Ray Scott Finds Creative Freedom In Life After Warner Bros.
Ray Scott thought he had done pretty well for Warner Bros. After all, the husky-voiced baritone from Semora, North Carolina, managed to sell over 100,000 copies of his 2005 debut album, My Kind Of Music, despite the fact that his music received virtually zero airplay from country radio.
Sure, the record wasn’t a grand slam, but it wasn’t exactly a strike out, either—not with numbers like that. And not considering the outpouring of critical praise it received. (Billboard was among the list of publications to name My Kind Of Music one of the top ten country albums of the year.)
Certainly the album performed well enough to warrant a follow-up. Maybe his career path wouldn’t lead him immediately to super-stardom, but Scott thought, when all was said and done, that he had successfully built a foundation which his sophomore effort could stand on. And he was willing to make a career the old fashioned way–with a whole lot of hard work.
But in the high-priced world of major label music, 100,000 units is a drop in the bucket, and what Scott saw as a sign of commercial strength, was, in the eyes of Warner Bros., a significant commercial failure.
“They wanna strike gold and sell millions of records right off the bat,” Scott says. “They want to get the stuff that’s the most vanilla and most dumbed down. They get excited about something that’s different and original, and then give up on it if it doesn’t blow up big out of the box.”
Scott’s second album was green-lit, of course. But it was a time of turmoil at Warner Bros., and although the project was moving forward, its pace was a trudge, and it kept getting stalled. “Summer becomes fall, and fall becomes the first quarter of next year. I got really disenchanted,” he says, about the lack of action and motivation at the label.
“If you hire a guy to be a leader, the dude needs to have opinions and move on them,” Scott says, speaking about Warner Bros. Nashville head Bill Bennett. “And he just never did. He was always passing the buck. To see the indecisiveness and the lack of order and organization that was underneath that roof. They would tie up people and just let their careers sit and rot.”
What affected Scott and his music even more directly, however, was the departure of A&R head Paul Worley, who was replaced by Scott Hendricks in 2007. Hendricks stepped in and “cleaned house”–a fact which resulted in Scott being assigned an entirely new A&R staff–halfway through the process of making the album.
And his creative control was reeled in considerably. “Basically, I was in there fighting them on everything. They were so afraid of radio and what radio would play. They wanted me to cut a song from a proven songwriter. They wouldn’t come out and say it.”
“My experience was not unlike Joanna Cotten,” he says. “Here they have a unique artist that they make all these promises to, and at the end of the day they’re too scared to do anything because they’ve already got it in their minds that they’re going to fail. I finally told Hendricks, if this ain’t feelin’ right, it ain’t gonna hurt my feelings. Let me go and do something with this stuff. It was more or less his decision. It was just a good move. There was no way it was going to work at that point.”
By that time, Scott had nearly completed recording that second album for Warner Bros. But once he had been officially cut loose by the label, which retained ownership to the recordings it had financed, the only way to release that album to the public would have been to pay Warner Bros. on a per-unit basis.
And the singer, who holds a college degree in Music Business studies, had already come up with a more financially promising idea.
Scott brought together a select group of trusted colleagues and recorded a second second album, which he released on his own label, Jethropolitan. Instead of paying Warner Bros. for the work he had already completed, Scott kept the recording costs for his new project low–even going so far as recording one song in a bedroom–a fact which would allow him to start turning a profit at a much lower sales threshold. “You can go make eight bucks for every record you sell right off the bat, as opposed to having to sell 400,000 before breaking even.”
“By the time I finally got off the label, it was ‘God, thank you.’ I told my manager, ‘I guarantee that you’ll never meet another artist as happy as I am to be getting dropped.’ I knew it might be tough to get another major label deal. But I also knew that a lot of these labels are signing artists to 360 deals. They’re taking this approach to try to justify the money they’re laying out for these people’s careers, but the deals these new artists are signing are ridiculous. If you thought we were getting raped before, it’s really bad now.”
Even so, Scott says, it was never about the money. Armed with complete creative control, he was able to make the record he had wanted to make in the first place–a record steeped in the musical traditions he was raised with, brimming with the stories he–not a group of label executives–wanted to tell. In fact, many of the songs on Crazy Like Me were in the running to appear on My Kind Of Music but were, for whatever reason, nixed by A&R.
