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Post by 43dudleyvillas on Feb 25, 2013 12:17:09 GMT -5
In the case of 'Somebody', it mysteriously gained 1,000+ spins in its twenty-ninth week on the charts which was enough for it to replace 'Live Like You Were Dying' at #1 for a single week @ Billboard after Tim's tune had spent three weeks at #1. 'LLYWD' returned to the #1 slot at BB the following week and went on to spend four more weeks on top before it was displaced at #1 for keeps by Terri Clark's 'Girls Lie Too'. In spite of that deplorable single-week airplay spike by 'Somebody', it missed the #1 spot at R&R/Mediabase by some 35 spins. 'LLYWD' went on to spend 10 weeks at #1 @ R&R until 'Days Go By' replaced it at #1 @ R&R on Sept. 17 for a three-week stay. That was certainly a downright reprehensible episode anyway you slice it, but this might be worse. Promoting Reba's "Somebody" was her label, MCA Nashville. Guess who was senior VP of promotion for MCA Nashville, Dreamworks Nashville and Mercury Nashville at the time? The name may ring a bell. According to Billboard, he assumed those responsibilities in May 2004. The "Somebody" stunt took place in August 2004, and was the impetus behind Billboard's subsequent decision to rank songs on its country airplay charts by audience instead of by spins. The value of that change is evident in the slew of Taylor singles that have experienced 'magical' one-week (or even one-day) surges to #1 at Mediabase without being able to attain #1 peaks at Billboard ("Begin Again" may even follow in "Back to December"'s footsteps and peak below #2 at Billboard). On the other hand, the ridiculous debut of Garth Brooks' "More than a Memory" at #1 (engineered, not coincidentally, by Big Machine) was a Billboard-only event, and suggests that no methodology is Borchetta-proof. When she tours overseas she is a pop singer. As country music really doesn't fly outside of 'Merica. Other than Shania, Garth and Taylor (and now Carrie) not mainly country artists have success outside of the US. As a point of fact, Brad Paisley and Alan Jackson have both been playing mid-sized arenas in Scandinavia and the UK for a few years now. Neither is a chart-topper in any of these territories, but it is simply not true that mainly country artists have been unable to achieve success overseas without taking leave of their identification with country music. On the other hand, Lady Antebellum has followed Taylor in identifying itself as pop overseas. It isn't unreasonable to point out that commercial interest trumped genre loyalty in both Lady A and Taylor's cases. Sometimes I think people expect too much from this 23 year old girl. It really isn't your place to comment on what others expect from Taylor, but I will say that 23 years old is enough to qualify a female as an adult woman as opposed to a girl. A quick point with my administrator's hat on: there has been nothing posted in this thread that qualifies as "hatred" of Taylor Swift. It derails conversation when overinvested fans confuse the amount of criticism coming from different corners with hatred. Leave it to the staff to watch the tone with which opinions are being expressed, and to step in if things are getting repetitive or circular. That isn't the case here yet.
