, Florida Georgia Line is hotter than just about any other act in the format, but that's not Big Machine's doing. They'd be immensely popular on any label, but perhaps other labels would have been more attentive about choosing singles. Seven out of eight singles hitting #1 isn't Big Machine's doing either, and they've really done more to hurt FGL in terms of airplay than they have to help them. (If anything, the duo would probably have eight #1s by this point if they were on another label.) While I don't think they're deserving of a "pity party," I guess I just get the sense that FGL is experiencing a major dip in popularity this era, and casual observers are going to look at diminishing airplay, lower single and album sales, etc. and spin this as a sign of bro-country fatigue. However, it's really just looking like Big Machine isn't fighting for airplay like they did with the past era, and they haven't been exactly wise about choosing the best material to showcase the album either. All they've really done is throw out singles half-heartedly with what seems like little radio promotion, and ask radio stations to play other artists more when applicable. I guess when you get to Blake Shelton's star stature, your label can start to look at the bigger picture and it no longer becomes necessary to fight for multiple weeks at #1. I realize that only getting one week at #1 is the norm these days, but I don't think FGL is at the point where it's totally wise to start easing up on radio promotion yet and assume that their A-list star status is permanent. Capitol was fighting for multiple weeks at #1 for Luke Bryan as recently as "I See You," and of course Broken Bow is still pushing Jason Aldean's songs for as many weeks at #1 as they can imagine. Especially with Florida Georgia Line, I feel like they're more "at risk" in some ways. A lot of people have been saying that they're just a fad, their style is going to burn out soon, and they won't last too long. Now you've got BCU publishing monthly articles where they quote one or two radio programmers who don't like bro-country and try to convince everyone that bro-country is somehow on the decline. There's even one station on the Mediabase panel, WPCV, that seems to be virtually boycotting FGL's music. Other artists considered A-listers don't have to worry about this as much, as bro-country has never been more synonymous with any particular act more than it has with Florida Georgia Line. If Big Machine had released some stronger songs from this record, made sure that each single was a multi-week #1, and gotten six #1s, breaking the record for most #1 songs from an album (which should have been no challenge at all), I'd feel more comfortable knowing that no one could still be wondering how long they're going to last. I guess all I can do now is look forward and hope that Florida Georgia Line's next lead single really is life-changing and is so earth-shattering that it couldn't wait for another single or two from this record to be released. ETA: One more thing I will add is that I don't think I've ever seen a case of spin manipulation as extreme as what's going on with "Anything Goes" and "Fly." This is now down to a bullet of 14 on Mediabase, and it's only #11. I can't remember ever seeing a song get to the point where it looks like it's struggling badly and still has 22 million audience to gain before reaching #1 levels on Billboard Country Airplay, simply due to a label pushing another artist. While I'd be surprised to see this miss #1, I can no longer say with 100% certainty that Big Machine hasn't totally killed this song's momentum and ruined its chances of hitting #1. It's immensely irresponsible and unfair to an artist for a label to do something like this to their song to help another client. This is sleazy and unprofessional. I guess it's an ironic addition of insult to injury that the duo being helped by this is Maddie & Tae, who have established themselves as basically the polar opposite of Florida Georgia Line and broken through with a song that directly bashes FGL's style of music.
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onebuffalo
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Post by onebuffalo on Sept 10, 2015 14:29:24 GMT -5
^I said something along those lines recently: Even though I can see the Aldean/FGL similarity in terms of subject matter, I think it's an insult to Garth to compare him (or his material), to those two. Garth is a Country music icon who made some classic tunes. There's no comparison between him and Country's resident frat boys and I'm not even a big Garth fan. I'm certainly NOT breathing the names of Garth Brooks, Jason Aldean, and Florida Georgia Line together. Until Aldean and F.G.L. decides to cut their 'The Dances', it would be hard to take those other two acts seriously.
