Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 19, 2013 1:28:33 GMT -5
I guess I'm in the minority here but I think this song is great and worthy of #1. Oh, I think this song is worthy of a #1, but I don't think it'll be getting there and I'm kind of tired of it at this point. Even though it's really starting to burn on me, it doesn't excuse the fact that it's a great song. I just want it to peak, drop, and have the label release "All Too Well". |
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jughead
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Post by jughead on Feb 19, 2013 5:47:15 GMT -5
I don't know 'bout you guys, but even as a Taylor fan, I never really saw her as one of the stronger forces on country radios. Yes, she does manage to have number 1s, but it's not like everything she releases will hit the top. She is strong enough for top 10, maybe even top 5. The fact is, there are still a lot of artists that she can't be compared to as far as country radios are concerned. The only reason why she is considered "important" is because of her selling ability. Given her chart performances, if her albums don't sell well, she would just be regarded as an "ordinary" country artist who manages to have hits. There's nothing spectacular about her chart history, other than a bunch of number 1s. Heck, even Dierks Bentley's recent chart runs are more impressive than hers. So, I guess a huge part of her reputation as an "A-lister" is because of her album sales and not for her stature in country radios. I fail to see what your point is here. She's one of only three female artists at country radio who even gets consistent radio hits. And I don't understand the notion that there's nothing "spectacular" about her chart history besides a bunch of #1s. What exactly is so ordinary about that? Only Carrie has a better track record at country for females. Taylor is an A-lister at country radio for much more than album sales, and suggesting otherwise is just silly. I do respect your opinion. And I do undersand the point that you were trying to make. Thanks for wanting to clear things up.  |
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Post by neverduplicated on Feb 19, 2013 11:54:25 GMT -5
I guess I'm in the minority here but I think this song is great and worthy of #1. Maybe so, but that's not really what I'm getting at here. If one of my favorite songs spent 4 weeks at #10, then 3 weeks at #8, and suddenly got a huge lurch up to #3, well, I'd cry manipulation for that one too. I'm not denying the fact that the song may have been getting a push for some time now, but you are only focusing on the position of the song instead of the actual spin gains. Have a look at the position, spins, and change over the past 6 weeks: 13/01/2013 9 4621 +425 20/01/2013 8 4876 +255 27/01/2013 7 5026 +150 03/02/2013 7 5166 +140 10/02/2013 6 5329 +163 17/02/2013 3 5591 +262 Yes, the song jumped to number 3 last week, but it only gained an average of 37 spins per day. It has been gaining slowly for some time now, but consistently. It's not like the song suddenly gained 500+ spins last week out of nowhere. The gain from today and yesterday, however, I would agree are suspiciously high. But I think you are wrong to focus only on the position of the song. It was stuck so long in the lower regions of the top 10 because it was gaining so slowly and other songs were leapfrogging it. Plus, hasn't this song been doing excellently on call-out scores? That would suggest that country listeners like the song. |
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Post by 43dudleyvillas on Feb 19, 2013 12:41:52 GMT -5
Plus, hasn't this song been doing excellently on call-out scores? That would suggest that country listeners like the song. Depends on where you look. "Begin Again" has fared well at Callout America, whose sample tends to run musically conservative (this is the survey whose results are published in Monday's Billboard update). However, "Begin Again" has barely scraped the top-30 at Radio Feedback, an online survey of radio listeners whose results are published in the Thursday Billboard update, where it has generated an unusually high "dislike" percentage on a regular basis. The M-scores Big Machine was advertising in its top-10 push for the song were pretty middling, as well (M-scores measure tune-in/tune-out). Each survey has methodology issues, so I think it's best to look at the surveys in the aggregate and also take weekly downloads into account to get a sense for how a song is being received. In the case of "Begin Again," it's a mixed bag at best. "Begin Again" peaked at #9 on the Billboard Country Indicator chart and lost its bullet on the chart posted on 4 February 2013. The Indicator chart is the small market chart that typically doesn't get worked over by labels the way the main airplay chart does. To me, that is a truer indication of when and probably where "Begin Again" would have peaked under "natural" circumstances. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 19, 2013 13:16:50 GMT -5
