Don’t Be “That Guy”

Say hello to the first no-brainer of 2017. Tim McGraw and Faith Hill are delivering a new single today (3/23) called “Speak To A Girl,” and if upon receipt, you don’t add it immediately and play the living piss out of it, you’re high. Spring has sprung, bringing with it freshly grown, fully ripened, conveniently placed, low-hanging fruit that has been washed, buffed, beautifully packaged, and hand delivered to Country radio to claim as their own. The branch can’t possibly be placed any lower, no matter how vertically challenged you may be.

Over-analyze, marinade on, and nitpick this single to death at your own peril. We’ve all been “that guy,” admit it. This time, don’t be him. Kthanks.

Perhaps you’re familiar with this promising husband and wife singing duo? I hear they’ve recorded before, going back to 1997 with a tune called “It’s Your Love.” Some of you whippersnappers won’t remember that one, as it may predate your radio listening and/or potty training, and would have interrupted those riveting episodes of “Boy Meets World,” “Pinky And The Brain,” "Sabrina The Teenage Witch," “Rugrats,” or “Doug.”

Tim and Faith went on to record other epic duets, too, like “Let’s Make Love,” “Angry All the Time,” and “Like We Never Loved At All,” among others. These spawned two massive “Soul2Soul” tours in 2000 and 2006 which reportedly grossed an estimated $50 million and $89 million, respectively. The 2017 iteration of this tour begins early next month on Friday, April 7th at New Orleans’ Smoothie King Center.

So, yeah. They were – still are – a thing. And now they’re bringing an absolute monster song – a prototypical, superstar-pairing, event record – to radio and other platforms; it's a song which will help couples re-learn the importance of communication and understanding one another. This power duo has recorded what we in the biz call a power ballad, one that will make you stop and rethink your current relationship status. I ran into a high profile programmer last week who had heard “Speak To A Girl” just that day, and who told me it made him call his wife that instant. Married for nearly 21 years now and still 95% more attractive both, individually and as a couple, than you and/or I and our respective plus ones, Tim and Faith are fully credentialed to deliver this message.

Beyond the obvious emotional appeal and the free, handy programming advice offered here, there are other wide-reaching factors to consider, and I’m being serious now.

Remember when I said “other platforms” when referring to the song’s delivery? There was a time when radio got these kinds of event records exclusively to bring to their listeners first. It was a time when radio was THE strategy for getting music to a broad audience. That time is no more. Everybody gets “Speak To A Girl” at the same time today (3/23): 5:00p (ET): Apple, Spotify, Pandora, and other such services. Radio is not THE strategy for exposing music anymore; it’s one component in a more grandiose, global plan. Miss it by a little, and you’ve missed it completely.

I’m slowly hearing more and more programmers refer to digital stats and incorporating the word “consumption” into the conversation when sharing how they evaluate songs for airplay. And, based on what I saw at Country Radio Seminar (CRS) this year on a panel called “Dicing The Data,” that’s a trend which needs to continue. You really should stream this panel ASAP – all CRS panels are now available here – because, you’ll hear data on how Shazams-per-spins ratios are worth watching; how Pandora and Spotify lead Mediabase in predicting hits; that market-level streaming data is relevant; and how eyeing consumption charts is more useful than what the majority of programmers usually rely on: gut feeling and the reputation and stature of an artist.

I mention this not to cleverly embed a shameless CRS plug, but to reiterate that it’s a great big world out there, with seemingly endless portals for music discovery. Radio is just one of them – but, it’s the one that still has a unique, special sauce: heart and soul. At the outset, radio doesn’t own the Tim and Faith release, but here’s the thing: radio at its best, using its magnificent reach and peerless power, can own this. All it needs to do is want to. And it should. In fact, it has an obligation to own it – a responsibility. Because – all due respect to Spotify, Pandora, and those kinds of services – nobody can mobilize passion, excitement, and enthusiasm for a project like this better than terrestrial radio. Nobody. I believe that with all my heart, and have complete faith (no pun intended) that programmers in this format can take a song they believe in, blow it wide open, steal the moment, and take all the credit. KMPS/Seattle PD Kenny Jay told me as much when we were discussing “Speak To A Girl,” saying, “This is a moment from Country’s most recognizable couple that will be bigger than the format. We can’t let news outlets or streaming services take it from us.”