The result of that new-found freedom is an album that is considerably more colorful than its predecessor.
“This time around, with me calling the shots, I included a few songs on the album that they wouldn’t have wanted me to record. “Ashtray On A Motorcycle,” was one of those. When we were picking songs for the first album, I played that song for the A&R staff and they looked at me like I was crazy. I don’t know why they were afraid of some of this stuff. I don’t know if they were scared of offending people, or that it wouldn’t appeal to women, or the language, or what.”
Scott doesn’t think his music justifies any of those fears. In fact, the oft-cited torchbearer of so-called “outlaw country” doesn’t even think his music is that far outside the mainstream. Some of his fans are fans of Rascal Flatts, too, he says.
“I’m not trying to make something that sounds like Bob Wills. But it’s a little more reminiscent of what I grew up with.”
Still, Scott is ready for the harsh reality of life as an independent artist. Any success he will find with Crazy Like Me will be the product of his own hard work. And just like last time, there will be little radio support. He knows all of that. So this time, he’ll focus on utilizing a grassroots approach to promoting the record, and he’ll turn to the more cost-effective arena of digital distribution. And he’ll stick to winning over new fans in a time-tested way–by pounding the pavement and bringing the music to the people.
And although his new independent career may never be able to launch him to the heights of stardom that a major label artist can hope for–after all, Jethropolitan’s infrastructure is dwarfed by Warner Bros.–Scott is content in knowing that he’s able to make a kind of music that he never would have been able to make three years ago. A kind of music that truly deserves to be called his kind of music.
“They [the major labels] are getting further and further away from real country music. The blood and guts of real country music…I just don’t really hear it. If properly promoted it could still do real good. There are a lot of people out there who really miss traditional country music. There’s just a disconnect between what the industry thinks and what the people think. I don’t know that a lot of the people at radio know what real country music is. They really don’t give a shit where [the music] comes from, they’re just worried about selling their ads. And I understand that—they’ve got a job to do. But overall it’s hurt our format.”
“You know, it’s such an objective thing. I don’t want to sling mud and talk shit about someone else. It’s not all sour grapes. There’s room for everything. And I’ve got a good base built.”
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June 19, 2008 at 9:41 am Permalink
Jim, thanks for that excellent interview with Ray. When I first saw the music video for “My Kind of Music” (just like with Jake Owen’s “Yee Haw”) I thought “if radio just plays this song it will be a big hit”. But of course Top 40 Airhead Country radio programmers avoided it like the plague due to the song having a traditional outlaw sound and a message that female listeners might find offensive. It was a ballsy song in an era of “wussy country radio” dominated by wedding weepers and sippy cup drivel…..
Without the support of mainstream radio it will be an uphill climb for Ray to sell a good quantity of his new album, but with Ray earning $ 8 a pop he won’t need to in order to earn a decent living. The participants of the “Honky Tonk Tailgate Tour” were interviewed by Suzanne Alexander on GAC during Fan Fair and both Ray and Buddy Jewell wisely plugged their new albums available only through their websites and at concerts.
I heard Ray interviewed on WSM awhile back and he is really an interesting and dynamic person. He told a story of someone back in his hometown who scoffed at Ray’s moving to Nashville who told Ray he would fail and come back to town with his tail between his legs since he didn’t have the talent to succeed. Ray became hell bent to prove that guy wrong and make him eat crow, which he did with “My Kind of Music”.
I just hope Ray can finance a low budget music video now and then for his new material so that viewers of GAC won’t forget about him. And if his new music is not on satellite country radio yet, he needs to get busy, and especially with XM 14 “Willie’s Place” where new outlaw styled music is still welcome!
June 19, 2008 at 10:57 am Permalink
So are we so eager to lay the onus of responbility for mainstream country on the backs of women? Looking at the rosters of the top radio and recording conglomerates in the world, they seem to be slanted more masculine than feminine. Looking over at the Real/Alt/Outlaw country there doesn’t seem to be a shortage of female artists there. Certainly, it would be tough to make a case that anything Ray Scott does is stronger or more creatively “outlaw” than Elizabeth Cook titling her last album Balls, Amy Rigby wryly asking “Are We Ever Going To Have Sex Again?” or Neko Case belting about dead prostitutes. If Ray believes I am too weak and frail for my poor little brain to handle his music (or perhaps it that his music will take the blood away from my girlie parts rendering me sterile) perhaps I am just going to have to stick to the women making real country music now. Fortunately for me, there are a lot of them.