I'm not denying the fact that the song may have been getting a push for some time now, but you are only focusing on the position of the song instead of the actual spin gains. Have a look at the position, spins, and change over the past 6 weeks: 13/01/2013 9 4621 +425 20/01/2013 8 4876 +255 27/01/2013 7 5026 +150 03/02/2013 7 5166 +140 10/02/2013 6 5329 +163 17/02/2013 3 5591 +262 Yes, the song jumped to number 3 last week, but it only gained an average of 37 spins per day. It has been gaining slowly for some time now, but consistently. It's not like the song suddenly gained 500+ spins last week out of nowhere. The gain from today and yesterday, however, I would agree are suspiciously high. But I think you are wrong to focus only on the position of the song. It was stuck so long in the lower regions of the top 10 because it was gaining so slowly and other songs were leapfrogging it. Plus, hasn't this song been doing excellently on call-out scores? That would suggest that country listeners like the song. I'm focusing on what I know about charts. And I've never seen a chart run like this: 37-29-23-21-19-17-16- 15-14-14-14-12-10-10-10-10-08-08-08-06-03 ...end up in a #1, let alone a top 3 (these are Billboard numbers. I see you used Mediabase numbers). Now, let's go back a little further...her audience gains over the last several weeks on Billboard: 12/08 chart (#14): +0.185 (smallest gain within the top 15) 12/15 chart (#14): +0.494 (2nd smallest gain within the top 15) 12/22 chart (#14): +0.912 (3rd smallest gain within the top 15) 12/29 chart (#12): +1.447 01/05 chart (#10): no PDF file for the week 01/12 chart (#10): no PDF file for this week...this was Christmas week so everyone was down 01/19 chart (#10): +4.649 (this was the week after Christmas, so everyone's gains were huge) 01/26 chart (#10): +0.409 (smallest gain of anyone in the top 15) 02/02 chart (#08): +1.206 (2nd smallest gain in the top 10) 02/09 chart (#08): +0.401 (smallest gain of anyone within the entire top 25) 02/16 chart (#08): +0.597 02/23 chart (#06): +2.265 (whoa...where did that come from?!) 03/02 chart: she should be at #3 when the chart comes out tonight, with a gain somewhere in the 1.5 to 2.0 million range. Her Mediabase gain was 3.5 million, but a good chunk of it was from the Dial Global stations which aren't on the Billboard panel) Her gain last week wasn't incredibly huge, at least when it comes to some of the other notorious pushes we've seen, especially from Big Machine. But it was more than 3 times what she'd consistently been gaining. Ever since the last week of November, this song has been moving slowest out of everyone else within the top 15/20. There was talk then of its demise, because everyone else was passing her and she was gaining only 30-50 spins a week for most weeks. And now, here we are 2 and half months later, and suddenly BA is strong at #3, and among the very top gainers. You said yourself that it was stuck in the lower part of the top 10 because other songs were outgaining it and leapfrogging over it. That's usually what leads to songs peaking--when they can't pass anyone, and are instead being passed by everyone else. As for the call-out scores, see 43dudleyvillas' post above this one. The Monday issue of Billboard Country Update shows the Callout America chart, and BA has consistently been near the top there. But on Radiofeeback, published in the Thursday Hot Country Songs BB issue, BA has consistently been near the bottom. So I agree that the term "mixed bag" is applicable here. BA was able to make it up to Christmas but it's been hanging by a thread since, with Big Machine holding it in there. As Dudley also noted, Taylor peaked at #9 on the Indicator/secondary chart two weeks ago, which was right when her gains amped up on the main Billboard chart. The Indicator chart is usually sort of a precursor to the main chart...songs will often hit #1 a week or two earlier there than they do on Country Airplay. Or, they'll start to lose spins there, which generally indicates its peak is at hand. Taylor fell all the way to #13 on the Indicator chart posted last Monday, which puts her behind Lee Brice and Kacey Musgraves, who are still looking to enter the top 10 on Country Airplay. The Band Perry, Little Big Town, and Tim McGraw currently occupy the top 3 of the Indicator chart, with Brad, Carrie, and Dierks in the 4-6 spots. Taylor is battling it out with most of those songs on the main chart, yet she's the only one falling on the Indicator chart. Her team was able to hold it in the lower part of the top 10 for so long that they finally caught a break when several artists (Gary, Brad, Jason, Randy) started coming down almost simultaneously. Many of us here in the country forum are pretty good at picking out which songs are 'acting' like future #1's...you can start to get a good idea based on several things: how the song is doing as it enters the top 20, its sales, call-out, etc. Looking at the current chart, the general consensus across Pulse has been that TBP, Tim, LBT, Carrie, Blake, & Lee Brice have all been 'acting' like future #1's. They've had strong, steady gains, generally in the 1.5 to 2.5 million range per week, every week. I think all the evidence shown above clearly shows that Taylor has not 'acted' like a future #1, let alone a top 5. |
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Lozzy
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Post by Lozzy on Feb 19, 2013 13:30:00 GMT -5
I love all the info you provide. |
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peterca
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Post by peterca on Feb 20, 2013 0:41:44 GMT -5
BB Country Airplay chart:
Tornado gains 1.947 million this past week and moves up to #3, while Begin Again gains 1.422 million is at #4. Also, no ads for Taylor or really anyone except Prince.