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matty1122
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Post by matty1122 on Feb 25, 2013 12:25:48 GMT -5
In the case of 'Somebody', it mysteriously gained 1,000+ spins in its twenty-ninth week on the charts which was enough for it to replace 'Live Like You Were Dying' at #1 for a single week @ Billboard after Tim's tune had spent three weeks at #1. 'LLYWD' returned to the #1 slot at BB the following week and went on to spend four more weeks on top before it was displaced at #1 for keeps by Terri Clark's 'Girls Lie Too'. In spite of that deplorable single-week airplay spike by 'Somebody', it missed the #1 spot at R&R/Mediabase by some 35 spins. 'LLYWD' went on to spend 10 weeks at #1 @ R&R until 'Days Go By' replaced it at #1 @ R&R on Sept. 17 for a three-week stay. That was certainly a downright reprehensible episode anyway you slice it, but this might be worse. Promoting Reba's "Somebody" was her label, MCA Nashville. Guess who was senior VP of promotion for MCA Nashville, Dreamworks Nashville and Mercury Nashville at the time? The name may ring a bell. According to Billboard, he assumed those responsibilities in May 2004. The "Somebody" stunt took place in August 2004, and was the impetus behind Billboard's subsequent decision to rank songs on its country airplay charts by audience instead of by spins. The value of that change is evident in the slew of Taylor singles that have experienced 'magical' one-week (or even one-day) surges to #1 at Mediabase without being able to attain #1 peaks at Billboard ("Begin Again" may even follow in "Back to December"'s footsteps and peak below #2 at Billboard). On the other hand, the ridiculous debut of Garth Brooks' "More than a Memory" at #1 (engineered, not coincidentally, by Big Machine) was a Billboard-only event, and suggests that no methodology is Borchetta-proof. As a point of fact, Brad Paisley and Alan Jackson have both been playing mid-sized arenas in Scandinavia and the UK for a few years now. Neither is a chart-topper in any of these territories, but it is simply not true that mainly country artists have been unable to achieve success overseas without taking leave of their identification with country music. On the other hand, Lady Antebellum has followed Taylor in identifying itself as pop overseas. It isn't unreasonable to point out that commercial interest trumped genre loyalty in both Lady A and Taylor's cases. Sometimes I think people expect too much from this 23 year old girl. It really isn't your place to comment on what others expect from Taylor, but I will say that 23 years old is enough to qualify a female as an adult woman as opposed to a girl. A quick point with my administrator's hat on: there has been nothing posted in this thread that qualifies as "hatred" of Taylor Swift. It derails conversation when overinvested fans confuse the amount of criticism coming from different corners with hatred. Leave it to the staff to watch the tone with which opinions are being expressed, and to step in if things are getting repetitive or circular. That isn't the case here yet. It's not my place, thank you Dudley. I was just saying that in terms of dealing with the amount of fame she has, she has handled it better than so many. You don't see her drunk, partying, etc. She has her faults like we all do, but I feel she has stayed gracious and feel much like Vince Gill feels. I never said it was people from this board who expect too much from her; just in general.
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Zazie
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Post by Zazie on Feb 25, 2013 14:42:21 GMT -5
I don't think requests from fans alone would have moved this song to #1, because it really wasn't even close to that level of airplay when the magic started to happen. Fans would request and the song would be played, but not nearly often enough to get this song to the top -- until the label went to work in a big way, apparently including addition-by-subtraction by working against their own Tim McGraw single as well as by working for Taylor's song.
Even then, the song just barely got to #1 on one of the two charts (and is likely to appear at #3 on the other chart when we see it tonight). It's hard for me to imagine that fans could call in and say "Please play the Taylor Swift song, and oh by the way would you mind NOT playing the Tim McGraw song for a couple of days -- that would mean so much to my mom."
So if you are asking whether fans could have gotten Begin Again some more airplay, sure, fans can always do that. If you're asking whether fan support could have gotten this song to #1, no, never ever ever. This song got to #1 by powerful record-label intervention.
