I banned Taylor Swift today

[Dr. Johnny Fever]

...OK not ALL Taylor Swift... although I'd like to... but I did ban her new song "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together." Nashville goes a little more pop every single day and this one is so bubble gum teeny sweet blinding sugar high bullshitfest that I couldn't see adding it to my stations playlist and keeping any semblance of respect from actual country fans. So naturally I did what any decent Program Director would do... tested it in front of a live listening audience.

The results were staggaring. 98% "don't ever play it again," 2% "I like it." The nays win. I posted on the stations facebook today that we appreciate your opinion more than anything and we're listening... Taylors new song will "never ever" be played on this station again. Our facebook has blown up today with responses... positive to about the same percentage and we've gained 52 new "friends" simply for NOT playing a song LOL.

The best thing is that our in market competitor posted that "FTR we are playing Taylors new song because we believe in letting our listeners decide for themselves" and half the posts on their page are in support of us or just generally trashing Taylor and the song. Thanks for the added attention and support cross-town dumbasses.

I realize not many of you probably care about this but it's made my day. It's the first time in 22 years in radio that I've banned a song. I should do it more often.

*shit thread*
**DJF sucks**
***and not a shit was given***

tl:dr Taylor Swift blows... and not in the good way

[ChiefsCountry]

Originally Posted by Dr. Johnny Fever

I am... x2?

We have 8 live jocks actually... even on weekends. We're the exception the the rule anymore and pretty proud of that. Even have a live afternoon team as well as morning team. Go us!

That is pretty impressive actually. Hell with today's technology most everything can be outsourced in the radio world and sound local.

[Dr. Johnny Fever]

Originally Posted by ChiefsCountry

That is pretty impressive actually. Hell with today's technology most everything can be outsourced in the radio world and sound local.

We have all the tchnology to do it and do run "voice-tracked" some but we're fortunate enough to have a great team, great GM who believes in real radio, a great owner who isn't a tight ass and of course we make money by selling plenty of advertising... otherwise it wouldn't happen. I wish MY pay was more but I realize I'm pretty blessed.

[ChiefsCountry]

Originally Posted by Dr. Johnny Fever

We have all the tchnology to do it and do run "voice-tracked" some but we're fortunate enough to have a great team, great GM who believes in real radio, a great owner who isn't a tight ass and of course we make money by selling plenty of advertising... otherwise it wouldn't happen. I wish MY pay was more but I realize I'm pretty blessed.

Good to hear!

[Deberg_1990]

Originally Posted by Dr. Johnny Fever

...OK not ALL Taylor Swift... although I'd like to... but I did ban her new song "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together." Nashville goes a little more pop every single day and this one is so bubble gum teeny sweet blinding sugar high bullshitfest that I couldn't see adding it to my stations playlist and keeping any semblance of respect from actual country fans. So naturally I did what any decent Program Director would do... tested it in front of a live listening audience.

So I heard some new song from her today…not sure if it was this one or not, but whatever…..this stuff is not country. Its just not. Props to you for taking a stand and refusing to play it. Shes not a country artist anymore.

[Dr. Johnny Fever]

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

So I heard some new song from her today…not sure if it was this one or not, but whatever…..this stuff is not country. Its just not. Props to you for taking a stand and refusing to play it. Shes not a country artist anymore.

Well thanks... and not defending her but most country artists aren't "country" these days... at least not in the way tradition means. It's kind of a mixed bag of southern rock styled artists with pop artists with a few actual country sounding artists mixed in.

Before you give me too much credit though I added her new song "Begin Again" two weeks ago. It's poppy but actually does have steel guitar in it and not nearly the annoyance factor of "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together." Don't know which you might have heard. Slowish or fast? Might have been the title track to her new album "Red" which is at pop radio now and featured on a tv commercial.

[Deberg_1990]

Originally Posted by Dr. Johnny Fever

Well thanks... and not defending her but most country artists aren't "country" these days... at least not in the way tradition means. It's kind of a mixed bag of southern rock styled artists with pop artists with a few actual country sounding artists mixed in.

Before you give me too much credit though I added her new song "Begin Again" two weeks ago. It's poppy but actually does have steel guitar in it and not nearly the annoyance factor of "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together." Don't know which you might have heard. Slowish or fast? Might have been the title track to her new album "Red" which is at pop radio now and featured on a tv commercial.

I understand that Nashville is trying to broaden their audience by going more "Pop" over the past decade or so....i get it. But at what point do they risk alienating their traditional country listeners? Or maybe they dont care, because they dont buy as much music?