June 19, 2008 at 11:14 am Permalink
Stormy,
He wasn’t saying anything bad about women. I read his quote about ‘appealing to women’ meaning what labels/radio THINK women want.
June 19, 2008 at 11:29 am Permalink
Then why doesn’t he SAY that instead of laying it all on the feet of women. Because. here is the thing, if the idea of appealing to women is so very offensive to him, he’s not going to sell well. Because he has already cut him sell off from 50+ percent of his potential customers.
June 19, 2008 at 12:03 pm Permalink
I assume this is the quote you’re upset about, Stormy:
There isn’t anything misogynistic about that comment. Here’s the way it works: Advertisers want to target women (especially mothers) because research shows that they typically make a family’s spending decisions. Radio wants to attract advertisers to make money, so they need to target the demographic that advertisers want, which we have concluded is women. Now labels want to make their music radio friendly so that it will get played and sell music. In order to do that, they need to play what radio wants and what radio wants is music that women want to hear. So, labels need to target women and that’s the gist of his comment.
If the label thinks that the song won’t appeal to women, then they’ll axe it. Ray Scott isn’t saying that he finds the idea of women liking his music to be offensive. He’s saying label politics suck.
June 19, 2008 at 12:15 pm Permalink
So why doesn’t he say that instead of buying into this whole idea that anything art marketed to or created for women is somehow a less pure form?
I don’t find it offensive as much as I find it cheap. Especially, as, like I said, there are a whole slew of women who can give him a run for the money in the Outlaw/Real country department.
June 19, 2008 at 12:31 pm Permalink
He said it the way he did for brevity’s sake and I don’t see how he implied that art marketed or created for women is less pure. His comment wasn’t aimed at women in any way, but this is why we don’t often get candid interviews because everything can be misinterpreted if it’s not completely PC.
June 19, 2008 at 1:06 pm Permalink
I don’t think Scott’s comment was a slight at women; however he seems to have quite a bit of bitterness toward the record label.
Anhow I enjoyed reading about the interview.
June 19, 2008 at 1:33 pm Permalink
Excellent feature, Jim. Easily my favorite piece of yours. I’m definitely going to look into this guy’s stuff.
June 19, 2008 at 1:44 pm Permalink
Brady: You cannot say that his comments were directed at women when he used the word women right in his statement. If there isn’t an implication that “chick music” is somehow bad why did he have to leave his label over it?
June 19, 2008 at 1:47 pm Permalink
Great article. Good for Ray for standing up for himself and leaving the label and for having the guts to speak out about it. As a woman, I actually really liked his single “My Kind of Music.”
June 19, 2008 at 1:52 pm Permalink
Ray Scott’s comments reveal so much about what’s wrong with “Country” music these days. Enough so that I bet it makes those on the “inside” of the industry quite uncomfortable to read it.
June 19, 2008 at 2:00 pm Permalink
Stormy: I can and I will. Let’s break the sentence down and remove anything extraneous that might be getting in the way: “I don’t know if they were scared […] that it wouldn’t appeal to women […] or what.” Is he implicating women or is he trying to identify the reason the label wouldn’t release one of his songs?
—-
I gotta say it’s a great article as well, Jim. I thoroughly enjoyed it even though I don’t much care for his music. Good job.
June 19, 2008 at 2:01 pm Permalink
Stormy said: “You cannot say that his comments were directed at women when he used the word women right in his statement. If there isn’t an implication that “chick music” is somehow bad why did he have to leave his label over it?”
My intrepreation is that his comments were directed at the execs at Warner Bros. who think that women want to hear the bland, cookie-cutter music that is prevalent on mainstream country radio these days. If you’re going to be upset with anybody, be upset with the label honchos who don’t give women credit for having the taste and intelligence to distinguish between good music and bad music.
June 19, 2008 at 2:34 pm Permalink
But its still using the female gender as a shorthand for something bad.
June 19, 2008 at 2:47 pm Permalink
Brady, I’m glad I’m not alone in my opinion of his music. I want so bad to like it because of what it stands for, but it came across to me as trying too hard to be shocking/edgy.