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liza
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Post by liza on Feb 25, 2013 17:51:11 GMT -5
Thanks for the response, Zazie.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 25, 2013 18:11:13 GMT -5
In the case of 'Somebody', it mysteriously gained 1,000+ spins in its twenty-ninth week on the charts which was enough for it to replace 'Live Like You Were Dying' at #1 for a single week @ Billboard after Tim's tune had spent three weeks at #1. 'LLYWD' returned to the #1 slot at BB the following week and went on to spend four more weeks on top before it was displaced at #1 for keeps by Terri Clark's 'Girls Lie Too'. In spite of that deplorable single-week airplay spike by 'Somebody', it missed the #1 spot at R&R/Mediabase by some 35 spins. 'LLYWD' went on to spend 10 weeks at #1 @ R&R until 'Days Go By' replaced it at #1 @ R&R on Sept. 17 for a three-week stay. That was certainly a downright reprehensible episode anyway you slice it, but this might be worse. Promoting Reba's "Somebody" was her label, MCA Nashville. Guess who was senior VP of promotion for MCA Nashville, Dreamworks Nashville and Mercury Nashville at the time? The name may ring a bell. According to Billboard, he assumed those responsibilities in May 2004. The "Somebody" stunt took place in August 2004, and was the impetus behind Billboard's subsequent decision to rank songs on its country airplay charts by audience instead of by spins. The value of that change is evident in the slew of Taylor singles that have experienced 'magical' one-week (or even one-day) surges to #1 at Mediabase without being able to attain #1 peaks at Billboard ("Begin Again" may even follow in "Back to December"'s footsteps and peak below #2 at Billboard). On the other hand, the ridiculous debut of Garth Brooks' "More than a Memory" at #1 (engineered, not coincidentally, by Big Machine) was a Billboard-only event, and suggests that no methodology is Borchetta-proof. :o I didn't know that Borchetta was behind the gears of that operation, too. Doesn't surprise me, but interesting to know.
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Marv
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Post by Marv on Feb 25, 2013 20:16:48 GMT -5
I didn't know it either, but I really appreciate the history lesson; thank you Ms. 43dudleyvillas.
The episode involving 'MTAM' was also reprehensible; nothing like a 1-3 day stint at #1 to pad your stats, huh?
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McCreerian
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Post by McCreerian on Feb 25, 2013 20:39:33 GMT -5
I don't care how it got to #1 personally, I'm just glad it got there. Its one of her best singles, ever!
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layne
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Post by layne on Feb 25, 2013 20:43:22 GMT -5
I don't care how it got to #1 personally, I'm just glad it got there. Its one of her best singles, ever! Totally Agree. IMO much better song than several songs that have already been #1 this year.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 25, 2013 22:05:51 GMT -5
I can't look at things through rose-colored glasses. For me, I don't care whether a song "deserves" to go #1 or not...if it gets there via ridiculous (should-be-illegal) radio pushes (radio cooperating with the label's demands), Clear Channel hourly airplay, or some other foolish way, I get upset. It doesn't matter to me if the song has the quality of AJ's "Remember When" or Tim's "Truck Yeah" (to be clear: these songs didn't get pushes; rather, I picked them as examples since they are polar opposites on the spectrum of quality, at least in my opinion). If it gets pushed to #1 by false means, I won't like it.
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layne
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Post by layne on Feb 25, 2013 22:23:06 GMT -5
^I agree. Problem is, the majority on both Ariplay charts are manufactured #1's.
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McCreerian
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Post by McCreerian on Feb 25, 2013 22:29:43 GMT -5
^I agree. Problem is, the majority on both Ariplay charts are manufactured #1's. And all genres. I mean look what song is #1 on the Hot 100, with no radio airplay at all! Harlem Shake got past all the real Pop hits by Youtube alone to make it to the top!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 25, 2013 22:34:22 GMT -5
^I agree. Problem is, the majority on both Ariplay charts are manufactured #1's. I don't think so at all. You can tell when a song got artificially pushed to #1. Usually it will fall quite fast. We've had plenty of recent examples where former #1's didn't fall very fast at all...including Gary's "Every Storm", TBP's "Better Dig Two", Jason/Luke/Eric with "The Only Way I Know", FGL's "Cruise", ZBB's "Goodbye In Her Eyes", LBT's "Pontoon", etc. None of them were pushed to #1. There's a thing called 'radio promotion' and another thing called 'Borchetta-ing" and there's a line between the two. Maybe it's a fine line but most people who've been following the charts for a while can tell when that line is being crossed. Some of the more recent pushes once again prove why I strongly prefer Billboard's airplay chart, as an audience-based chart is much harder to manipulate than a spins or "points" based chart. Just look at Taylor...she finished #3 on Billboard, almost 4 million behind Tim. It's ridiculously laughable that BA was able to somehow get enough points to jump ahead of Tim for 10 minutes on the exact day that the Mediabase chart became 'official' for the week. If I were Lon Helton and the crew at Country Aircheck, I'd think about shaking things up so that Borchetta would quit making a mockery of my chart (disclaimer: I don't know who actually would decide that...I'm just guessing it'd be Lon and the people in charge of Country Aircheck, since Mediabase doesn't incorporate "points" into their tabulation of airplay at other genres).