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.indulgecountry
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Post by .indulgecountry on Sept 10, 2015 15:36:15 GMT -5
I'm really confused by this idea that Big Machine is holding FGL back... like what? Sales are obviously down for everybody, and they've continued to pump out their usual crap and radio eats it up as per usual, so I'm not seeing the problem. They branched out with "Dirt" so if there's any problem with their single choices being too same-y and predictable, I'd be surprised if they were not FGL's own decisions. These are the two guys who continue to revel in the fact that they make and re-make party tunes for the bro-country crowd so why would anyone think "wow, the label is holding them back because they're not switching it up more" is beyond me. I just can't imagine FGL being the ones who want to diversify their music and, this is without hearing those "higher quality" album cuts that have been mentioned, I doubt that those songs are so inherently better than anything else they've done. Even "Dirt," which was a cut above all their other singles easily, was really not that good and Tyler's voice is awful no matter what he's singing, imo.
I just don't see how Big Machine is mishandling them at all and disagree that they'd be doing way better at another label or anything to that degree. This whole concept honestly really baffles me.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2015 16:26:43 GMT -5
Just one clarification and then I'll set this argument aside: I'm not really complaining as much about the single choices here as I am about the quantity of singles and the way their radio promotion has been handled. If I were FGL's label, I definitely would have released "Sippin' on Fire" (my favorite cut from the album) and "Anything Goes." I just would have thrown a few others into the mix to show non-fans that the duo is capable of singing about different subject matter, and I would have fought for the six-#1s record, which they'd be a shoe-in for with this album full of radio-friendly material. I'm not disagreeing that FGL wanted songs like "Sun Daze" and "Anything Goes" released. As for my complaint about radio promotion, it's going to look like I'm splitting hairs here since there's obviously not a problem getting songs to #1 and I'm sure "Anything Goes" will find its way to #1 later this fall, but as a chart-watcher and FGL fan I just wish Big Machine would've fought a little harder for the singles like Capitol did with Luke's last album or like Broken Bow does with Jason Aldean. It seems like Big Machine's been getting #1s with relatively low peak airplay numbers this year, as if little work goes into a push for a song they know will get to #1 anyway. I recall this with "Sun Daze," "Make Me Wanna," "Smoke," and "Sippin' on Fire." I'm pretty sure jhomes87 keeps a record of Billboard peak airplay levels...Maybe she could give us a brief glance at these four #1 songs' peak levels in comparison to the songs that reached #1 around them?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2015 16:29:35 GMT -5
I have honestly just seen this as an average song with an odd melody-subject matter combination beginning to struggle. Couple that with general "bro" fatigue and here you have it.
I can't imagine BMLG would pull off promotion so much that this song would go nearly bulletless just to help Maddie & Tae, when "Fly" will get passed by "Strip it Down" and probably "Gonna Wanna Tonight" soon anyway.
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carriekins
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Post by carriekins on Sept 10, 2015 16:35:36 GMT -5
Not to mention that FGL continue to be among the most polarizing artists in the genre...Luke and Jason have put out some polarizing singles, but they're generally held in more good will in the industry than FGL.
I literally find this entire idea to be ridiculous.
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dm2081
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Post by dm2081 on Sept 10, 2015 16:48:16 GMT -5
Florida Georgia Line aren't struggling, and neither is this song. Since this is the last single off Anything Goes, it wouldn't surprise me if the label was purposefully trying to stretch this one's chart run out. It would seem that that their next lead single would either come out in November sometime or they wait until January after the holidays. I could see them wanting to leave as little of a gap at radio as possible, and also wanting to ensure that this tune goes Gold (which it most likely will).
I agree about the single selections though. "Confession" could have been a huge smash hit for them IMO, one that would have changed more opinions about them as being merely bro only artists. The timing of "Sun Daze" was odd as well, but in the end it still ended up being a pretty big hit. I think their choices haven't been terrible, but they haven't been perfect either.