As for the thing about being afraid it won’t appeal to women- that’s a genuine concern I’m sure labels have. Him stating a what he thinks the labels motives were isn’t speaking negatively about women, it’s him speaking negatively about record execs. I think what he’s done is fantastic. Kudos to him for doing things his own way.
Well written article. Thanks Jim.
June 19, 2008 at 2:57 pm Permalink
Is it really that wrong if an artist doesnt care if it appeals to a specific sex? Why are we so worried about equal opportunity enjoyment? he simply said that perhaps some of his music that the execs listened to may have not appealed to women, he didnt say that women are dumb and simple so it doesnt appeal to them. Perhaps he is being too broad and general, i give you that, but isnt rascal flatts repeatedly referred to as “soccer mom music” in one way or another? i think you are taking it too literally.
June 19, 2008 at 3:09 pm Permalink
Hate to be this guy here….but Stormy is proving why it’s sometimes hard to argue with people when they get an idea in their head. They sometimes get so pissed off at a perceived slight (in this case that women are inferior artists to men) that they can’t see the actual point of the way the original comment was phrased.
Ray Scott wasn’t saying that women wouldn’t like his music nor was he saying that women are not as good artists as men. He was pointing out how ‘bad’ things are at Warner Brothers Records, which is common when a regime change happens.
June 19, 2008 at 3:12 pm Permalink
Ray wasn’t making a comment about women. Ray was saying that maybe some of his A&R people were worried that his music might not appeal to women.
That is a cold hard reality of the Nashville music business–call it one of Nashville’s dirty little secrets. Labels specifically look for music that appeals to women, because women are music’s primary consumers.
To read that quote as Ray somehow speaking negatively about women is a case of trying to find something controversial where controversy doesn’t exist.
June 19, 2008 at 3:13 pm Permalink
Great interview. I liked Scott’s first release and now that he’s gone DIY I like his attitude as well.
As per the music that appeals to woman statement. I call bland country/rock/whatever music girl’s music that even girls won’t listen to. It’s the same with kids media. Some tool in a $3k “ideates” what the demo will bite on and it gets released in all it’s bland glory.
June 19, 2008 at 3:21 pm Permalink
Great article!
I grew up in Raleigh, where Ray used to play at night clubs all the time (and grew up only 2 hours away), and there is such an interesting dynamic based on radio support.
I remember someone telling me that Ray got played on our local country station QDR only TWICE during the peaking weeks of “My Kind Of Music”. Ray then came and did a show here in town with Jeff Bates, the station dutifully supported it but still didn’t play his songs.
Then, along comes Jason Michael Carroll (also a Raleigh native)… the station jumps on his back, mentions him everyday on the air, praises him as the “hometown boy”, has him in for interviews constantly, and most importantly, plays the heck out of his record.
Go figure.
June 19, 2008 at 3:42 pm Permalink
Matt said:
“He was pointing out how ‘bad’ things are at Warner Brothers Records, which is common when a regime change happens.”
And his shorthand for how bad that was is “women.”
June 19, 2008 at 3:51 pm Permalink
Stormy- You are way wrong.
Country music is geared towards women more and more. Specifically teenage girls. Ray Scott would be a hard sell to that demographic. It’s not demeaning, it’s reality.
Gary Allan said something similar in an interview I saw a few years ago: something about country music being geared towards soccer moms and non of my heroes ever gave a damn about them.
It’s just the lay of the land right now. Some acts embrace it, some run from it. Ray wants to get away from it.
June 19, 2008 at 4:22 pm Permalink
Now if Mindy McCready had recorded “My Kind of Music” with the gender roles reversed, Airhead Country radio programmers might have given it a shot. That way the primarily female listeners to Top 40 Counry Muzak would have celebrated that last verse of “So I had to tell that guy to kiss my ass”…..
June 19, 2008 at 6:03 pm Permalink
Stormy, Scott never said HE was worried his music wouldn’t appeal to women, he said that his label was worried his music wouldn’t appeal to women, which means that his label is the one with the sexist attitude, not him.
June 19, 2008 at 6:12 pm Permalink
Stormy,
you seem to be the ONLY person who sees Ray Scott’s words as demeaning to women. Can you agree that you’re wrong?
June 19, 2008 at 6:29 pm Permalink
No, but I can agree that it is such an incedious part of our culture that you don’t see it, Matt.