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layne
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Post by layne on Feb 25, 2013 22:44:33 GMT -5
The revolving door of #1's on Country Airplay charts is indicative of nothing but label manipulation. Just because all of the #1's aren't pushed to this degree doesn't mean they aren't "artificially pushed". I can think of several songs that were bonafide smash hits that needed no manipulation NYN, HTBM, Springsteen, Drunk on You, Goodbye in her Eyes, Cruise, Pontoon, Blown Away, Better Dig Two, Every Storm. I am leaving out some I'm sure, but those songs were good enough to spend 4 or 5 weeks each at the top but didn't because some inferior song got pushed to the top to make everyone happy. This process reminds me of Upwards Basketball where every child gets a trophy and gets to play.
Since this is the way it is I at least enjoy the fact that this particular song which I feel is a quality song by a female Artist got to the top.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 25, 2013 22:55:37 GMT -5
The revolving door of #1's on Country Airplay charts is indicative of nothing but label manipulation. Just because all of the #1's aren't pushed to this degree doesn't mean they aren't "artificially pushed". I can think of several songs that were bonafide smash hits that needed no manipulation NYN, HTBM, Springsteen, Drunk on You, Goodbye in her Eyes, Cruise, Pontoon, Blown Away, Better Dig Two, Every Storm. I am leaving out some I'm sure, but those songs were good enough to spend 4 or 5 weeks each at the top but didn't because some inferior song got pushed to the top to make everyone happy. This process reminds me of Upwards Basketball where every child gets a trophy and gets to play. I'm not a huge 'revolving door' fan either but one of the big reasons why songs don't spend a lot of time at #1 these days is because a huge hit single isn't solely what sells the album. As soon as a song gets to #1 nowadays, the labels don't want to waste a lot of money continually promoting it at radio and holding it at the top...it's a #1 hit and they want to get that next single out there to showcase more of the album. A hit single can definitely propel album sales but it can also sell a lot, as just the single...and once a song is at #1, most record labels find it in their best interest to begin the process of moving on to the next single while also focusing on their other artists and allowing the chart to move freely.
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joey2002
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Post by joey2002 on Feb 26, 2013 1:13:04 GMT -5
I love this, and I'm glad that it survived through the winter, but the way things ended left a bad taste in my mouth.
Maybe I'll write a song about it...
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Marv
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Post by Marv on Feb 26, 2013 1:45:12 GMT -5
I agree with everything jhomes87 stated regarding the enormous gulf Between 'Remember When' & 'Truck Yeah' from a quality standpoint; the first time I heard Alan's instant classic, I knew it was going to be a multi-week charttopper, and it wound up as the #1 single of 2004 @ R&R/Mediabase.
The first time I heard 'Truck Yeah', I was just furious that it received the hourly spin treatment from CC, which I also despise, and how and why the heck a country megastar recorded it as opposed to a rock band such as Motley Crue or Judas Priest.
One more note regarding 'Somebody' was the fact that after that 1,000+ spin gain, it proceeded to lose 1,000+ spins for three consecutive weeks, an unprecedented achievement.
That feat would be duplicated within 90 days by 'Stays In Mexico' after Toby's label attempted to bluff radio into believing that a song which had stalled at #5 & had lost its bullet after a mere ten weeks on the chart (very strange when you consider how hot Toby was at that time) was still increasing in popularity, and had splashed an ad touting that tune on the cover of R&R that week (11-6-04) with the tagline '....on track for #1, which was a total crock.
Some label execs are just morons, period, and obviously aren't afraid to throw good $$$ down the drain for whatever reason.
