Taylor Swift - "Begin Again"
Oct 19, 2012 19:09:26 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Oct 19, 2012 19:09:26 GMT -5
I'm excited to see the video (I really liked that pic of her that surfaced from the video shoot), and to check out the album...but I'm just really sick of Clear Channel. I hate what they are doing. I've even liked plenty of the songs that 'benefited' (I use that term loosely because many of the high-debuting songs got lower peaks than what's normal for those artists) from the 'Artist Integration Program' (I especially liked ZBB's "The Wind"), but I don't like these deals being made. I don't like the control that Clear Channel has with radio. It's way too big a block of stations now, and this coordinated effort to blast songs up the chart is annoying. It hurts a lot of other songs, and I really don't even think it helps the songs receiving special attention. The case can be made that it's hurt them as well.
The article in this week's Billboard Country Update stated that the AIP is finally finding its groove, but I still disagree and found the article laughable at times. One of the reasons for the unusual chart runs could be attributed to the more polarizing nature (from a sonic standpoint) of many of the songs, but nonetheless, I think the tactics Clear Channel has employed have been more destructive to those songs' chart performances.
This week's Billboard Country Update issue, on the Kenny/Tim duet and Clear Channel's Artist Integration Program:
It definitely looks like the folks at Sony/Columbia were a bit frustrated with how "Feel Like A Rock Star" performed, because the out-of-the-box airplay explosion made them really nervous. Big & Rich likely enjoyed the attention, even the #16 peak, because they haven't gotten airplay like that in years. The ZBB song was definitely 'different', but there's always the possibility that its early airplay boost caused some premature burn-out...who knows if it would've gone further than #11, though. Taylor clearly didn't benefit at country radio, although her label's probably as much to blame, trying to push such a pop-leaning song to country radio.
The BCU article goes on to argue that Darius Rucker is doing great, Jason Aldean did well, and Tim McGraw did well. I only agree regarding Jason, but really, he didn't need the CC deal. He was gonna fly up to #1 that fast no matter what. Darius is doing 'ok'--but I'm not convinced he's gonna score a huge hit here. And Tim had to claw his way to a #10 peak before plummeting this week. It was obvious that Big Machine was doing everything they could just to get Tim from #12 to #10, which took nearly 2 months to do. And boom! He hits #10 and then the bottom falls out. The song sold well (since it's about trucks, of course!), but that's besides the point. It was doing pretty good on the sales front even without top 10 level airplay. Brad's "Southern Comfort Zone" will probably do ok, but still, the success rate for the AIP isn't all that great.
It seems that not all labels are on board with the practice, as they don't really know what to think of it. And I don't think even Clear Channel fully understands it all...it sure seems that they're winging it, playing with Monday releases at first, then Tuesday releases, and then Brad's release late on a Thursday (that was probably when Arista wanted the song sent out, but still).
It's just a big issue I have with radio--too much corporate control, mainly by Clear Channel. I mean, the big artists already get big airplay and climb up fast, so I see no reason to try to tamper with the natural progression of songs up the chart. Sure, Cumulus waits forever to add hit songs, but that's a shrinking block of stations, and they are losing their ability to affect the airplay charts by not playing enough current music to meet the minimum requirements for the Billboard and Mediabase panels. Cumulus seems to be losing power by the minute. Then there's CBS and a few other smaller clusters of stations, and a decent number of independently-owned stations, but I certainly don't have a problem with any of them--in fact, I like the way most of these other stations affect the charts...every Monday on the Mediabase Add Board, it seems like the smaller stations or the independent ones are the first to add new stuff, and they almost always have deep and varied playlists.
I'd better stop venting now...way too much of a tangent, I suppose. I just hate that Big Machine has this special relationship with Clear Channel now. I like Taylor, but I don't think this Artist Integration Program is a good thing for anyone. I don't want them shoving music down our throats. I don't want to get burned out on one of my favorite artists for a while, whether we're talking about Taylor, Jason, Keith, Kenny, etc.
