dm2081
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Post by dm2081 on Oct 28, 2015 10:38:10 GMT -5
Radio definitely seems to have put the brakes on this one a bit, with increasingly smaller updates. Sam Hunt also seems to be getting the same treatment, although to a lesser extent. The sales aren't terrible for this one, but they might not be enough to help this overcome some poor callout scores and research. Either way, it seems pretty obvious now that this won't be the monster hit they were hoping for. I'm curious to see how far radio will take this one, but it wouldn't surprise me to see this one stall out in the teens at this point.
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hosssulpizio
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Post by hosssulpizio on Oct 28, 2015 10:46:57 GMT -5
I'm really hoping you're right. Also Sam Hunt's single should get that same treatment. He doesn't deserve another hit with "Break Up in A Small Town" because that's not country at all.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 28, 2015 10:58:54 GMT -5
Radio definitely seems to have put the brakes on this one a bit, with increasingly smaller updates. Sam Hunt also seems to be getting the same treatment, although to a lesser extent. The sales aren't terrible for this one, but they might not be enough to help this overcome some poor callout scores and research. Either way, it seems pretty obvious now that this won't be the monster hit they were hoping for. I'm curious to see how far radio will take this one, but it wouldn't surprise me to see this one stall out in the teens at this point. I was thinking that this morning. I knew Sam and Zac would both get "respect" airplay, but based on how radio treated Jake Owen's, Eli Young Band's, and The Band Perry's latest tunes, I wouldn't at all be surprised if Sam peaks around #10 and Zac around #15.
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sabre14
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Post by sabre14 on Oct 28, 2015 12:35:50 GMT -5
Radio definitely seems to have put the brakes on this one a bit, with increasingly smaller updates. Sam Hunt also seems to be getting the same treatment, although to a lesser extent. The sales aren't terrible for this one, but they might not be enough to help this overcome some poor callout scores and research. Either way, it seems pretty obvious now that this won't be the monster hit they were hoping for. I'm curious to see how far radio will take this one, but it wouldn't surprise me to see this one stall out in the teens at this point. "Beautiful Drug" has actually gained more spins than "Break Up In A Small Town" over the past seven days (195 vs. 179) and the audience gained over the past seven days are virtually identical (1.3 million). I definitely think "Beautiful Drug" will and already has seen resistance from radio and it will be interesting to see how far this one can climb. Sam's song is really hard to get a gauge on. The sales are amazing (but that's from pop music fans buying the song and non-committed country format listeners -- but sales are sales to radio...) and the research on MB Callout is actually, run of the mill, if not decent. In fact, BUIAST is the fourth most "favorite" song in the top 34 songs eligible for callout scores and only has a 17% dislike. But every time I hear "Break Up In A Small Town" I think to myself, there's just no way in hell that can not escape a peak in the teens from the polarizing nature of it. I guess I'm willing to say that Sam's song will see major resistance once it hits the teens since the radio updates have given signs of that eventually happening but I'm sure MCA Nashville is beating radio over the head with the sales and research scores. Back to ZBB, I don't think "Beautiful Drug" will end up being a big hit though. This song never screamed major radio hit and certainly not crossover material -- it's just not that special of a song, imo. The fact it sounds out of place on country radio (which I admit, is becoming less of an argument by the week) is perhaps enough for radio to pump the breaks since the overall passion for the song just isn't there right now.
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dm2081
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Post by dm2081 on Oct 28, 2015 12:48:28 GMT -5
Yeah if I remember correctly, "Beautiful Drug" didn't have the best sales even when the album came out, and the other electronic-influenced song on the album, "Tomorrow Never Comes" (which I actually like better than this single), sold better in the first few weeks. Regardless of where this peaks, I just hope it doesn't derail any momentum they gained with radio through the first two strong singles. There's plenty of hits left on the album, and I'm hoping radio will be willing to play some more ZBB material from this album cycle at the high levels they've always have. Basically I just don't want this album cycle to fall flat like Miranda's did.
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zjames
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Post by zjames on Oct 29, 2015 10:47:44 GMT -5
"Beautiful Drug" has about half the audience as "Loving You Easy" had at the 35 day mark on the Mediabase rolling Top 50. BD has a bullet of 179, LYE had a bullet of 629. BD is 159 on all-genre iTunes, LYE was 99.
So there's a big loss of momentum here. I think Zac (and The Band Perry) really overestimated the desire for straight-up pop music on country radio. This is just selling alright, and it's facing some push-back at radio.
I think they made a big mistake not releasing "Dress Blues"; they've had slower songs work for them in the past (GIYE, CW, H20R) and I think their fans' reaction would be a lot warmer than the reaction to BD.