Mr. Borchetta certainly has no equal in that regard in the realm of country music.
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jughead
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Post by jughead on Feb 26, 2013 6:15:28 GMT -5
Now that this has peaked/ will peak soon, any predictions about the next country single?
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Kanenrá:ke
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Post by Kanenrá:ke on Feb 26, 2013 8:40:18 GMT -5
The first time I heard 'Truck Yeah', I was just furious that it received the hourly spin treatment from CC, which I also despise, and how and why the heck a country megastar recorded it as opposed to a rock band such as Motley Crue or Judas Priest. Can't speak for Motley Crue but Judas Priest has way better taste than that.
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kim8
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Post by kim8 on Feb 26, 2013 11:50:39 GMT -5
I really liked this song and would always listen to it when I heard it on the radio. After this ridiculous stunt, I now switch it off whenever it comes on. It left a bad taste in my mouth, which is a shame, because this was a quality song. I really don't understand why Borchetta felt he had to do this. I did see the ad that said it was her 13th #1 and we all know Taylor loves that number, but it would have happened eventually with another song. I just can't figure out why you want the stigma that comes attached with the way this got to #1. A billboard #1 for Tim is great with me, but it's a shame he got robbed of the mediabase #1.
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peterca
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Post by peterca on Feb 26, 2013 12:25:29 GMT -5
This manipulation by Borchetta is indeed a ridiculous stunt as it was done beyond previous manipulations. Tim's OOTN loses spins and AIs for 3 straight days last week while Taylor gets pumped up in order for the math to work out so that she gets her #1. Sickening. Tim gets robbed of a week at #1 on Mediabase. Now his tune has picked up small gains the last 2 days and Big Machine has a full page ad saying going for maximum airplay. Ridiculous. When will Country Radio "just say no" to Borchetta??
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Lozzy
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Post by Lozzy on Feb 26, 2013 14:03:38 GMT -5
I did see the ad that said it was her 13th #1 and we all know Taylor loves that number, but it would have happened eventually with another song. I saw that too, and which are her thirteen #1's? I tried to look and spent too much time on it but could only find these. "Tim McGraw" - #6 on Billboard, #5 on Mediabase"Teardrops On My Guitar" - #2 on Billboard, #2 on Mediabase1. "Our Song" - #1 on Billboard, #1 on Mediabase"Picture To Burn" - #3 on Billboard, #3 on Mediabase2. "Should've Said No" - #1 on Billboard, #1 on Mediabase3. "Love Story" - #1 on Billboard, #1 on Mediabase4. "White Horse" - #2 on Billboard, #1 on Mediabase5. "You Belong With Me" - #1 on Billboard, #1 on Mediabase"Fifteen" - #7 on Billboard, #6 on Mediabase"Fearless" - #10 on Billboard, #10 on Mediabase6. "Mine" - #2 on Billboard, #1 on Mediabase7. "Back To December" - #3 on Billboard, #1 on Mediabase8. "Mean" - #2 on Billboard, #1 on Mediabase9. "Sparks Fly" - #1 on Billboard, #1 on Mediabase10. "Ours" - #1 on Billboard, #1 on Mediabase11. "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" - #13 on Billboard Country Airplay, #16 on Mediabase, #1 on Hot Country Songs12. "Begin Again" - #3 on Billboard Country Airplay, #1 on Mediabase, #10 on Hot Country SongsI'm pretty sure those are all her country singles. Are they counting "I Knew You Were Trouble" for hitting #1 on CHR/Pop?
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.indulgecountry
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Post by .indulgecountry on Feb 26, 2013 14:06:58 GMT -5
I just can't figure out why you want the stigma that comes attached with the way this got to #1. I was worried about that at first as well, but the more I really thought about it, very few people are going to know anything about this situation. Many will have no idea there was any "manipulation" to bolster this song's chart performance, and even more may not even know this got to No. 1 at all if they don't even follow the charts. So, in other words, most people aren't going to have a stigma associated with this at all. Sometimes I forget when I talk to other people in RL that not many people really follow the charts, and certainly not to the level that those on Pulse do. For instance, my mom listens to country radio in the car with me and she has no idea what chart placements any of the current songs have or anything like that. Sometimes she'll hear a fact on occasion and tell me and I'll have already known about it for quite some time before that.