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slayZ
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Post by slayZ on Feb 20, 2013 0:53:29 GMT -5
Interesting that this song might peak at #1 while we're on page 13. Random, unnecessary, irrelevant post, I know, but I thought it was cute.
I said this on the Pop forum, but even if this song doesn't peak at #1, #3 is phenomenal. To be honest, it already exceeded my expectations, especially when a lot were giving up on it before it reached the top 10. I believe this is a weak single, but hopefully Highway Don't Care will pave the way for her next country single (most likely Red) to become her next #1. It has a big shot, I think.
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Post by josh on Feb 20, 2013 0:54:52 GMT -5
Interesting that this song might peak at #1 while we're on page 13. Random, unnecessary, irrelevant post, I know, but I thought it was cute. idgi |
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slayZ
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Post by slayZ on Feb 20, 2013 2:04:08 GMT -5
Taylor's favorite (and lucky) number is #13.
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kml567
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Post by kml567 on Feb 20, 2013 8:29:16 GMT -5
Another +100 spin gain.  Is Big Machine pushing for #1 the week after McGraw? The chart manipulation is outrageous! |
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Lozzy
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Post by Lozzy on Feb 20, 2013 8:43:58 GMT -5
Another +100 spin gain. Only +0.3 million audience though. I'm surprised they're still pushing it this week; I was thinking they'd settle with the #4 and let it crash. I suppose they could push for #3 this week, but is the difference between #3 and #4 really so significant that they'd do that? Yet #1 is so far away that I doubt it could get all the way there solely on label pushing while it's well past its natural peak. I'm confused. I think I'm going to need a jh87 analysis here, haha. |
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Post by neverduplicated on Feb 20, 2013 11:29:32 GMT -5
It is crazy that the song has been gaining so much after the past few days. I understand that the country radio charts are susceptible to manipulation by stations, but I just don't understand why. If "Begin Again" really should've died a long time ago, what incentive would loads of radio stations have in playing a song that their listeners are tired of? Are the labels pointing a gun at the programmers heads?
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Marv
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Post by Marv on Feb 20, 2013 11:41:59 GMT -5
In addition to the staggering amount of information which jhomes87 inundated us with, it should also be pointed out that this tune as well as 'Southern Comfort Zone' lost their respective bullets the week of Nov. 24th at Country Aircheck/Mediabase.
Brad eventually reached #1 before the bottom dropped out; we'll see how Taylor's tune does in the next 2 1/2 weeks.
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mikem
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Post by mikem on Feb 20, 2013 13:18:40 GMT -5
Whatever Big Machine is doing, it seems to be paying off, at least in the short term. Had the biggest Mediabase spin gain among the top 50 yesterday (112), and with today's gain of 100, only Chesney had more (129) among the top 50. (It's 304k AI gain today was the smallest among the top 4, however).
The real battle is with Little Big Town, who I felt would move past Taylor into third on Mediabase this week. They were in a virtual dead heat on Monday's published chart with Taylor holding to an 11-point lead (18,407 to 18,396). Surprisingly, to me at least, it appears she has improved her points position on LBT this week. She had that 11 point lead going into the week with 191K lead in AI over LBT but trailed them by 317 spins. Now, she has increased her AI lead to over a million and cut the spin deficit to 102. There are facets of the Mediabase system that none of us know, but it's pretty certain that if you are leading another artist when the week starts then you gain both spins and AI on them, you're probably going to stay ahead of them on the points system.