And in defense of @daydrinker, when the album came out there was an article where Borchatta said how everyone else was changing their style and shifting towards the R&B trend, he insisted that FGL stay the same, singing songs about trucks and partying. So it could very well be that Borchatta has influenced their recording a bit, especially considering how different some of their songs they wrote before being signed are in subject matter.
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mus1cr0w
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Post by mus1cr0w on Sept 10, 2015 20:41:40 GMT -5
I have something to tell you about the next single...
MR
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2015 20:49:16 GMT -5
I have something to tell you about the next single... MR Such a tease. I believe they said that they were taking a break after "Anything Goes" before they release a lead single from the new album. I believe they also said that the new music is going to "change country music again." I believe they also discussed doing a song with Nelly. Hoping only 2 of the 3 are related.
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sabre14
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Post by sabre14 on Sept 10, 2015 20:56:31 GMT -5
I have something to tell you about the next single... MR Lol, anytime you want to tell us, let it rip...
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rjz
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Post by rjz on Sept 10, 2015 22:04:41 GMT -5
I have honestly just seen this as an average song with an odd melody-subject matter combination beginning to struggle. Couple that with general "bro" fatigue and here you have it. I can't imagine BMLG would pull off promotion so much that this song would go nearly bulletless just to help Maddie & Tae, when "Fly" will get passed by "Strip it Down" and probably "Gonna Wanna Tonight" soon anyway. This is how I see it also. This is an odd jumble of a song that sounds just like their basic FGL loud jangle of music and over done drawly yelling. I do enjoy some moments in their songs and would honestly rather listen to them than Luke Bryan's Bro leaning stuff, but it isn't surprising at all that there could be fatigue at radio with this same old sound and lyrics from them. I'm thinking their radio team will get the song to top 5 eventually, which is more than it deserves (not saying a lot of other songs make it there more deservedly). Definitely curious to hear this 'new sound' they refer to. Can't imagine them doing the R&B style that seems to be popular since I don't see them as smooth enough singers and musicians to pull that off but perhaps the incredible album cuts others speak of would prove me wrong. Some hard core hip hop from them would not be surprising at all.....
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2015 22:23:26 GMT -5
^The above scenario is highly unlikely. This is doing way better on the all-stations, indicator, and activator charts, which basically means that stations not being worked by labels are playing this more than stations that are being worked. There's nothing at all that makes this any different than the other bro-country stuff radio plays, and sales and research are just fine, so there's no reason why radio wouldn't take this to #1 on its own. In addition, the songs around this are "Gonna Wanna Tonight" and "Let Me See Ya Girl," which are both bro-country songs that are selling way worse and doing just fine, so I think the concept of bro fatigue at radio is mostly a myth. My guess would be most of the stations that claim "bro fatigue" were never big fans of the movement to begin with. I guess "Strip It Down" would have naturally passed "Anything Goes" eventually, so one good thing about this manipulation is that FGL will go up way behind Luke and there won't be a chance for "Strip" to block "Anything" a few weeks down the road.