June 19, 2008 at 6:45 pm Permalink
so what if he had said ‘gay people,’ would you still see it the same way?
June 19, 2008 at 6:56 pm Permalink
I usually lurk here, but this just forced a reply.
I am a woman, a mom and the demographic of all country music radio programmers/label execs who seem determined that I would prefer to hear Keith Urban and Rascal Flatts and Lonestar ad infinitum than what actually appeals to me. That’s a fact and one pretty obviously seen by anyone observing country music — that anyone not singing trite lyrics to 70s pop melodies will not appeal to moms in the suburbs who are their demographic.
That is a narrow-minded view and it is the view of those corporate suits.
Ray Scott isn’t offensive in his comments. Not even close. It’s really stretching to try to make it misogynistic in any way.
June 19, 2008 at 7:15 pm Permalink
Leeann has made the point I was trying to, so thank you! (Although I think lumping Urban in with Rascal Flatts is doing him a great disservice!)
June 19, 2008 at 7:49 pm Permalink
Matt: Its EXACTLY the same as if he had said “the way radio stations treat their artists is so gay.”
June 19, 2008 at 8:07 pm Permalink
after reading this post all day i have come to the conclusion there is much more that is making Stormy mad than this review….
June 19, 2008 at 9:04 pm Permalink
Leeann,
I had hoped you’d come by this post. I just couldn’t believe Stormy thought Ray was saying anything but what he felt about A&R folks reaction to a song he wanted to record. Thanks for say what I was trying to get at with Stormy.
I’m done trying to reason w/her. It wasn’t worth my time but I guess I like a good argument.
June 19, 2008 at 9:09 pm Permalink
Roger: This like my gender being used as a standard for bad in our culture–yes.
June 19, 2008 at 9:32 pm Permalink
I’m not the same Leeann as above, but I didn’t find Scott’s comment to be offensive either.
I did, however, observe that Hendricks really seems to try to get his artists to rely on big name writers rather than on their own music. Chris Cagle seemed to be another example of this approach, which I don’t think did him any favors. I know that people are going to say that all record labels do this, but I’m really starting to think that Hendricks really seems to be trying to take the artist out of the singer.
June 19, 2008 at 9:51 pm Permalink
Leeann (from country universe) I had just assumed the ‘other’ Leeann was you! Anyway, I agree on the Scott Hendricks front. Remember, this is a guy that Garth Brooks couldn’t stand!
June 19, 2008 at 10:06 pm Permalink
I was just about to say “I’m not THAT LeeAnn.” Sorry, I should have put my initial the first time. I read your blog, too. :)
Dylan, I think Urban is far more talented than RF. Change that. I think Urban has talent, so therefore, there is no comparison to RF. I have enjoyed some of his music but not in awhile. I have heard he is great live as well. But my point remains the same that the powers that are determining radio play are making generalized assumptions about women and what they want to hear, thus not exposing them to things they just might like that are not bland pop songs. I thought Scott’s point about people being receptive to more traditional type music when exposed was a salient one. Unlike the posters here, most people aren’t music-seekers and need it fed to them some way.
Stormy, do you think men should have been offended when Reba McEntire (and other women) has often spoken of how Nashville is a “man’s town” which caused her to have to work twice as hard? Probably not because it was true, but so was what was in this article. I think that is the point everyone is trying to make. Doesn’t mean Reba hates men when she spoke about an industry gender dynamic.
June 20, 2008 at 4:59 am Permalink
Matt, I was going to mention the Garth thing too, but I didn’t want to start a discussion about Garth’s famous ego. Ego or not, I think Hendricks has proven himself to be a man of the establishment, even more than others. I remember a story where Faith Hill said that he pretty much forced her to record “It Matters To Me” despite her resistance. Of course, she said this as the song was racing up the chart, so she told it as a tongue and cheek anicdote at the time of the telling.
June 20, 2008 at 7:23 am Permalink
Y’know,
I think both Hendricks and Garth have huge egos so when Hendricks probably tried to pull a ‘Cagle’ on him (say he should use the songwriters and Hendricks as a producer), Garth’s ego came out. Whatever the case, I am sure the whole debate about what was implied here has nothing to do with either Garth or Hendricks specifically.
