The Country Music Media Podcast

How are the CMA Awards decided? Go inside the mind of CMA voter Angela Stefano and learn why she chose who she did for Entertainer of the Year, Album of the Year and more before the 2020 CMA Awards on Nov. 11.

There’s a lot of logic behind each of her decisions but there’s undeniably a lot of personal preference. How are nominees chosen? How do voters decide? Is it truly a popularity contest and do the singers who make the most friends in the media have an advantage? To what degree can a voter be influenced? Let’s find out together, during … Ep. 8 of the Country Music Media Podcast.

Find Angela on Twitter at @amstefano988

Here are the CMAs official rules

From the Boot, Everything You Need to Know About CMA Awards Voting

Angela's Interviews with:

Brothers Osborne

Cam

Wynonna
 

This is an update on Ep. 4 of the Country Music Media Podcast. Chris Owen talked about the Secret to Luke Combs' record breaking success in September 2020. Now, with new data and new records to his name it's clear that the CMA Entertainer of the Year nominee is following in the footsteps of country music's most gifted marketer: Garth Brooks.

Billboard's article detailing all of Luke Combs' one-week records can be found HERE. If you've ever wondered how the Billboard 200 is calculated they break it down pretty good there too. 

During the era of Bro Country, we were about one more “hey girl” away from a revolution, am I right? Actually, am I right? It was a trend for sure, but maybe we were a little hard on artists like Luke Bryan or Florida Georgia Line and songwriters like Dallas Davidson. Maybe, if we actually looked at all the songs played on country radio over a bro-y era, we’d see that this was an annoying niche more than a dominant style, one blamed for pushing women to the edges of the genre and beyond. Or maybe we’ll see that everything we think is true. My guest this week is Grady Smith and he’s particularly equipped to sort it all out. 

Here are links to Grady’s most popular videos that we talk about, plus other articles discussed during this episode. 

Every Country Song Has These Lyrics, Right?

Why Country Music Was Awful In 2013

This Beat Is Killing Country Music 

How Much Do Instagram Influencers Make?

Find Grady Smith on YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and at his personal website. 

This week on the Country Music Media Podcast:  Would you rather be considered an overachiever or an underachiever? On its face, that question seems absurd. If you’ve underachieved, you’ve kinda failed, right? But on the other hand, if someone says you overachieved, isn’t that like saying you’re not that talented?

In October, I sent a tweet asking which artists has made the most of what 2020 handed them and was overwhelmed with responses. Dozens of artists were named. Some made sense. A few others were just fans being fans. I dug in, did some research to find supporting evidence and outlined a Top 10 list, then I took it to Periscope for a live conversation, recorded for the podcast. Your comments, your voices, special guests and the No. 1 overachiever of 2020.

Rate, review, subscribe. If you love your mama you'll give me 5 stars.

Here's the tweet: https://twitter.com/billydukes/status/1315344655521927169

Also this week, why is everyone so mad at Billboard? We knew this already, didn't we?

I refer to this tweet during the conversation: https://twitter.com/billboardcharts/status/1318559499440050180 

The bulk of this week's episode is condensed version of the Periscope conversation. 

Maybe we’re being too hard on Morgan Wallen. Maybe we’re not being hard enough. Fans responded with varying degrees of empathy and patience when Saturday Night Live gave him the boot after he broke COVID-19 protocols. Wallen, for his part, took the high road and took responsibility during a two-and-a-half-minute video on social media.

Is the "Whiskey Glasses" singer the hard-partying troublemaker that's made TMZ several times in 2020? Or is he the humble kid from East Tennessee he appeared to be in his apology video. Most importantly, what's next?

Tricia Despres is going to help us figure it out. She's a professional journalist with a deep resume who's spoken with him several times in two years. She's also a mother to college-aged kids and as such she's skilled at smelling stink from miles away. So don't persecute or praise this country singer quite yet.

After the interview, how Morgan's troubles spotlight another problem in country music, and By the Numbers.

Follow Tricia on Twitter and Facebook.

Three interviews referenced in this podcast episode.

American Songwriter
People
Taste of Country

It’s difficult to find Luke Combs’ equal. Not now, not 10 years ago, not 30 years ago. Maybe not ever. The no-nonsense country singer and songwriter with a ‘90s country bent has released 9 singles to radio. Every one has reached No. 1. All but one has stayed there for multiple weeks. Since May of 2017 he’s spent 26 weeks at the top of the country charts — that’s a half year! — and I’m talking about the more illusive airplay chart, not the Hot Country Chart which is a mix of airplay, sales, streaming and witchcraft. 