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matty005
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Post by matty005 on Oct 29, 2015 11:17:12 GMT -5
"Beautiful Drug" has about half the audience as "Loving You Easy" had at the 35 day mark on the Mediabase rolling Top 50. BD has a bullet of 179, LYE had a bullet of 629. BD is 159 on all-genre iTunes, LYE was 99. So there's a big loss of momentum here. I think Zac (and The Band Perry) really overestimated the desire for straight-up pop music on country radio. This is just selling alright, and it's facing some push-back at radio. I think they made a big mistake not releasing "Dress Blues"; they've had slower songs work for them in the past (GIYE, CW, H20R) and I think their fans' reaction would be a lot warmer than the reaction to BD. Dress Blues is different in that is a very depressing song. Don't get me wrong, I love it. But I don't want to hear it 3x a day on the radio. It would bum me out too much.
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maine
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Post by maine on Oct 29, 2015 23:07:01 GMT -5
Discounted to $0.99 on iTunes.
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sabre14
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Post by sabre14 on Oct 31, 2015 14:00:38 GMT -5
This is definitely showing signs of resistance from radio. A loss of 43 spins today, just 37 days after entering the MB top 50, is something ZBB is usually not accustomed to. This one is still not having bad updates strung along in a row (nearly 100 spins increased yesterday) but this song is just not connecting like their previous singles. "Loving You Easy" had 1200 more spins and more than twice the audience than "Beautiful Drug", at the five week mark in the MB top 50.
The sales are the one thing that this song can hang its hat on, as that will most certainly be a big selling point (along with their star power) to get this single moving up the chart.
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Cody Wants Out...
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Post by Cody Wants Out... on Oct 31, 2015 21:09:37 GMT -5
This is a very questionable choice for country radio imho. However, I wasn't really expecting any resistance this early on in the chart run. I guess that means country radio does have boundaries after all. I like BD myself and believe it to be a good single choice for pop radio, not country radio. Releasing this to country radio first is looking to be a very poor move. I still think the group will be able to rebound in the case where BD starts fizzling out sooner rather than later.
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rsmatto
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Post by rsmatto on Nov 1, 2015 9:24:38 GMT -5
The sales may be decent but it's still not as good as the previous singles from the album.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 1, 2015 11:09:58 GMT -5
And although I know Zac has all the decision-making power, this is yet another head-scratching, underperforming single choice with BMLG's name attached to it.
I DO think this single and the underwhelming sing-along and forget-it "Loving You Easy" could combine to slow ZBB's momentum after the monster hit "Homegrown". That's the type of song ZBB fans and general country fans alike have come to expect from the band, and I can't see how songs like the past two singles will do anything for their long-term prospects.
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zjames
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Post by zjames on Nov 2, 2015 22:30:14 GMT -5
Picture of Zac Brown with Diplo and Skrillez, two EDM producers. Zac did say that someone was working on a remix of "Beautiful Drug" (as if the song wasn't non-country enough already), so these might be the guys. I just don't get why they wouldn't have a country version on the album ready for country radio so to not alienate their country fans, and then release a remix later for pop radio.
Also, the song is now at #91 all-genre iTunes. The $0.99 sale price seems to be effective, although I'm not sure who bases their decision to buy or not to buy a song on $0.30.
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Post by straitouttanashville on Nov 3, 2015 2:41:40 GMT -5
I hope this garbage flops on "Country Radio" so bad. This song is all around terrible. Its not even a good song by EDM standards. Its horrible and Zac Brown of all people, ZBB should be ashamed and know better. I dont want to see it be top 20, not even top 25. Someone please make it go away. I have never been and never will be famous. Is it that hard to stay true to yourself and not become a huge sellout? One bright spot if any here it does seem "Country Radio" might be turning away from these Pop/Rap/R&B/EDM-"Country" songs. TBP just had their song flop, ZBB and Sam Hunt look like they could be stalling, and Eli Young Band basically ruined their career and became irrelavent with the last couple song choices. I think Chase Rice is looking to move in a more country sounding direction from what I read. If we could just get "Country Radio" to play Chris Stapleton & Kacey Musgraves a little more, that would be awesome. As far as the ZBB, song call your radio station and tell them to stop playing this song, its offensive and disrespectful.