There’s also this thought in regards to where we are as a format now: we’ve been struggling. To a certain extent, I agree with some programmers who have expressed concern that we’ve lacked a solid musical identity recently. The format has been a tossed salad for the last 15 months or so, and has been searching for one. That’s not to say we lack strong music and artists – we certainly don’t – but there are many different flavors coming out of the kitchen right now, and they haven’t all come together as a cohesive, consistent plate of food yet. We’re a giant, international buffet of a format currently. A look back at 2016 and the year we had with ratings performance at Country radio, where the format was down month-to-month nearly EVERY month all year in three key demos, offers some proof of instability. I realize there are a thousand variables when it comes to listening habits, many out of our control. But we are a current music format, which, historically, performs better when there’s an easily defined sound or identity that listeners can quickly digest and explain.

I think a powerful, quality new song from iconic artists like Tim and Faith could spur a return to comfortable, familiar themes for core Country fans that could center the format again. Some programmers I talk to feel that way as well. “Tim and Faith have stood the test of time,” says WXTU/Philadelphia PD Shelly Easton. “Faith is a female icon of our format, and she is returning to Country radio at the perfect time.” McGraw’s “Humble And Kind” from last year revisited the values-based type of song that used to be so dominant on Country radio. Big Machine’s new group, Midland, appears to be connecting with “Drinkin’ Problem” so far. That song has a big buzz among PDs, and it’s throwback as hell. Ditto Columbia’s Luke Combs, whose “Hurricane” leans traditional and old school, by today’s standards. And we’ve already seen Jon Pardi connect in a major way during the past year, with #1 singles from a #1 album, and a well-earned slot on the CRS New Faces Show last month.

Through the years, we’ve seen several occasions when a song or an artist triggered a significant shift in our format. I’ve chronicled Randy Travis in this space, as he lead the way toward a more centered, traditional sound for Country radio in the mid-80s when “On The Other Hand,” a classic-sounding Country ballad, reached #1 in 1986, pivoting the format away from its Pop-Country trend. Four years later, in the very early stages of what’s famously referred to as the 90s boom, Garth Brooks released “Friends In Low Places,” a song which instantly accelerated that boom, and blasted the movement into hyperspace. That song – and Brooks’ subsequent worldwide, mass appeal success – paved the way for other now-iconic stars of the 90s, whose music remains timeless, and created a lifelong love for Country music among young music fans – many of whom are now artists, and who cite that era as inspiration for pursuing a career in music.

More recently, in 2012, I would make the case that Florida Georgia Line’s “Cruise” spearheaded younger, 18-34 listening for Country radio that, while now waning somewhat, grew steadily for five years. That’s not a fad, that’s a trend. Later branded “Bro-Country,” we can all debate the long term musical depth of that movement – but it did give us an identity that was clear and defining – and, as we’ve seen, appealing to new listeners of the format.

Can a new song by long-established artists do the same in 2017? I have no idea. Faith Hill has been largely off the musical radar for 10 years, but she is revered, loved, and has been genuinely missed by many in radio who played her as a new artist and through her years as a superstar and the face of Country music. And, from personal experience, Hill was always gracious to radio programmers; those first impressions and relationships still run deep. “Faith and Tim have been stars in the format since I began my career in Country radio,” recalls Easton. “I remember seeing them sing ‘It’s Your Love’ in 1997 on the ACMs, when Faith was nearly ready to deliver the couple’s oldest daughter, Gracie. It was a moving moment. Their new single delivers a powerful message, as does their staying power and contribution to Country music.”

Musical events have also been an important part of Country radio over the years, too. Collaborations always generate renewed interest among fans, when two superstars temporarily merge to create one monster hit. The list of impact records is long, dates back decades, and includes male-female, female-female, male-male pairings, married couples, and divorced couple configurations that include but are not limited to: Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton; Parton, Linda Ronstadt, and Emmylou Harris (Trio); Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson; and George Jones and Tammy Wynette. Country has even seen super groups form as evidenced by “The Highwaymen” consisting of Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, and Kris Kristofferson. In 1988, a multi-generational pairing yielded a huge hit for 59-year-old legend Buck Owens and 32-year-old Dwight Yoakam, who teamed for “Streets Of Bakersfield.”

So, here comes a killer song with an important, powerful message, performed beautifully by two great artists, both with history-making individual careers and a storybook marriage, who have periodically joined forces to make giant hits and tour the world together. It seems like the perfect storm. And while the competitive climate is more intricate than ever before, it’s still a golden opportunity for one musical platform in particular: Country radio. The rest of the world will be giving “Speak To A Girl” critical mass the moment it downloads in a few hours. In recent years, we’ve had tendency to overthink ourselves out of some things, and into an over-cautious safety zone, which, equals boring. This time, don’t be “that guy.”