A decade ago Florida Georgia Line went seven out of 8. In 1989 and ’90 Clint black went five of seven. Garth Brooks? He batted closer to 500 for his first 10 singles. Is what we’re experiencing real? Or is Luke Combs just a product of right time, right place? Is he what happens when the field narrows and country music radio shaves away all its rough edges? Is he a radio star who can’t really get it done elsewhere or worse … is a poised for a big fall? 

My guest this week may know the answer.

Chris Owen is a country chart expert who can recall just about every forgettable country song you throw at him, and the label, and how far it went on the Billboard or Mediabase country airplay chart. I like the way his mind works because he leans hard into stats and logic and not so much on emotion. Chris is an even hand in Twitter sea of screamers and criers and he’s uniquely capable of find perspective as we watch Combs go No. 1 with the frequency of a 9-year-old who sucked down too many Coca Colas. 

Are we making too big a deal of what Luke Combs is quietly accomplishing? Is it fair to compare him to Garth or anyone? What is he doing that nobody else is? Let’s find out, during Ep. No. 4 of the Country Music Media Podcast.

Follow Chris Owen on Twitter.

After the interview, it's "Pick-A-Hit."

Chris' picks:
Robert Counts, "What Do I Know"
Larry Fleet, "Where I Find God"
Runway June, "We Were Rich"

Billy's Picks
Priscilla Block, "Just About Over You"
Cody Johnson, "Dear Rodeo"
Elvie Shane, "My Boy"

Finally, it's a postscript and this week's numbers. 

Historically, when young female pop artists break up with country, country doesn’t come crawling back. But this time they are.

Taylor Swift's "Betty" is a Top 40 hit and her performance at the 2020 ACM Awards felt as comfortable as you could hope if you're among those hoping she'll soon take back her crown as queen of country . My guest this week will explain why — after all she and the genre have been through since her last country hit ("Red" in 2013) — the timing may be right.

Emily Yahr is an entertainment and pop culture reporter with The Washington Post who has, in my opinion, a fascinating assignment. She’s led with grounded, fact-based news articles and editorials about women in country music, and now — as important conversations about the lack of persons of color on Music Row take center stage —  she’s asking the industry to confront its race issue. She’s another writer that doesn’t need Nashville to like her to pay the bills but she doesn’t take advantage of that.

She's also followed Swift since the singer's mid-2000s debut and is, admittedly, a fan.

Follow Emily on Twitter @EmilyYahr

Here's her piece in the Washington Post on Taylor's ACM Awards performance of "Betty." 

In June, Garth Brooks became the first artist to surge forward amid a pandemic when he played a concert simulcast to 300 drive-in theaters nationwide. Garth was to show ‘em all how it’s down at $100 a car load except … he couldn’t.

Reviews from fans in attendance and a few media outlets applauded the effort and vision but panned the actual concert. Man, if Garth couldn’t do it, what hope does Kane Brown have when he asks his fans to pay $100 a car load this weekend for a concert that will be simulcast to 300 drive in theaters nationwide.

The Charlotte Observer's Theoden Janes wrote the definitive review of Garth's show. He's a pro and while he was critical of the production he was critical with evidence. We talk about how he approached this review, if this model can flourish and how, and what fans need to know before showing up expecting to see truly live country music.

Theoden's review of Garth's concert from June is HERE.

Follow Theoden Janes on Twitter @TheodenJanes.

Theoden's interview with Randy Travis 

The awards will be forgotten and the music will fade away but the photos will continue to tell the stories of the 2020 ACM Awards, country music's strangest awards show in recent memory.

Ep. 1 features an interview with John Shearer.

John is one of country music’s most talented, most popular and most likable photographers. You’ve seen John’s work after every country music awards show since 2015. He comes from California where he started shooting awards shows in 2002.

One of his John’s most famous photos is of Brittany Spears and Madonna kissing.

Maybe more famous is the many album covers John is responsible for, including recent albums from Thomas Rhett and Carly Pearce. Keith Urban is releasing The Speed of Now, Part 1 on Friday and you wanna know who shot the cover? John Shearer.

I like John because he’s easy to work with and because he’s the closest thing I have to a friend to the stars. But come on, see for yourself during Episode 1 of the country music media podcast.

Here are links to some of the photos we talked about:

Brittany Spears kissing Madonna at the 2003 MTV VMAs

Thomas Rhett and the "War Room"

The beautiful Amanda Shires

Here's John Shearer's Official Website.

You should follow John on Instagram. 

It's the ultimate country music insider podcast. Host Billy Dukes explores country music's hottest news stories, artists, songs, trends and events through the eyes of the journalists that covered them. It's the Country Music Media Podcast, a weekly dive into what's shaping country music.