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sabre14
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Post by sabre14 on Nov 3, 2015 13:30:47 GMT -5
I hope this garbage flops on "Country Radio" so bad. This song is all around terrible. Its not even a good song by EDM standards. Its horrible and Zac Brown of all people, ZBB should be ashamed and know better. I dont want to see it be top 20, not even top 25. Someone please make it go away. I have never been and never will be famous. Is it that hard to stay true to yourself and not become a huge sellout? One bright spot if any here it does seem "Country Radio" might be turning away from these Pop/Rap/R&B/EDM-"Country" songs. TBP just had their song flop, ZBB and Sam Hunt look like they could be stalling, and Eli Young Band basically ruined their career and became irrelavent with the last couple song choices. I think Chase Rice is looking to move in a more country sounding direction from what I read. If we could just get "Country Radio" to play Chris Stapleton & Kacey Musgraves a little more, that would be awesome. As far as the ZBB, song call your radio station and tell them to stop playing this song, its offensive and disrespectful. I don't think this song is offensive. Is it country? No. Do I personally feel it should be a single, being pushed to the country format? No. But I don't think it falls under the disrespectful category. I also don't think this was a sell-out type move. It always struck me as a risk to release this to country radio and I'm not surprised its having a tougher time moving up the chart compared to their previous releases. The sales are very good and the research is average, so I think at least a top 20 peak can be achieved here. The airplay numbers haven't been that great though -- just 1.3 million in audience gained over the past seven days and just 200 spins gained over the past 10 days -- those numbers would be good for a middle of the road artist or newcomer with a debut single but for ZBB, it's a bit underwhelming.
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Post by straitouttanashville on Nov 4, 2015 2:39:39 GMT -5
Sabre14, I have to respectfully disagree with you. ZBB knows, more then most, the state of "Country Radio" in 2015. Releasing "Beautiful Drug" is such a bad look, for ZBB and the genre as a whole, and in my opinion hypocritical. I understand that people will like the song, but that is besides the point. To write and record "BD" and listen back to it, then tell us fans they would like to see "BD" be a "Crossover Hit" but 1st send it to "Country Radio" is simply wrong. I would say this song release to "Country Radio" is something we all didnt see from someone (ZBB), loyal fans who know their history I feel were blind sided. I for one have been to "Eat & Greets" and many shows. I wont be going back after this move. ZBB claims to have a lot of respect for the genre. "BD" shows they dont, and dont care about what happens as long as they prosper. I dont read Saving Country Music too much because in my opinion SCM is hit or miss and more often then not miss. I am posting the following artical because of the comments at the bottom. These seem to be country music fans like you and I who are just done with ZBB after "BD" and are concerned of where "Country Radio" is going from here. www.savingcountrymusic.com/zac-browns-next-single-will-be-controversial-edm-song-beautiful-drug
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dm2081
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Post by dm2081 on Nov 4, 2015 12:17:25 GMT -5
Can we stop using Saving Country Music as a source or pretend it has any credibility in the discussion of modern country music? There will always be a subset of listeners who will refuse to enjoy any modern country unless it's a George Strait or Waylon Jennings rip-off. Stop pretending these people are the majority of listeners, and let's start focusing more on the opinion of the average/typical country listener. SCM is no different than if I created a blog today and rambled on how artists like George Strait or Alan Jackson are garbage and a bunch of old farts who don't incorporate electronic elements into their music.
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sabre14
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Post by sabre14 on Nov 4, 2015 12:33:42 GMT -5
Sabre14, I have to respectfully disagree with you. ZBB knows, more then most, the state of "Country Radio" in 2015. Releasing "Beautiful Drug" is such a bad look, for ZBB and the genre as a whole, and in my opinion hypocritical. I understand that people will like the song, but that is besides the point. To write and record "BD" and listen back to it, then tell us fans they would like to see "BD" be a "Crossover Hit" but 1st send it to "Country Radio" is simply wrong. I would say this song release to "Country Radio" is something we all didnt see from someone (ZBB), loyal fans who know their history I feel were blind sided. I for one have been to "Eat & Greets" and many shows. I wont be going back after this move. ZBB claims to have a lot of respect for the genre. "BD" shows they dont, and dont care about what happens as long as they prosper. I dont read Saving Country Music too much because in my opinion SCM is hit or miss and more often then not miss. I am posting the following artical because of the comments at the bottom. These seem to be country music fans like you and I who are just done with ZBB after "BD" and are concerned of where "Country Radio" is going from here. "Disrespectful" and having "Beautiful Drug" being a "bad look" for ZBB are two completely different things, in my view. Look, I agree with you and many that "Beautiful Drug" was a mistake to release to country radio but I really don't think this shows Zac and his band have no respect for the genre. I do agree it does seem hypocritical when this was the same person who slammed "That's My Kind Of Night" but that was because of the subject of that particular song. The fact they're now associated with BMLG makes me weary of Scott Borchetta's real influence on a move like making "Beautiful Drug" a country format single.
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robenglund
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Post by robenglund on Nov 4, 2015 21:02:10 GMT -5
Zac sounded a little off at the CMA, but (IMO) the live CMA performance sounds better than the CD version. Not just Zac. Everyone sounds a little off. Not sure if it's hard to hear themselves in there or if they're nervous since they are in front of all of their peers haha.