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kim8
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Post by kim8 on Feb 26, 2013 15:27:53 GMT -5
Slizzard, I have no idea what they are counting. Maybe they are counting I Knew You Were Trouble as you suggest. I wouldn't put anything past them at this point.
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mylifeback
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Post by mylifeback on Feb 26, 2013 15:39:14 GMT -5
Slizzard, I have no idea what they are counting. Maybe they are counting I Knew You Were Trouble as you suggest. I wouldn't put anything past them at this point. Why wouldn't they count Trouble? It's a monster hit & of course it should be counted, or did the ad specify country? I saw the ad but didn't really scrutinize it for language too much. I agree on the chart-watching. Most normals do not pay any attention whatsoever or care for that matter. Re: the chart manipulation. The crazy point system MB uses for the country charts are just inviting trouble if some label figures out the magic formula. They ought to just scrap it & go back to plain old spins like every other format. If they were so concerned about the label shenanigans, you'd think they would do something about it, which leads me to believe they don't care too much. And for the record, I normally don't like Taylor's country singles, but I did like this one.
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Lozzy
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Post by Lozzy on Feb 26, 2013 15:49:20 GMT -5
Slizzard, I have no idea what they are counting. Maybe they are counting I Knew You Were Trouble as you suggest. I wouldn't put anything past them at this point. Why wouldn't they count Trouble? It's a monster hit & of course it should be counted, or did the ad specify country? I saw the ad but didn't really scrutinize it for language too much. The ad didn't specify anything about the definition of "#1", but considering that it was in a Country Aircheck issue, you'd think they wouldn't be counting a #1 on the pop chart that's not even remotely country. But then again, never doubt Big Machine.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 26, 2013 17:32:06 GMT -5
I just can't figure out why you want the stigma that comes attached with the way this got to #1. I was worried about that at first as well, but the more I really thought about it, very few people are going to know anything about this situation. Many will have no idea there was any "manipulation" to bolster this song's chart performance, and even more may not even know this got to No. 1 at all if they don't even follow the charts. So, in other words, most people aren't going to have a stigma associated with this at all. Sometimes I forget when I talk to other people in RL that not many people really follow the charts, and certainly not to the level that those on Pulse do. For instance, my mom listens to country radio in the car with me and she has no idea what chart placements any of the current songs have or anything like that. Sometimes she'll hear a fact on occasion and tell me and I'll have already known about it for quite some time before that. All good points. But again, there are still people who DO care. Chart-watchers and music forum-visitors are definitely the minority, but there are still thousands of people who do those things, or who subscribe to things like Billboard and other industry publications, etc. In the grand scheme of things in this world, the push for BA doesn't matter at all. But when you are a chart fan, it's super annoying. And so my main line of thinking continues to be...how does this not rub a TON of radio PD's the wrong way? They've probably been taking annoying calls from Big Machine's promo reps for weeks now, with the people just begging "squeeze in a few more spins for Taylor's new single, please!" when a lot of their research (M-scores, ways to measure the 'burn' rate, etc) is indicating that their audience has been ready to move on to something new from her for quite some time now. And then it just got so much worse this past weekend. Most weekend programming isn't live so can you imagine Big Machine working the phones non-stop, and now also asking to give some of Tim's spins to Taylor...I'd think the PD's would have major grumbles about stunts like this, just to get a song artificially to #1 for a single day. For the record, I have read some articles in which PD's complained about things like this. But yet, it hasn't seemed to change anything. These stunts continue, and it seems they're getting worse. Meanwhile, Big Machine is arguably doing the best to break in new artists while simultaneously getting their 'core' acts (Taylor, Tim, Rascal Flatts, The Band Perry, Eli Young Band) near the top of the chart on most occasions. Other labels are guilty of this insane practice of pushing songs to the top, but Big Machine is most notorious for it, and yet it doesn't seem to have negatively affected them at all.