Anyway, I didn't mean to stir everyone up with my earlier comments. I guess we just see things very differently here, and I understand why people are frustrated. Florida Georgia Line is still doing fine in all areas, and when you see all the artists who are having real trouble at radio and even getting dropped from their labels, in some cases even despite lots of fan interest, I get why you would react with disgust when it seems like someone is pitying a super star because of things that may seem trivial in the grander scheme. For the record, I sympathize with plenty of other artists and am frustrated with a lot of labels' decisions...I just don't feel the need to discuss the artists who already get a lot of attention on here anyway. I guess I'm just aggravated because I'm a big fan of this duo and there are so many songs on this album that just scream "monster radio hit," so I feel like Big Machine's just walking away from some opportunities for really big hits that could change public perception of Florida Georgia Line. In addition, I kind of feel like right now is a crucial time for artists who started the bro-country movement to prove their longevity with all of the media talk of bro fatigue, so I guess I'm a little more critical of decisions being made right now. That being said, I'm always happy to hear your opposing opinions and reasons behind those opinions. I don't want to get into a repetitive argument, but I'll always respond if I have something new to add to the discussion.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 11, 2015 7:18:42 GMT -5
^The above scenario is highly unlikely. This is doing way better on the all-stations, indicator, and activator charts, which basically means that stations not being worked by labels are playing this more than stations that are being worked. Actually this one just had a -124 bullet on either the activator or indicator, I can't remember. Either way, that's a decent sized hit.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2015 19:51:52 GMT -5
Old Dominion is getting alarmingly close to FGL on Country Airplay. "Break up with Him" out-gained "Anything Goes" this past week by 1.5 million audience, and it's now just a million behind AG. AG continues to climb at the same relatively slow pace it has for its whole chart run, while BUWH is climbing quite characteristically for a new act, with exponential increases since it hit the top-20. I'm worried that if Big Machine is sleeping on the job here they may end up missing out on getting a big hit to #1, as we saw with Capitol Nashville and Keith Urban this week.
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Kat5Kind
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Post by Kat5Kind on Sept 28, 2015 20:32:40 GMT -5
I'm rooting for this to get to the top. They absolutely rocked it on Saturday and meeting them was an incredible moment for me! They played Confession and I wish to God that had been a single. It's my favorite song from the album.
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bksouthga
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Post by bksouthga on Sept 30, 2015 23:39:23 GMT -5
"Rockin' that bang box" is clearly a reference to playing music through a speaker (I.e. boombox). I don't think it has anything to do with sex. In fact, the next line "sweet spot" is more the hidden innuendo. I agree. I thought it was talking about a juke box also, and not some kind of sexual innuendo. Also the Victoria's Secret line I wouldnassume mean they are swimming in their skivvies not naked. Maybe I'm naive in thinking that Victoria's Secret is the lingerie itself and not the secret inside of said lingerie. All that being said, I do not like this song at all! They've got to start getting some more tonal variety in their songs if I'm ever going to start liking them. "Dirt" was somewhat promising but the follow ups have missed.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2015 11:24:12 GMT -5
All I'm going to say is I cannot believe what Big Machine has done to FGL. Again. People acted like I was insane for griping that FGL would be better on another label a while back and that Big Machine mishandles them, and now for a second time it looks like FGL will miss out on an entirely deserved Billboard #1 thanks to the absolute nonsense Big Machine has done to manipulate the charts against them. If AG hadn't been stalled all those weeks for "Fly" (which accomplished absolutely nothing for "Fly" as it still fizzled out at #9), it wouldn't be about to get blocked by Old Dominion's "Break up with Him." I can't even right now.
I have too many expletives for Big Machine to express right now. I can at least take solace in Big Machine's absolutely pathetic chart share and the hope that soon people will start to realize Scott Borchetta isn't the super-talented businessman he's cracked up to be. I stand by my statements that Big Machine is a terrible label for Florida Georgia Line to be on.
And of course, not to toot my own horn since I've been wrong so many times on my chart predictions, but I did notice this was going to happen a month ago, lol. If only Republic Nashville were half as attentive to FGL. This really sucks.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2015 11:26:05 GMT -5
Normally I'd rejoice that FGL has the chance to miss out on #1, but if it's Old Dominion that's blocking them.....boy is that bittersweet....
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2015 11:29:32 GMT -5
Normally I'd rejoice that FGL has the chance to miss out on #1, but if it's Old Dominion that's blocking them.....boy is that bittersweet.... For anyone who cares about authenticity in the music business, whether you like FGL or not, this should be entirely bitter. Country labels have the power to manipulate spins so that a song radio naturally wants to play (i.e. "Anything Goes") will give some of its airplay to a song radio cannot wait to take out of rotation (i.e. "Fly"). As a result, a solid #1 hit will miss out on #1. This whole thing is ludicrous.