June 20, 2008 at 7:30 am Permalink
Leeann: No I don’t think that Men should be offend when Reba says Nashville is a Man’s town. Nor would I be offended if Roy Scott used the word “woman” as a short hand for immense power. But he didn’t, he used “woman” as a short hand for something that was bad.
June 20, 2008 at 7:53 am Permalink
“But he didn’t, he used “woman” as a short hand for something that was bad.”
Huh?
June 20, 2008 at 7:53 am Permalink
Stormy,
Come off it. You are taking Scott’s words and twisting them to fit the argument you want to present. Country music is geared towards woman right now. Again, it’s just a realit yof the landscape. So labels are hesitant to promote anyone who doesn’t have some appeal to that market. That’s what Scott is saying.
Country music like anything is a business. Scott recognizes that with the way it is currently laid out the label didn’t think it made business sense for them.
June 20, 2008 at 8:06 am Permalink
Stormy apparently has deep-seated “issues” which would be best addressed elsewhere; not in a Country Music forum.
June 20, 2008 at 8:15 am Permalink
“Nor would I be offended if Roy Scott used the word “woman” as a short hand for immense power. But he didn’t, he used “woman” as a short hand for something that was bad.”
So, just so I’m clear if he used “women” to equal ‘immense power’ you’re ok. Isn’t that hypocritical?
I have to agree with Guy, Stormy.
There are issues you need to work out with a counselor. Especially since Ray scott never said women were ‘inferior’ to anything or ‘bad’ or ‘worthless.’
June 20, 2008 at 8:20 am Permalink
Brian: I have said many times that this is bigger than just Roy Scott and more malevelently part of our culture. And its something that I doubt very much is possible to translate across genders. Suffices to say that since my ears and my money are too girlie for Roy I’ll take both to artists who don’t find my gender to be either a sterotype or a problem.
June 20, 2008 at 8:25 am Permalink
As Charlie Brown said: GOOD GRIEF …..
June 20, 2008 at 8:33 am Permalink
“Official Gender Defender” Stormy is on a roll … but she keeps referring to Ray Scott as “Roy Scott”.
Is this done purposely as a put-down … or is it a Freudian slip of some kind because of someone in her past with the name “Roy”?
Only the Shadow knows …
June 20, 2008 at 8:43 am Permalink
Freudian slip because the first half dozen times I saw his name it was spelled Roy.
June 20, 2008 at 8:46 am Permalink
Let’s try not to make this personal, even if you disagree with someone’s argument.
I find tampons and all tampon related advertising to be useless to me personally. That doesn’t mean I think women are useless despite that product being targeted at women.
From your comments, Stormy, I assume that you dislike pop-country, but since it’s primarily targeted at women, wouldn’t any denunciation of that music also be a denunciation of the women it targets?
June 20, 2008 at 9:06 am Permalink
I don’t agree that pop country IS specifically targeted towards women.
June 20, 2008 at 9:06 am Permalink
It’s too early in the day for psychoanalysis.
June 20, 2008 at 9:10 am Permalink
“I don’t agree that pop country IS specifically targeted towards women.”
…based on?
June 20, 2008 at 9:40 am Permalink
I thought surely my dissertation over on the Brad Paisley thread would make me the token knee-jerk feminist around here, but I’m clearly just an amateur. Wow.
June 20, 2008 at 10:05 am Permalink
Stormy,
Who is mainstream country (pop country) marketed to? Wolves? Misogynistic men? dumb tween and teens who don’t know better?
June 20, 2008 at 10:38 am Permalink
Jim wrote 1,439 words. We’re arguing about one of them. What a shame, because it’s really an excellent feature.
Just let it go, everybody. All that can be said has been said and I doesn’t look like any minds are going to be changed.
June 20, 2008 at 10:50 am Permalink
Matt,
I agree that Jim has an excellent article. I just couldn’t understand her so I kept trying to get her to say why she felt that way. It was insane to me. But I have to agree it’s exhausting to continue to discuss like this.
So, cheers to Jim for a great article.
June 20, 2008 at 12:22 pm Permalink
Matt B: Teenagers and suburbanites of both genders.
Matt: Jim did write a very good article. And, most importantly, the phrase in question was not his.