The article in this week's Billboard Country Update stated that the AIP is finally finding its groove, but I still disagree and found the article laughable at times. One of the reasons for the unusual chart runs could be attributed to the more polarizing nature (from a sonic standpoint) of many of the songs, but nonetheless, I think the tactics Clear Channel has employed have been more destructive to those songs' chart performances.
This week's Billboard Country Update issue, on the Kenny/Tim duet and Clear Channel's Artist Integration Program:
Behind the increased play, “Rock Star” debuted at No. 13 on the Hot Country Songs chart on April 21, marking the second highest debut in chart history. Bolstering Music Row’s worst fears, it remained at No. 13 the following week and ultimately peaked at No. 11, dropping off the chart after a mere eight weeks.
It was an unusual performance for a superstar product, and it was followed by several other chart performances that were unusual in the genre, all heightened by Clear Channel’s first-week play. Big & Rich’s “That’s Why I Pray” debuted at No. 24, then went backward before topping out at No. 16; Zac Brown Band’s “The Wind” debuted at No. 27, then stalled at No. 11, becoming the act’s first single to miss the top 10; and Taylor Swift’s “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” debuted at No. 13. The track never ever went higher on the airplay chart, though it reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and debuted at the summit on Billboard’s new comprehensive Country Songs list.
It definitely looks like the folks at Sony/Columbia were a bit frustrated with how "Feel Like A Rock Star" performed, because the out-of-the-box airplay explosion made them really nervous. Big & Rich likely enjoyed the attention, even the #16 peak, because they haven't gotten airplay like that in years. The ZBB song was definitely 'different', but there's always the possibility that its early airplay boost caused some premature burn-out...who knows if it would've gone further than #11, though. Taylor clearly didn't benefit at country radio, although her label's probably as much to blame, trying to push such a pop-leaning song to country radio.
The BCU article goes on to argue that Darius Rucker is doing great, Jason Aldean did well, and Tim McGraw did well. I only agree regarding Jason, but really, he didn't need the CC deal. He was gonna fly up to #1 that fast no matter what. Darius is doing 'ok'--but I'm not convinced he's gonna score a huge hit here. And Tim had to claw his way to a #10 peak before plummeting this week. It was obvious that Big Machine was doing everything they could just to get Tim from #12 to #10, which took nearly 2 months to do. And boom! He hits #10 and then the bottom falls out. The song sold well (since it's about trucks, of course!), but that's besides the point. It was doing pretty good on the sales front even without top 10 level airplay. Brad's "Southern Comfort Zone" will probably do ok, but still, the success rate for the AIP isn't all that great.
It seems that not all labels are on board with the practice, as they don't really know what to think of it. And I don't think even Clear Channel fully understands it all...it sure seems that they're winging it, playing with Monday releases at first, then Tuesday releases, and then Brad's release late on a Thursday (that was probably when Arista wanted the song sent out, but still).
It's just a big issue I have with radio--too much corporate control, mainly by Clear Channel. I mean, the big artists already get big airplay and climb up fast, so I see no reason to try to tamper with the natural progression of songs up the chart. Sure, Cumulus waits forever to add hit songs, but that's a shrinking block of stations, and they are losing their ability to affect the airplay charts by not playing enough current music to meet the minimum requirements for the Billboard and Mediabase panels. Cumulus seems to be losing power by the minute. Then there's CBS and a few other smaller clusters of stations, and a decent number of independently-owned stations, but I certainly don't have a problem with any of them--in fact, I like the way most of these other stations affect the charts...every Monday on the Mediabase Add Board, it seems like the smaller stations or the independent ones are the first to add new stuff, and they almost always have deep and varied playlists.
I'd better stop venting now...way too much of a tangent, I suppose. I just hate that Big Machine has this special relationship with Clear Channel now. I like Taylor, but I don't think this Artist Integration Program is a good thing for anyone. I don't want them shoving music down our throats. I don't want to get burned out on one of my favorite artists for a while, whether we're talking about Taylor, Jason, Keith, Kenny, etc.