With that said, BA is still miles behind McGraw at the top (almost 6M in AI), and even the gently descending Band Perry at number 2 (more than 5M in AI), so there's no way to go up this week. But, with Taylor holding off LBT this week and no other immediate threat from behind, next week could be very interesting. By that time, the second spot on the charts could be opening up with Band Perry dropping down. But, even if Big Machine manages to line up label mates McGraw and Taylor at the top of the charts, it's just hard to see how they could do more. Even if they completely pulled the plug on McGraw to help Taylor, I don't see how they could prop BA up long enough to squeeze into the top spot. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see it slip in at number 2 on Mediabase next week, though.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2013 13:24:21 GMT -5
In addition to the staggering amount of information which jhomes87 inundated us with, it should also be pointed out that this tune as well as 'Southern Comfort Zone' lost their respective bullets the week of Nov. 24th at Country Aircheck/Mediabase. Brad eventually reached #1 before the bottom dropped out; we'll see how Taylor's tune does in the next 2 1/2 weeks. I hadn't realized that Taylor did in fact lose her bullet on one of the published Mediabase charts, but I'll trust it, since it's coming from our resident Mediabase-expert Marv. I don't think Big Machine is pushing for #3 really...they've always been content with Mediabase peaks and she did finish the week at #3 there, despite getting re-passed by Little Big Town on Billboard. I thought for sure that Taylor would be on her way down this week but now it appears that, in addition to the chart manipulation, the 'shake-up' (so many songs started falling almost simultaneously) has left us with the softest top 5 we've had in a while...in other words, the audience totals for the songs in the 3-5 spots are lower than we've seen in quite some time. Little Big Town's chart run has been much more effortlessly than Dierks' and Taylor's, but they are all gaining strong now that the top 10 logjam has cleared up. Carrie and Blake have also started increasing much more again, and Kacey Musgraves is also gaining nicely this week. I suspect it's because there's more 'space' available, since Brad plummeted so fast and Gary and Jason are on their way out the door as well. So a lot of that 'freed' up airplay is getting dumped on Taylor, LBT, and Dierks. I just figured most of it would go to LBT, and then to the next 'tier' a little lower down...Carrie, Hunter, Blake, and Lee. Dierks is having a crazy long chart run, and Taylor's been on the ropes more than once...and they are both still so far behind Tim, so I figured their respective labels would be fine with #3 and #5 peaks. Dierks is only 2 million ahead of Carrie, and I can't see the lead holding up for much longer. And despite the big gains for Taylor, LBT (in general) continues to look stronger, so I continue to feel like they will be the ones to replace Tim at #1 whenever he's ready to come down. But who knows how high Big Machine will push Taylor. Maybe they'll try to get her to #1 on Mediabase for just a day--a Sunday of course, so it can be an official #1. You just never know with them...I don't think her chances of topping Billboard are all that likely because again, the audience gap is pretty big and I think LBT will prove too strong a competitor. Their song is high up on the call-out charts too and it's selling way better, and has just had a stronger chart run. Both "Tornado" and "Begin Again" have been on Billboard for 21 weeks but as I posted in this post, LBT has just had a stronger chart run...they started off way lower but overcame Taylor, and "Tornado" certainly didn't burn up so many weeks in the 8-15 range. |
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mikem
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Post by mikem on Feb 21, 2013 10:49:15 GMT -5
Another solid update. Her 131 spin gain today is the best among top 50 songs, and the AI increase was a lot better today at 631K. AI lead over Little Big Town now more than 1.3M, and she has virtually caught then in spins, trailing by only 20. Seems no doubt at this point BA will settle in behind McGraw in second place on Mediabase some time next week. It gained 1.262M AI on Band Perry overnight as BP's descent starts to pick up a bit of momentum, but it is still far from a free fall. Taylor now less than 4M AI behind them. She also gained a half million on McGraw but that target is still a long way off.