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sabre14
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Post by sabre14 on Nov 4, 2015 21:02:42 GMT -5
Zac sounded a little off at the CMA, but (IMO) the live CMA performance sounds better than the CD version. I actually think it's pretty painful listening to Zac sing that "High" lyric at the end of the first verse. This song definitely shows some limitations in his vocals.
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maine
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Post by maine on Nov 4, 2015 21:26:10 GMT -5
lol I thought the "high" part was really shaky.
I can see this blowing up on iTunes after the performance. A handful of non-country fans tune into the CMAs, and considering this is pretty poppy, I can see this really benefitting from the performance. And the $0.99 discount helps as well.
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bboat11
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Post by bboat11 on Nov 5, 2015 0:13:21 GMT -5
Zac sounded a little off at the CMA, but (IMO) the live CMA performance sounds better than the CD version. I actually think it's pretty painful listening to Zac sing that "High" lyric at the end of the first verse. This song definitely shows some limitations in his vocals. I always thought of the "high" as an intentional vocal rasp of some kind, like he is experimenting with new vocal techniques along with the new musical styles. But MAN tonight's performance was rough, so I'm not sure anymore!
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Post by Deleted on Nov 18, 2015 19:56:02 GMT -5
Radio definitely seems to have put the brakes on this one a bit, with increasingly smaller updates. Sam Hunt also seems to be getting the same treatment, although to a lesser extent. The sales aren't terrible for this one, but they might not be enough to help this overcome some poor callout scores and research. Either way, it seems pretty obvious now that this won't be the monster hit they were hoping for. I'm curious to see how far radio will take this one, but it wouldn't surprise me to see this one stall out in the teens at this point. I still think this has a decent chance of making the top 10, but otherwise I agree with this; "Beautiful Drug" is definitely not screaming up the chart. It's moving quite a bit slower than the typical ZBB single. Meanwhile, "Homegrown" continues to dominate when it comes to recurrent airplay, and the album sales remain decent. I think country radio has made it pretty clear that they'd rather have songs that sound like "Homegrown" as opposed to "Beautiful Drug". The sales have picked up since the CMA Awards, but this still just isn't acting like a big radio hit. It's easily one of my least favorite singles from ZBB.
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dm2081
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Post by dm2081 on Nov 18, 2015 20:23:52 GMT -5
Radio definitely seems to have put the brakes on this one a bit, with increasingly smaller updates. Sam Hunt also seems to be getting the same treatment, although to a lesser extent. The sales aren't terrible for this one, but they might not be enough to help this overcome some poor callout scores and research. Either way, it seems pretty obvious now that this won't be the monster hit they were hoping for. I'm curious to see how far radio will take this one, but it wouldn't surprise me to see this one stall out in the teens at this point. I still think this has a decent chance of making the top 10, but otherwise I agree with this; "Beautiful Drug" is definitely not screaming up the chart. It's moving quite a bit slower than the typical ZBB single. Meanwhile, "Homegrown" continues to dominate when it comes to recurrent airplay, and the album sales remain decent. I think country radio has made it pretty clear that they'd rather have songs that sound like "Homegrown" as opposed to "Beautiful Drug". The sales have picked up since the CMA Awards, but this still just isn't acting like a big radio hit. It's easily one of my least favorite singles from ZBB. The CMA Awards definitely helped this one by giving it a shot in the arm. As you mentioned, the sales have risen quite a bit and its been having much bigger MB updates since the awards show. Like I said before, I really enjoy this song (though I would have never picked it for country radio), but at this point I just want it to do well enough to get to some of other great songs on the album.
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trebor
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Post by trebor on Nov 21, 2015 12:22:32 GMT -5
Here is the official lyrics video (and it's atrocious):
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maine
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Post by maine on Nov 21, 2015 13:42:38 GMT -5
God damn you guys hate everything about this lmao. Even petty things like a lyric video. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it lol.
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matty005
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Post by matty005 on Nov 21, 2015 14:10:54 GMT -5
God damn you guys hate everything about this lmao. Even petty things like a lyric video. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it lol. One person didn't like the lyric video. And I love the song.
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dm2081
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Post by dm2081 on Nov 21, 2015 16:44:17 GMT -5
God damn you guys hate everything about this lmao. Even petty things like a lyric video. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it lol. I've actually seen very few people say anything bad about the song, in fact most agree its at least a decent fluff song. Many just disagree with the decision to send this to country radio, especially since there are a few songs on the album that sound especially country radio friendly.
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onebuffalo
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Post by onebuffalo on Nov 21, 2015 17:20:33 GMT -5
All Beautiful Drug has to do is climb two more spots to #20 to preserve the Zac Brown Band's top twenty streak.
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onebuffalo
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Post by onebuffalo on Nov 24, 2015 17:44:08 GMT -5
All Beautiful Drug has to do is climb two more spots to #20 to preserve the Zac Brown Band's top twenty streak. #20 this week. Streak preserved.
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