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desertfloods
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Post by desertfloods on Feb 26, 2013 18:21:12 GMT -5
I think going back to ranking songs just by spins would not change anything. It might even make labels' job easier in manipulating the charts. I want to say Billboard's way is better, but then I remember the nonsensical new Hot Country Songs chart. So I guess we will have to take our own picks between the lesser of two evils. I was worried about that at first as well, but the more I really thought about it, very few people are going to know anything about this situation. Many will have no idea there was any "manipulation" to bolster this song's chart performance, and even more may not even know this got to No. 1 at all if they don't even follow the charts. So, in other words, most people aren't going to have a stigma associated with this at all. Sometimes I forget when I talk to other people in RL that not many people really follow the charts, and certainly not to the level that those on Pulse do. For instance, my mom listens to country radio in the car with me and she has no idea what chart placements any of the current songs have or anything like that. Sometimes she'll hear a fact on occasion and tell me and I'll have already known about it for quite some time before that. All good points. But again, there are still people who DO care. Chart-watchers and music forum-visitors are definitely the minority, but there are still thousands of people who do those things, or who subscribe to things like Billboard and other industry publications, etc. In the grand scheme of things in this world, the push for BA doesn't matter at all. But when you are a chart fan, it's super annoying. And so my main line of thinking continues to be...how does this not rub a TON of radio PD's the wrong way? They've probably been taking annoying calls from Big Machine's promo reps for weeks now, with the people just begging "squeeze in a few more spins for Taylor's new single, please!" when a lot of their research (M-scores, ways to measure the 'burn' rate, etc) is indicating that their audience has been ready to move on to something new from her for quite some time now. And then it just got so much worse this past weekend. Most weekend programming isn't live so can you imagine Big Machine working the phones non-stop, and now also asking to give some of Tim's spins to Taylor...I'd think the PD's would have major grumbles about stunts like this, just to get a song artificially to #1 for a single day. For the record, I have read some articles in which PD's complained about things like this. But yet, it hasn't seemed to change anything. These stunts continue, and it seems they're getting worse. Meanwhile, Big Machine is arguably doing the best to break in new artists while simultaneously getting their 'core' acts (Taylor, Tim, Rascal Flatts, The Band Perry, Eli Young Band) near the top of the chart on most occasions. Other labels are guilty of this insane practice of pushing songs to the top, but Big Machine is most notorious for it, and yet it doesn't seem to have negatively affected them at all. Money talks. As long as the people involve with the dealings are gaining from it, no change is going to happen.
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jenglisbe
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Post by jenglisbe on Feb 26, 2013 19:08:37 GMT -5
The weekly bullet for the song was +850 on Sunday's update. Today shows +359, so it lost 500 spins in the past two days (conveniently right after the chart week ended). So, yeah, congrats Big Machine on buying a #1 on a chart that's fairly irrelevant!
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Lozzy
Diamond Member
Joined: January 2010
Posts: 49,237
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Post by Lozzy on Feb 26, 2013 19:33:48 GMT -5
The weekly bullet for the song was +850 on Sunday's update. Today shows +359, so it lost 500 spins in the past two days (conveniently right after the chart week ended). So, yeah, congrats Big Machine on buying a #1 on a chart that's fairly irrelevant! Nope. It lost 177 + 52 = 229 spins over the past two days: 2/17: 5591 spins 2/18: 5741 spins (+150) 2/19: 5853 spins (+182) 2/24: 6441 spins 2/25: 6389 spins (−52) 2/26: 6212 spins (−177)Bullet* = spins today − spins seven days ago. * Technically this is correctly called a 'trend' and the 'bullet' is only when this is positive, but I'll ignore that2/24 bullet: 6441 − 5591 = 850 2/25 bullet: 6389 − 5741 = 648 2/26 bullet: 6212 − 5853 = 359 850 − 359 = 491 So yes, her bullet decreased by 491 over the last two days, but that's because 2/26 spins − 2/24 spins = −229 2/19 spins − 2/17 spins = 262 −229 − 262 = 491 Which is where the 491 actually comes from. That probably makes zero sense, but my point is that she did not lose 500 spins in the past two days; she lost 500 spins in comparison to the spins she gained this time last week.