[The Rick]

A great summation of today's Taylor Swift on Grantland today:

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/...-new-album-red

[Dr. Johnny Fever]

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

I understand that Nashville is trying to broaden their audience by going more "Pop" over the past decade or so....i get it. But at what point do they risk alienating their traditional country listeners? Or maybe they dont care, because they dont buy as much music?

They've alienated a great deal of them already and no they don't seem to care because money rolls in from young people and digital downloads and yadda yadda. There does seem to be an uprising taking place though among fans of more tradition and I'll all for it.

[ChiefsCountry]

Originally Posted by Dr. Johnny Fever

They've alienated a great deal of them already and no they don't seem to care because money rolls in from young people and digital downloads and yadda yadda. There does seem to be an uprising taking place though among fans of more tradition and I'll all for it.

And country music still is demo of choice for the money demographic (25-54).

[Frosty]

Originally Posted by Dr. Johnny Fever

They've alienated a great deal of them already and no they don't seem to care because money rolls in from young people and digital downloads and yadda yadda. There does seem to be an uprising taking place though among fans of more tradition and I'll all for it.

In the '70's, Country was extremely poppy (think Kenny and Dolly's "Islands In the Stream") and the backlash to that created the New Traditionalist movement in the '80's that went back to Country's roots. I expect something similar will happen again.

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

I understand that Nashville is trying to broaden their audience by going more "Pop" over the past decade or so....i get it. But at what point do they risk alienating their traditional country listeners? Or maybe they dont care, because they dont buy as much music?

Originally Posted by Dr. Johnny Fever

They've alienated a great deal of them already and no they don't seem to care because money rolls in from young people and digital downloads and yadda yadda. There does seem to be an uprising taking place though among fans of more tradition and I'll all for it.

I'm already there. There are 2 country stations and I just flat don't listen to one of them except when a Chiefs game is on. The other one, I only listen to one show, and even them, he plays half crap, but he will put some good stuff on.

I had quit on country alltogether for the most part, until DJF started the country music thread, and prompted me to start a few different pandora stations and get back into decent country music.

[Dr. Johnny Fever]

Originally Posted by ChiefsCountry

And country music still is demo of choice for the money demographic (25-54).

Yes. And since pop has also alienated core people of the 80's and 90's who would still listen today because they aren't "country" fans.... by becoming too rap/hip hop for those tastes... country is now the new pop for them because it's more like what they listened to in "their" decades.

[Dr. Johnny Fever]

Originally Posted by Frosty

In the '70's, Country was extremely poppy (think Kenny and Dolly's "Islands In the Stream") and the backlash to that created the New Traditionalist movement in the '80's that went back to Country's roots. I expect something similar will happen again.

That's an excellent point and I hope to see that movement really take hold. There are a lot of grumblings going on already... have been for a while. This certainly isn't the first time country has gone pop, not even close. Your Kenny & Dolly is a great example of that. It'll be interesting to see where the genre goes from here. Watch any country awards show these days... it looks and acts like the MTV video music awards.

[Frosty]

My wife won a trip to Vegas to go to the CMA Awards show a few years back. We weren't that interested in the show but kind of had to go. It was pretty eye-opening. The only act that performed that I actually liked was Miranda Lambert, though she did a slow song from her second album. Mylie Cyrus performed and was absolutely awful.

We watched the actual show when we got back to compare and it's pretty amazing what they can do with trick camera angles. It isn't nearly as glitzy as it is portrayed on TV.

Later that night, we got to go to a concert that was basically a string of artists doing a couple of songs each. The high point for my wife was seeing The Oak Ridge Boys, since she grew up listening to them (her dad is a big fan). The low point was John Rich (from Big and Rich) emceeing the show. He was obviously wasted and got more and more embarrassing to listen to as the night went on.

[Dr. Johnny Fever]

Originally Posted by Frosty

My wife won a trip to Vegas to go to the CMA Awards show a few years back. We weren't that interested in the show but kind of had to go. It was pretty eye-opening. The only act that performed that I actually liked was Miranda Lambert, though she did a slow song from her second album. Mylie Cyrus performed and was absolutely awful.

We watched the actual show when we got back to compare and it's pretty amazing what they can do with trick camera angles. It isn't nearly as glitzy as it is portrayed on TV.

Later that night, we got to go to a concert that was basically a string of artists doing a couple of songs each. The high point for my wife was seeing The Oak Ridge Boys, since she grew up listening to them (her dad is a big fan). The low point was John Rich (from Big and Rich) emceeing the show. He was obviously wasted and got more and more embarrassing to listen to as the night went on.

You said Oak Ridge Boys. My all time favorite act... Gods to me. I wanted to be an ORB when I was a kid. Hell I think I still do lol. I have almost everything they've ever done. Card carrying member of the fan club and yes..... I know that's dorky and I don't care one bit haha.