The Editorials

Sure It's A Buisness But...

Written by Darren O'Neill

I've seen it time and time again, and artist is on the verge of releasing a disc and it's gets pushed back. Sometimes for a few weeks, sometimes a few months, and sometimes the disc never comes out at all. The sad thing is, a lot of these discs contain some great music that is never heard.

Two examples come immediately to mind, Sonya Isaacs and Carolyn Dawn Johnson. Sonya's CD has finally been released, but it was delayed for months and reconfigured by cutting 6 or 7 songs and adding new ones to the disc. I heard the songs that were cut, and they were just as good, if not better, than some left on the disc.

Carolyn Dawn Johnson's debut CD was set for a February release, but has now been pushed back indefinitely in the USA, while it is still set for a late February release in her native Canada. This I simply don't understand, as her single “Georgia” was released months ago, and it seems that every time I turn on CMT I see the video for it, and it is in the top 25 on the charts. So, let me ask you why are they holding back on the release?

Well, I'm not really asking for an answer, I know what the answer is, they are looking at the numbers and playing a game that bites a lot of artist's at one time or another. In Sonya's case, the first two singles didn't chart as well as they wanted, so they decided to go and record more pop sounding songs. Now, I don't know about you, but I like Sonya's more bluegrass and country sounding stuff better. The new songs are good as well, but it bothers me that a label plays this game with an artist, quite possibly having them compromise their style to churn out more cookie cutter radio friendly songs.

For those of you who might not be as familiar with Carolyn Dawn Johnson, she is a great songwriter who has written hits like “Single White Female” for Chely Wright, co-wrote “Punishment” for SHeDAISY and is releasing her first CD. She also spent a lot of time on the road playing guitar and singing backup for Martina McBride. She is a multi-talented lady, and I can't wait to get my hands on her debut release.

One thing I'd like to remind everyone of is that the fans do make a difference. Sure, established artists will get their stuff played, but for newer artists like Carolyn and Sonya it makes a big difference if you call your local radio stations and CMT to request the songs. When radio stations get enough calls about a song or an artist they will get the idea that people want to hear that artist on the air.

I think it's long past time to embrace the artists who are a little different, who don't churn out songs that would sound just as at home on pop radio. I think both styles can live together, I don't think we need to exclude songs that are “too country”... It really is kind of funny, that there are now songs that are too country for country radio. For one reason or another, the country radio industry is one of the most backwards industries in the world, seemingly afraid to take chances for the fear that they might be wrong. That being the case, there is a lot of great music that we don't hear on the radio.

In a recent survey of over 1000 music critics to pick the 25 best albums of the last year, including all genres in the mix. A few country discs made their way onto the list. These were discs by Steve Earle, Shelby Lynne, Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard, which got close to zero radio airplay. It really is kind of sad, isn't it? The best music is left off country radio because Steve Earle is too rock, and the rest are too country.

The record labels and country radio need to wake up and smell the coffee. Let artists make albums that they want to, give them a little more creative reign to produce music that can move our spirits. Having ten tracks, or ten artists that all sound the same doesn't make any sense to me.

I've personally started a campaign to try and help Carolyn Dawn Johnson out, you can get info on how to order her CD from Canada and other info here: http://www.martinamcbride.com/cdj/index.htm

Just remember, the next time you discover a new artist that you like, pick up the phone, or send an e-mail over to your local radio station or CMT telling them you want to see and hear more. If we, the fans, demand it they will have to listen, otherwise we will stop listening to them!

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