Do folks think BA has a legit chance at making number one on Mediabase in a couple weeks? Last week I would have said definitely not. Now, it's starting to look like it has a shot. I'm kind of lukewarm about it. Don't think it's one of her best by any means, but it's so much better than Never Ever that it shines in comparison.
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Zazie
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Post by Zazie on Feb 21, 2013 10:59:38 GMT -5
I've seen enough of these miracle finishes ever to count out a Taylor song that has apparently found its peak level. Not that her label is the only one capable of working a little magic or that her songs are the only ones subject to intrusive influences; just that previous episodes remain alive in the memory and suggest the possibility that it will happen this time, too.
This time the sudden rapid drops by several top 10 inhabitants have created an opportunity. For some reason Carrie Underwood's song hasn't gained as rapidly as hers usually do, and with Dierks still gaining but unlikely to get much higher, the opportunity is too good to be missed. So I think there's a real chance that BA is going to go all the way. If Carrie had 29 million impressions on Billboard instead of 27 (substitute whatever MB numbers apply), I think Taylor would have peaked this past week.
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mikem
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Post by mikem on Feb 21, 2013 13:32:15 GMT -5
Just looking at how well Taylor's Mediabase AI gains over LBT might translate to Billboard, it seems they'll do well. They're close on Dial Global. In fact, LBT actually has about 300K more than Taylor on those two entities (which won't count on BB), so Taylor's AI should carry to Billboard a bit better than LBT's. Of course, there are a dozen or so stations on Billboard that aren't on the Mediabase panel, and we can't know what the numbers from those are this week.
Since LBT started the week with a 130K AI lead on Billboard, it's looking like Taylor could pass with this week's published chart. I'm not a huge fan of either song, but I find these close battles near the top of the chart fascinating.
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kml567
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Post by kml567 on Feb 21, 2013 22:35:21 GMT -5
I'm listening to national-syndicated show (CMT Radio with Cody Allen), and they just played "Begin Again" twice in 2 hours!! What kind of payola..... |
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Post by 43dudleyvillas on Feb 21, 2013 23:13:39 GMT -5
Just looking at how well Taylor's Mediabase AI gains over LBT might translate to Billboard, it seems they'll do well. They're close on Dial Global. In fact, LBT actually has about 300K more than Taylor on those two entities (which won't count on BB), so Taylor's AI should carry to Billboard a bit better than LBT's. Of course, there are a dozen or so stations on Billboard that aren't on the Mediabase panel, and we can't know what the numbers from those are this week. I'm seeing an eight spin gain at Dial Global Mainstream Country for "Begin Again" in the past seven days while "Tornado" has been flat there, and I'm seeing a spin gain of one in the past seven days at Dial Global Hot Country for both songs. The total level of airplay each song is getting at those stations isn't irrelevant (they are both now in the top rotation at both Dial Global stations). But unless I'm missing something, the change from last week to this week is more important in assessing the Mediabase to Billboard translation of audience gains. Granted, I don't know how much of that spin change took place during last week's tracking week. "Begin Again" is also going to be facing the loss of its extra Country Countdown USA spin this weekend. It isn't going to pick up the "hot song" spin to compensate for that. That is less of an issue on the Mediabase chart than the Billboard chart, of course. So it's possible that the plan is get "Begin Again" a #2 peak on the Mediabase chart and let it go after that. But I also know better than to rule out Scott Borchetta's ability to manufacture miraculous jumps to #1. It is entirely possible that he will find a way to keep "Begin Again" afloat until two Saturdays hence to take over from Tim McGraw's "One of These Nights." And frankly, having kept the song going past its original expiration for so long, I almost expect Big Machine to keep "Begin Again" going for at least another week. |
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Post by neverduplicated on Feb 22, 2013 2:21:26 GMT -5
I'm still confused about one thing, though, and hopefully someone can help answer my question:
If "Begin Again" really should have peaked a long time ago, presumably it's because radio listeners are tired of it or don't like it that much. If that's the case, what incentive do so many radio stations have to play the song so much? Wouldn't playing an old song people don't want to hear drive their listeners away? I'm not trying to argue hear that anyone is wrong about the song being pushed, because I'm sure it is, and I've been casually following the country charts long enough now to know they are manipulated, but I just don't understand why stations would spin the hell out of a song that people don't want to hear.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 22, 2013 2:40:09 GMT -5