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Kat5Kind
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Post by Kat5Kind on Oct 20, 2015 11:30:35 GMT -5
All I'm going to say is I cannot believe what Big Machine has done to FGL. Again. People acted like I was insane for griping that FGL would be better on another label a while back and that Big Machine mishandles them, and now for a second time it looks like FGL will miss out on an entirely deserved Billboard #1 thanks to the absolute nonsense Big Machine has done to manipulate the charts against them. If AG hadn't been stalled all those weeks for "Fly" (which accomplished absolutely nothing for "Fly" as it still fizzled out at #9), it wouldn't be about to get blocked by Old Dominion's "Break up with Him." I can't even right now. I have too many expletives for Big Machine to express right now. I can at least take solace in Big Machine's absolutely pathetic chart share and the hope that soon people will start to realize Scott Borchetta isn't the super-talented businessman he's cracked up to be. I stand by my statements that Big Machine is a terrible label for Florida Georgia Line to be on. And of course, not to toot my own horn since I've been wrong so many times on my chart predictions, but I did notice this was going to happen a month ago, lol. If only Republic Nashville were half as attentive to FGL. This really sucks. Scott needs to get it together and start pushing his artists to the top. There was NO REASON to stall a song that should've been a massive hit for a song that was pushed FAR TOO LONG. It's absolutely pathetic.
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dm2081
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Post by dm2081 on Oct 20, 2015 12:10:14 GMT -5
Am I looking at the same charts as everybody else? FGL seems to be next in line after "Strip It Down" has it's second week on top. "Anything Goes" still has room to grow, and it's very unlikely that "Break Up With Him" will engage in a blocking effort as we very rarely see that on the charts these days.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2015 12:19:40 GMT -5
Am I looking at the same charts as everybody else? FGL seems to be next in line after "Strip It Down" has it's second week on top. "Anything Goes" still has room to grow, and it's very unlikely that "Break Up With Him" will engage in a blocking effort as we very rarely see that on the charts these days. But as we saw with Save It For A Rainy Day it looks like Sony might start actually start fighting and blocking songs from the top I mean look at the charts if Sony can get Carrie Underwood and Old Dominion to pass Cole and FGL respectively on BB but not on MB Sony might be able to start controlling the top of the chart for a few weeks and both Carrie and Old Dominion are within striking range if they work their cards right we could see those songs sharing a few weeks at the top and who knows we could even see Chris Young spend a couple weeks at the top since Dan + Shay are barely above and Blake Shelton is slowing down big time. I think Sony is going to start not playing nice and really start some battles for the top spot.
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Post by 43dudleyvillas on Oct 20, 2015 12:24:37 GMT -5
Normally I'd rejoice that FGL has the chance to miss out on #1, but if it's Old Dominion that's blocking them.....boy is that bittersweet.... For anyone who cares about authenticity in the music business, whether you like FGL or not, this should be entirely bitter. Country labels have the power to manipulate spins so that a song radio naturally wants to play (i.e. "Anything Goes") will give some of its airplay to a song radio cannot wait to take out of rotation (i.e. "Fly"). As a result, a solid #1 hit will miss out on #1. This whole thing is ludicrous. On the other hand, for those of us who think that Florida-Georgia Line had a big hand in advancing the atmosphere of misogyny at country radio that has made it especially difficult for women (particularly women of substance) to gain traction at country radio over the past few years, Big Machine allocating its resources in the way that you argue it did seems like too small a re-balancing and corrective measure. It does look possible, based on last week's Billboard gains and their respective gains so far this week on Mediabase that "Break Up with Him" may get in front of "Anything Goes" at Billboard on the next couple of charts. I can't work up a rooting interest between the two, but it does seem to me that "Anything Goes" has not connected especially strongly compared to other non-lead singles by established artists, whereas "Break Up with Him" is a lead single from a new artist that is clicking quite well across platforms.
