Country Music’s Album Sales Could Be Worse; Taylor Swift Is the Top-Selling Digital Music Artist Ever
- Compared to every other genre except jazz, country music weathered the decreasing album sales storm the best in 2009. Total albums sales were down 12.7 percent compared to 2008, while country music only dipped 3.2 percent.
- Paste published a list of 10 songs they wished Johnny Cash had lived to cover.
- The new Ryan Bingham music video for “The Weary Kind” uses scenes from the movie Crazy Heart as a backdrop.
- Faith Hill followed husband Tim McGraw to Los Angeles-based Red Light Management.
- Sarah Buxton is scheduled to play each of the 11 songs from her new album during a live webcast at 2:30 ET today.
- Texas Music Matters captured John Doe performing “The Golden State” at a recent SXSW.
- Don’t call Willie Nelson’s forthcoming album, produced by T Bone Burnett, bluegrass. Burnett explains that some of the material actually predates bluegrass. The yet-to-be-titled album includes “The Man With the Blues,” the first song Willie ever wrote, along with covers of “Dark As a Dungeon” by Merle Travis and “You Done Me Wrong” by Ray Price.
- The title of top-selling artist in digital music history belongs to Taylor Swift.
- Southern Living dubbed Gruene Hall the best dance hall in Texas. (via Austin Music Source)
- The state of Virginia plans to memorialize June Carter Cash with one of 11 new historical markers along its highways.
- Lady Antebellum scored a headlining show at the Ryman.
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Recent stories from the Country California fake news department:
- Listen to Rod Picott and Amanda Shires perform “Up All Night” from a recent Gruene Hall appearance.
- The Gobblers Knob: “Basically, Ray Wylie Hubbard is rightfully the artist so many hope to be when they grow up.”
- Nashville Scene republished an original “Breaking News” newspaper clipping from 1951 about Hank Williams‘ death.
- Kenny Chesney’s new house.
- Adam Carroll shared five records that inspire him with Sounds Country.
- For Christmas, George Jones‘ wife commissioned a portrait depicting the singer’s famous DUI arrest on his lawn mower. (via Twang Nation)
- Blake Shelton has a new, six-song album due out on March 2.
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Music Fog videos from MusicFest in Steamboat, Colorado:
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Adam Carroll // Amanda Shires // Blake Shelton // Brandon Jenkins // Chris Knight // Chris Young // Faith Hill // George Jones // Hank Williams // John Doe // Johnny Cash // June Carter // June Carter Cash // Kenny Chesney // Lady Antebellum // Merle Travis // MusicFest // Ray Price // Ray Wylie Hubbard // Reckless Kelly // Ryan Bingham // Sarah Buxton // Sons of Bill // Taylor Swift // The Trishas // Tim McGraw // Todd Snider // Willie Nelson
Current Discussion
- Lewis: Is this true what I heard on the radio that Chesney was a high school football player? If so, I ...
- Dan Milliken: "If you mean the figurative “voice” of the narrator, I don’t see anything in the lyric that justifies that description, ...
- Michelle: Andrew, you got to see TWO huge names in country music, so I could definitely justify paying $100 per ticket. ...
- Stormy: There is also the back end factor. Large rock shows often mean large budgets for the show itself. ...
- Michelle: You're right, Fizz. I thought I would shop around online for a better deal and realized the tickets were twice ...
- Andrew: I think Michelle is right that country tickets tend to be cheaper. The most I've ever paid for a country ...
- Linda: Ken, it's a business for those merchandisers selling shirts, too. Have you tried to buy a licensed NFL tee ...
- Linda: I paid $6.00 for a ticket to see all the Beatles at Red Rocks, then paid a $250.00 to see ...
- Ken Morton, Jr.: ...to where it’s $30 at least for a damn T-shirt. I went to a Lady A/Tim McGraw concert earlier this year ...
- Fizz: Yeah, it's ridiculous. And another thing is, these scalping companies that hire people to go online at the time of ...
2 Trackbacks/Pings
Trackback URI for this postJanuary 12, 2010
[...] The Rick Rubin produced American recording done by Johnny Cash near the end of his life featured some inspired covers (most famous being the cover of Trent Reznor’s Hurt on 2002’s album, American IV: The Man Comes Around) Paste.com lists 10 songs they wished Cash had lived to cover featuring works by Joe Strummer, The Silver Jews and Ryan Adams. Though I’m sure a list like this could go on and on I have to take exception to a couple of the entries on the Paste list; Bob by the Drive By Truckers could be their worst song and I doubt that the mighty Cash could make it better (and there are tons of better DBT songs for him to cover; Cottonseed perhaps?) and Death Cab For Cutie?! Really?! (via the 9513.com) [...]
January 16, 2010
[...] Monday’s News Roundup, Brody noted the Paste Magazine article “Ten Songs We Wish Johnny Cash Had Lived to [...]
8 Comments
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January 11, 2010 at 11:31 am Permalink
A lot of bluegrass material predates bluegrass, so T-Bone’s not especially convincing on that score. And “Man With The Blues” has gotten several great bluegrass treatments, notably by Del McCoury and the fabulous Barry Berrier – in fact, much as I like Del’s version, I think I enjoy Barry’s even more.
January 11, 2010 at 12:01 pm Permalink
Ray Wylie Hubbard is such a badass. The man just gets better with age.
January 11, 2010 at 12:32 pm Permalink
always wanted to hear johnny cash do social distortion’s ball and chain.
January 11, 2010 at 7:11 pm Permalink
6 songs would make it an EP, not an album.
January 11, 2010 at 7:49 pm Permalink
Thanks for the Amanda Shires link! I like Amanda’s singing voice, but like Brennen Leigh its not for mass consumption.
I’m still waiting for those Music Fog folks to record someone I like at the Steamboat Springs music festival! (lol)
Why would a personal management company want to name itself “Red Light”? The connotation is of a traffic signal that forces you to stop and wait or a whorehouse! Crikey.
If it weren’t for Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood the country music sales figures would have declined a lot more. If both those contemporary popsters would have been counted over where they belong the country music sales figures would have been much more meaningful.
I’m sorry I missed the Sarah Buxton live stream. I wonder if anyone archived it for YouTube? Hmm…
January 11, 2010 at 10:30 pm Permalink
Here’s a link to the Sarah Buxton thing. I think it’s only going to be up till noon tomorrow or something like that. While the sound quality is fine, the video quality is absolutely terrible. It’s Sarah (accompanied by Jedd Hughes) recording one of those album release specials for GAC, but this is recorded on someone’s laptop off to the side.
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/3914266
You have to jump forward to about 1:15:00 before she starts actually playing the songs from the new album. Before then, it’s just everybody getting set up and the only thing mildly interesting that happens is someone coming in and whispering good news to her and Jedd that they say they can’t share. I got the impression they just found out somebody was going to cut one of their songs.
And here’s the track listing for her album, current release date Feb 23: 1. American Daughters 2. Outside My Window 3. Radio Love 4. For Real 5. Wings 6. Love Like Heaven 7. Space 8. Innocence 9. That Kind of Day 10. Stupid Boy 11. Big Blue Sky
January 12, 2010 at 8:04 am Permalink
That George Jones painting is so killer! I wonder if they will offer prints?
January 12, 2010 at 10:47 am Permalink
I wonder how much of this had to do with Taylor Swift’s Fearless regarding country sales only being down 3.2%. Fearless also was best selling country CD of 2008.
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