June 20, 2008 at 12:59 pm Permalink
The format has definitely made moves toward attracting more teenagers, and advertisers certainly would prefer suburban listeners to rural ones, but I’m afraid adult women are still the prime demographic for mainstream country music. That’s why only about a third of the songs on the singles chart this week feature a woman singing lead.
June 20, 2008 at 1:26 pm Permalink
If they are targeting me… (male suburbanite, life-long country music fan)… they’re doing a horrible, horrible job. In fact, of all my male friends, I can’t think of one who listens, or would admit to listening, primarily to country top 40 right now.
You can deny it all you want, but country music execs want songs that they think women will listen to. So, it’s basically an old boys club trying to figure out what women want to listen to. Which results in a bunch of music and artists that NOBODY wants to hear.
June 20, 2008 at 1:36 pm Permalink
I appreciate all the kind words.
RE: Women
When I was still going to NSAI workshops (and other various songwriting workshops) on a regular basis, one of the most common responses my music would receive was “yeah, this is pretty good, but what will women think of it?”
June 20, 2008 at 1:47 pm Permalink
To be fair, I can’t think of any woman over the age of 19 to acknowledges listening to it. In fact, any person I know who DOES acknowledge listening to a mainstream band or artist usually prefaces the comment with “I don’t normally like country, but…”
June 20, 2008 at 2:09 pm Permalink
The most common question I get about my job is, “Do you LIKE country music?”
June 20, 2008 at 2:41 pm Permalink
(picture a balding redhead standing at a podium in a smoke-filled support meeting)
My name is Kelly….and I like Country Music
June 20, 2008 at 2:45 pm Permalink
Chris: That’s lucky. The most common question I get at my job is “Do you know how to *insert job function*” cause I am the only one who does. :(.
June 20, 2008 at 3:11 pm Permalink
I am the only person here who knows how to work the DVD player in the conference room, so that’s also inquired about often.
June 20, 2008 at 3:40 pm Permalink
The stupidest question I ever got was when the president of the TV station I worked for needed to know how to load paper into the fax machine.
June 20, 2008 at 4:28 pm Permalink
The feature about Ray Scott’s music was brilliant. And, based on what I can listen to on MySpace, I like Ray’s music. Joanna Cotten, mentioned in passing, also sounds good.
It’s a shame that the comments degenerated into such a tedious debate, but the bottom line is that if people don’t like what they hear on the radio, they can re-tune their radio to hear something different. As far as I understand, country music has always appealed more to women than to men. Don’t ask me why, but it’s always been like that.
June 20, 2008 at 4:36 pm Permalink
Hey Peter, thanks for the kind feedback.
For anyone who is interested and might have missed it, I just edited this article to include a link to my column titled “Joanna Cotten’s Impossible Question,” which details some of her (similar) struggles at Warner Bros.
Here’s the direct link.
June 20, 2008 at 7:18 pm Permalink
Got a chance to hear Ray live a few years ago. I have his first record. Really good; hooks you hard after awhile. A lot of substance. Encourage everyone to check out “Bear With Me Lord” and “I Didn’t Come Hear to Talk.” This guy is good, and deserves the media attention. Great article.
June 23, 2008 at 9:23 am Permalink
It seems to me that Stormy just stumbled across this article by accident, then decided to weigh in on what she perceived to be a slight against women. Obviously she has no idea who Ray Scott is, she can’t even remember his name, probably never taken the time to listen to his music… so why do you feel the need to inject your opinion on something you know nothing about?! After being proven wrong time after time, she can’t admit that she may have misread the quote and now has to back her opinion no matter what… to the death…. must.. not…. admit… defeat….. Give it up already, everyone on here realizes you’re wrong!
June 30, 2008 at 4:57 pm Permalink
Thanks for the interview! I’m looking forward to seeing Ray in concert for the first time in a couple years. I’ll be heading down from S.F. to Hanford, CA, for the Honky Tonk Tailgate Party and I can’t wait! Might be a couple hundred miles but it’ll be a lot of fun. Ray’s a terrific singer/songwriter/performer (so is Trent Willmon, also on the bill). Everyone here who’s arguing should check out his albums first and then form opinions. I don’t think he meant to slight anyone except corporate record industry types.
July 25, 2008 at 1:29 pm Permalink
If WB would have pushed his album, it would have sold, it’s that simple. It was a refreshing outlaw sound, real hard driving country - the kind that would have gone over very well with the older audience.
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