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.indulgecountry
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Post by .indulgecountry on Oct 20, 2015 12:29:41 GMT -5
Still not buying this big conspiracy against Big Machine at all, lmao. FGL would not be doing "better" anywhere else, and they've hit Top 2 with everything they've released thus far, so if this peaks at #2... oh well. Carrie Underwood keeps getting stuck from not hitting the top and I'd say that's a lot higher of an injustice or songs like "Girl Crush" and "Buy Me a Boat," for example. There's definitely nothing about this missing out on a #1 that seems fishy at all to me or indicative of Big Machine mishandling the single. The fact of the matter is that FGL is not the hottest thing around anymore and they've finally started to plateau a bit. Sales are down for everybody, including them, and altogether this single just seemed like a total nonevent release.
This conspiracy theory against Big Machine is absolutely ridiculous and any perceived 'slowing down' of this single is not something that other labels don't also do all the time. I just don't follow this idea that Big Machine is a failure because out of 8 singles, FGL is only going to potentially reach a #2 peak with two of them. Good grief.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2015 12:33:18 GMT -5
"Anything Goes" has definitely connected more strongly than fourth singles from format stars Blake Shelton and Jason Aldean, and I'd argue it's had about the same level of connection as Carrie Underwood's "Little Toy Guns." The two have had very similar sales, research (overall strong albeit some relatively high negatives), and chart runs (steady, measured gains). This is a fourth single; it's not going to climb as fast or sell as well as earlier singles. I'm just not seeing this as an under-performer for FGL's standards like others have. Not to mention FGL's album sales continue to outshine other top names in the format who are consistent hit-makers at radio, including Jason Aldean, Kenny Chesney, and Blake Shelton. .indulgecountry, I don't understand how you could not at least agree that Big Machine mishandled the airplay run here. We at least know this much: AG was having a steady climb up the charts until just before it passed Maddie & Tae's struggling "Fly," when FGL suddenly started to hold completely flat. Right after FGL finally passed Maddie & Tae, whether due to inevitability or Big Machine realizing that it wasn't feasible to hold FGL behind Maddie & Tae any longer, "Fly" was passed by a series of other songs and didn't make it any higher up the airplay charts. You could argue that a #2 peak doesn't matter in the grander scheme of things, but I don't see how you could say Big Machine didn't kill of any of FGL's momentum here. And when this continues to hold relatively strong iTunes sales considering it's a fourth single and country sales are down across the board, I don't view this as a non-event single at all. I agree that labels do this nonsense all the time, although that doesn't make it right, and I also don't agree that most labels would be extreme enough to kill a song's momentum before it's even made the top 10, especially in a case like this where "Fly" had been really struggling. 43dudleyvillas, the only problem is Big Machine didn't accomplish anything by holding AG back for "Fly" as Maddie & Tae still ended up with a #9 peak, and I still don't agree with taking such an abstract notion of perceived misogyny at country radio as a result of Florida Georgia Line' success as a fair trade-off for making a hit single produce concretely lower airplay chart numbers.
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.indulgecountry
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"You left a mark on my face // And brought a dozen red flags in a vase"
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Post by .indulgecountry on Oct 20, 2015 13:01:52 GMT -5
There's no proof that Big Machine is completely at fault for this slowing down at radio. That happens to almost everything once it gets on the cusp of getting into the Top 10 because it's a point where songs get converted into higher spins and most of them have to slow down a bit before they pick back up again and take someone else's spins as they drop. Also, what you're comparing it to with the "Fly" example is based on what you've seen happen with other labels and with other artists/songs given the same treatment, so it seems pretty unfair that if/when Big Machine does it, it's a total farce when everyone else is also doing it. This has sold decently but not well enough that I think it should've been a sure-fire #1 hit. Just this year alone we've seen far more deserving songs wind up missing out on the BB #1 for this to be a unique issue that FGL is about to face as a result of Big Machine's promotion. I also just think radio has cooled on them a bit over the course of this era because it feels like they've just been coasting, and I know the general public has been becoming more unfavorable about them as a whole based on what can be seen on social media and also the downward trend in their sales. Everyone is selling less, but FGL's sales have been among the biggest falls and this is without a doubt their softest single by far. It's going to have the lowest peak on the Hot 100 of any of their prior singles and have the lowest sales total. I don't think this one honestly deserves to hit #1 as both Luke Bryan and Old Dominion have much, much larger hits on their hands comparably.