I'm still confused about one thing, though, and hopefully someone can help answer my question: If "Begin Again" really should have peaked a long time ago, presumably it's because radio listeners are tired of it or don't like it that much. If that's the case, what incentive do so many radio stations have to play the song so much? Wouldn't playing an old song people don't want to hear drive their listeners away? I'm not trying to argue hear that anyone is wrong about the song being pushed, because I'm sure it is, and I've been casually following the country charts long enough now to know they are manipulated, but I just don't understand why stations would spin the hell out of a song that people don't want to hear. It's not that the listeners don't want to hear it anymore. It's just that radio was looking to move on...BA was moving slowly compared to all the other songs around it. Taylor was doing well (top 10 peak was guaranteed) but for various reasons, she was still getting passed by other songs, and radio will tend to move on from certain artists' songs after a while...in Taylor's case, she's rarely on the chart for 20+ weeks. Basically, most stations had played this about as much as they were going to but they were still increasing airplay for other songs like Tim's OOTN, LBT's "Tornado", and others waiting to get into the top 10. But Big Machine stepped in and started pushing more, determined not to let radio start dropping BA yet. I'm sure they've been working the phones like crazy and doing whatever else it is that promo people do to 'push' songs up the chart. |
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mikem
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Post by mikem on Feb 22, 2013 11:21:11 GMT -5
jholmes87 I'm starting to think they're actually going to pull it off. McGraw lost spins and AI this morning with Taylor gaining about 800K on him. She's now about 4.4M AI behind him and has gained about 1.3M over the last two days. BA will pass Band Perry very early in next week's chart into 2nd place, and if Borchetta pulls the plug on McGraw and continues to push Taylor, well....what do you think? Looks like she could get there by next weekend, or am I missing something?
I guess the one fly in the ointment could be LBT if their song takes off again, but it has been very slow the past few days.
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Post by 43dudleyvillas on Feb 22, 2013 11:49:27 GMT -5
I'm still confused about one thing, though, and hopefully someone can help answer my question: If "Begin Again" really should have peaked a long time ago, presumably it's because radio listeners are tired of it or don't like it that much. If that's the case, what incentive do so many radio stations have to play the song so much? Wouldn't playing an old song people don't want to hear drive their listeners away? I'm not trying to argue hear that anyone is wrong about the song being pushed, because I'm sure it is, and I've been casually following the country charts long enough now to know they are manipulated, but I just don't understand why stations would spin the hell out of a song that people don't want to hear. That's a good question. In considering the answer, it may be helpful to consider the fact that country radio has a much stronger recurrent component than pop radio. For reasons Marv has noted here and in other threads, Taylor is, overall, not a strong recurrent artist at country radio. But her older singles do get some recurrent play. She also remains an artist who, for reasons Marv noted upthread, country radio doesn't feel yet like it can outright ignore. So in considering the push for "Begin Again," let's remember that singles like "Tim McGraw," "White Horse," "Teardrops On My Guitar," "Our Song," "Mean," "Ours," and "Sparks Fly" still crop up on station playlists. When jhomes87 talks about the likelihood that Big Machine regional promo reps are working the phones hard, part of what they are likely working on is reallocating those recurrent Taylor single spins over to "Begin Again" for a week or three. In that scenario, the stations aren't changing the total amount of Taylor they are playing, but they are temporarily emphasizing the current single over the recurrents. The Taylor recurrents may be songs that went over better with their audience, but the thing is, the purpose of the airplay is essentially to meet whatever level of Taylor exposure the stations have determined can work for their audience. From that point of view, emphasizing "Begin Again" over an older Taylor single isn't going to make that much of a difference. That is part of the push. There are also tactics like extra spins on syndicated programs like CMT Radio with Cody Alan (as kml567 noted above). What's the incentive for those, as well as any actual increases in rotation that "Begin Again" has received? Taylor has a big tour launching soon, and I would be surprised if Big Machine weren't offering special access not only to station staff but also giveaways (like backstage passes) that stations can convert into listener contests. Taylor's overall popularity is such that some stations can temporarily spike their audience through those contests. Needless to say, "Begin Again" would be getting extra spins in association with those contests, even if the song itself weren't going over all too well (natch). |