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slayZ
3x Platinum Member
Joined: November 2010
Posts: 3,232
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Post by slayZ on Feb 26, 2013 19:36:51 GMT -5
This truly is the little song that could.
People love to throw the term "payola" around and talk about how much money there was involved in the success of Taylor's singles just because they hit #1, when in reality, country radio is by far the easiest chart to manipulate to one's advantages, whether your name is Taylor Swift, Reba McEntire or Carrie Underwood. None of them have been the exception to this. None of them have played it clean. I'd say that out of most of Taylor's recent singles, and by "recent," I'm going back to her Speak Now era two years ago, this was probably the one single which had the healthiest and most honest rises to the top. While, sure, it was not the most conventional #1, and yes, perhaps the last few weeks have obviously been helped by her label's big push, its rise to the top has been the slowest rise she's ever had. No "manipulations" there, just good ol' Taylor Swift being played occasionally on the radio until she made it to the top 8 and started defying everyone else.
Four months ago, most people were were complaining about the Clear Channel deal (which I may add, it is now implemented to every major artist in the industry, whether they're Country or not, or whether or not they're managed by Scott Borchetta, but let's not get into that) and how "fake" her spins were, and how manipulated her rise was because how she fell after the first week and struggled to make it back to her peak, and now that she's had a truthful rise with no help of Clear Channel, the #1 is questioned.
Country radio is a game between labels, and all of you who watch the charts certainly know this but it seems to be an "unfair" game when Taylor Swift hits #1 simply because of who she is. Cue the "don't hate the player, hate the game" saying. It fits in here. Labels, for the most part, seem to even organize a plan on when each song is going to hit #1, and it's gotten so ridiculously predictable the last couple of years that most of us here are now completely able to figure it out as well - weeks in advance. That just shows how "unfair" this is - for everybody.
It's funny too, though, because some of those that are so "appalled" by this accomplishment are some of the ones cheering hard for songs that are struggling on Pop radio and are just "going by" and keep being passed on by bigger singles until other songs start to fall and they make their way into the top 20, or top 15. I don't see them screaming PAYOLA! It's their handler's job! This is unfair! when that happens. Taylor seems to be the one artist on the Country forum of Pulse who is the most polarizing, and for the most part, she's constantly being looked down on because of how successful she is, and even those who do went lengths to claim the Billboard rule change was made solely to benefit her, which is perhaps one of the most ridiculous statements I've ever heard. It also seems like all of those who "tolerate" her singles, only do so when they're not on top.
I say good for Taylor. #1 or not, needed or not, unfair or not, she's done more than enough to prove she deserves a spot on the top of the charts, just like all the songs she fought against to get it, even if it's for a week. Last week was Taylor, two weeks from now it'll be someone else who has been fighting just hard. Perhaps not as aggressively, but they've been IN that "calculated" fight nonetheless. No need to discredit her for something it is done on a monthly basis by other artists. It's a shame that it only seems to be a celebration when Swift isn't the one who gets it.
I would also like to point out that payola is illegal and that "money" being exchanged between radio stations and companies is something that stopped years ago. There are ways, sure, but I doubt a major radio stations would be willing to risk having to pay fines, having their handlers go to jail, and ruin their reputation to "please" to lord of all lords Scott Borchetta. If that was the case, all of Taylor's singles would have gone #1. Why hate on them for having a strong team who is doing what you wish your favorite song was doing instead? It happens with all genres, and Scott isn't the only one pulling strings.
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