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Post by 43dudleyvillas on Oct 20, 2015 13:21:05 GMT -5
"Anything Goes" has definitely connected more strongly than fourth singles from format stars Blake Shelton and Jason Aldean, Neither of which has peaked yet and both of which have been moving relatively slowly by their standards, so maybe they'll miss out on the top, as well? and I'd argue it's had about the same level of connection as Carrie Underwood's "Little Toy Guns." The two have had very similar sales, research (overall strong albeit some relatively high negatives), and chart runs (steady, measured gains). "Little Toy Guns" peaked at #2 Billboard, #1 Mediabase, which is the worst-case scenario you are proposing for "Anything Goes." Of course, "Little Toy Guns" was held back a little toward the end of its run, as well and ran into some rough timing as a consequence. the only problem is Big Machine didn't accomplish anything by holding AG back for "Fly" as Maddie & Tae still ended up with a #9 peak, Well, that Big Machine may even have tried is a start, I suppose. and I still don't agree with taking such an abstract notion of perceived misogyny at country radio as a result of Florida Georgia Line' success as a fair trade-off for making a hit single produce concretely lower airplay chart numbers. FGL has been a clear beneficiary of country radio over-serving a particular demographic over the past few years and country radio programmers agree that said demographic is no longer going to be a ratings driver now. Perhaps it's only natural and fair that some of the energy and resources previously devoted to supporting them and their brethren would now be diverted to supporting music that serves different demographics who were neglected while country radio was overloaded with bros. And the misogyny is not merely a matter of perception. There is ample data that shows that the male 18-34 demographic that supported an endless parade of sound-alike bros was the same demographic that made it difficult for female singles to research over the past few years, because that demographic would routinely score female singles poorly. I've posted some of that data here before. While structural issues like this may strike you as "abstract," it doesn't make them any less concrete for the female artists and labels facing this reality. It is going to take the devotion of real resources to work to undo the aggravated imbalances of country radio over the past few years and if, in fact, Big Machine Label Group did choose to devote a little extra to give something like "Fly" more of a chance to connect, I think that is a perfectly legitimate and defensible choice in light of what the song and Maddie & Tae have been up against, especially since there were signs of "Fly" legitimately connecting with other demographics that country radio has at times deemed worthy of serving.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2015 13:29:58 GMT -5
^This is kind of an aside, but I don't recall LTG being held back, Dudley. When do you recall this happening?
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Post by 43dudleyvillas on Oct 20, 2015 13:47:29 GMT -5
^This is kind of an aside, but I don't recall LTG being held back, Dudley. When do you recall this happening? "Little Toy Guns" magically had a rough week or two (at least in audience -- basically, it was delayed power rotation conversions) as "Wild Child" was getting its #1 push, and Randy Goodman subsequently (in this Aircheck interview) complimented the Sony (Columbia, I guess) Nashville promo team for getting "Wild Child," a song "that a lot of people had written off as just a top 10 single" to #1 (which points to a push, in my view). Subsequent to that, Arista Nashville backed off "Little Toy Guns"' planned #1 push when it became clear that the week in question would be Kelsea Ballerini's week at #1 on both charts. Nothing egregious compared to what Sony Nashville did in holding back "Something in the Water" for "'Til It's Gone" and "Perfect Storm," though.
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onebuffalo
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Post by onebuffalo on Oct 20, 2015 13:58:14 GMT -5
Let's not forget, there are no Cruises this time, so naturally the cool down for Florida Georgia Line is there. If Anything Goes peaks at #1 or #2, it will still be a victory for FGL.
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