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mikem
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Post by mikem on Feb 22, 2013 12:15:05 GMT -5
I'm still confused about one thing, though, and hopefully someone can help answer my question: If "Begin Again" really should have peaked a long time ago, presumably it's because radio listeners are tired of it or don't like it that much. If that's the case, what incentive do so many radio stations have to play the song so much? Wouldn't playing an old song people don't want to hear drive their listeners away? I'm not trying to argue hear that anyone is wrong about the song being pushed, because I'm sure it is, and I've been casually following the country charts long enough now to know they are manipulated, but I just don't understand why stations would spin the hell out of a song that people don't want to hear. That's a good question. In considering the answer, it may be helpful to consider the fact that country radio has a much stronger recurrent component than pop radio. For reasons Marv has noted here and in other threads, Taylor is, overall, not a strong recurrent artist at country radio. But her older singles do get some recurrent play. She also remains an artist who, for reasons Marv noted upthread, country radio doesn't feel yet like it can outright ignore. So in considering the push for "Begin Again," let's remember that singles like "Tim McGraw," "White Horse," "Teardrops On My Guitar," "Our Song," "Mean," "Ours," and "Sparks Fly" still crop up on station playlists. When jhomes87 talks about the likelihood that Big Machine regional promo reps are working the phones hard, part of what they are likely working on is reallocating those recurrent Taylor single spins over to "Begin Again" for a week or three. In that scenario, the stations aren't changing the total amount of Taylor they are playing, but they are temporarily emphasizing the current single over the recurrents. The Taylor recurrents may be songs that went over better with their audience, but the thing is, the purpose of the airplay is essentially to meet whatever level of Taylor exposure the stations have determined can work for their audience. From that point of view, emphasizing "Begin Again" over an older Taylor single isn't going to make that much of a difference. That is part of the push. There are also tactics like extra spins on syndicated programs like CMT Radio with Cody Alan (as kml567 noted above). What's the incentive for those, as well as any actual increases in rotation that "Begin Again" has received? Taylor has a big tour launching soon, and I would be surprised if Big Machine weren't offering special access not only to station staff but also giveaways (like backstage passes) that stations can convert into listener contests. Taylor's overall popularity is such that some stations can temporarily spike their audience through those contests. Needless to say, "Begin Again" would be getting extra spins in association with those contests, even if the song itself weren't going over all too well (natch). ^I find radio promotion a fascinating and somewhat mysterious part of the industry. Maybe I'm making it more mysterious than it needs to be, but you taught me a couple of things with the above post. |
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renee75
Gold Member
Joined: July 2012
Posts: 519
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Post by renee75 on Feb 22, 2013 12:43:28 GMT -5
If I didn't know better, I'd swear my local station has decided it's their duty to push it to #1 singlehandedly. Feels like they play it every five minutes.
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Post by neverduplicated on Feb 22, 2013 14:30:20 GMT -5
Thank you so much for making all those insightful points, 43dudleyvillas. I hadn't considered the idea that "Begin Again" was replacing Taylor's recurrent singles for a week or two, nor had I considered the concert promotion angle. Makes much more sense now.
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Post by gcizvolsfan on Feb 23, 2013 3:18:05 GMT -5
Interesting that BB came out with the mongreal chart when WANNNEGBT was released. She can get a "Huge" #1 and break all sorts of records with all genres tabulated on that chart. This song is not doing as well on that chart so here comes Big Machine to try and push it to #1 on the country airplay chart.
I hope that the push does not work and a Tornado sweeps to #1.
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.indulgecountry
Diamond Member
Best Country Poster 2011, 2017, & 2018
Even Tiger Woods couldn't swing it this good; I'm actin' up
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Post by .indulgecountry on Feb 23, 2013 4:21:25 GMT -5
Interesting that BB came out with the mongreal chart when WANNNEGBT was released. She can get a "Huge" #1 and break all sorts of records with all genres tabulated on that chart. This song is not doing as well on that chart so here comes Big Machine to try and push it to #1 on the country airplay chart. I hope that the push does not work and a Tornado sweeps to #1. They'd been planning to incoporate sales into the country chart for a couple years now I believe and it was just a coincidence that when they finally got around to it, Taylor's "We Are Never" was in full swing. |
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