Writing Greeting Cards Is Nice Work for Taylor Swift
Before I got this gig as a country music writer, I did some time writing greeting cards. It was some of the best money I ever made. The American Greetings company would send me blank white cards, I'd draw pictures and come up with words and send them back in. For every idea they bought, I made $150. So on a really good, super clever day, I could make $1,500. And now Taylor Swift is getting in on it, too, although I'm guessing, for her, it's not about the money. But I can see why hiring her makes sense because greeting cards are so much like songs. There's an idea, and then inside there's a twist. So the inside of the card is like the bridge of a song, where you give people that a-ha moment. "My idea of a great song is a song that says how I feel better than I could," Swift said. "I feel the same way about greeting cards." Swift's cards will hit shelves and online stores in 2010, and if the company is lucky, they'll sell as well as her records.
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Anna says:
“So on a really good, super clever day, I could make $1,500. And now Taylor Swift is getting in on it, too, although I’m guessing, for her, it’s not about the money.”
Oh please. Don’t kid yourself, that’s exactly what it’s about. This woman sure has a terrific marketing team, but her overexposure is going to be the end of her. I mean…greeting cards? Really?
Jimmy says:
I’m sure she’s making a lot more than $150 a card.
Dollie says:
Isn’t there someone else in country music to write about? Good lord this girl is way overexposed and I would like to come on this site at least one day without there being an article or blog about her! Seriously, I would think that at some point people are going to get tired of seeing and reading about her everywhere. I know I am!
Kim says:
Overexposed is an understatement. I am getting tired of seeing her everywhere also! She definately has an excellent marketing team.
countryiscool says:
It is Alison’s job to blog about Taylor, that’s how SHE gets HER $$$$. More than over-kill though I’d agree.
Amy says:
Why are people always hating on Swifty when I come to this website? She seems like a perfectly sweet and talented girl who has not yet been to jail, doesn’t party all night, didn’t get a DUI, etc etc. So where does all this hate come from? You guys are so bitter, it makes me laugh. Probably can’t stand the fact that a 19 year old kid is making more money than all of you put together. Whatever…like her or hate her, she is on top of the world right now. The bigger a superstar you become, the more hate you get. That’s the case for her…so she should be flattered. Keep it up HATERS :)
Anna says:
Yeah…we’re real jealous. Or just sick of this marginally talented woman being shoved in our faces every time we turn around. She’s nice, sure. I don’t see why that means we can’t be annoyed and exhausted with her overexposure (word of the day apparently). I also love how not being a mindless fan like yourself = being a “hater”. Try again, junior.
Sept says:
Taylor is cute and bubblie, but not talented. Sure her songs sound good on the radio, they can mix them, but live?….I can sing that good. I’ve heard her distory a song. Even her own songs when she sings them live sound awful. People you have ears…can’t you tell when she flats on a song? Even her own? She most definitely had a GREAT marketing team. Believe me..she will not be around in 50 years like say a Brenda Lee. Brenda’s Rocking Around the Christmas Tree is still popular today and is a part of Christmas. Which of Taylor’s songs will be around in say even 25 years? So she is going for it while she can. I admire her for that.
Johnny D. says:
Having an invested interest in the American Greetings Company in more ways than one, this is great news. I see no problem with this company cashing in on this girl. That’s what she is for. Her reason for being a celebrity is to make money, either for herself, or anyone who can take advantage of her popularity. I’m all for this deal. Like all the kids say…Go Tay!
I just hope she brings along Liz Rose on this project too.
Amy says:
@ Anna…Hahaha I’m not even a Taylor Swift fan, genius. What exactly does “overexposure” mean? It’s like someone said the word and everyone else took it and ran with it without thinking about it. She is about as “overexposed” as any other mainstream artist like Jay Z, Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Carrie Underwood…I guess being popular and selling millions of records = overexposure in your books. What a joke. Taylor’s Fearless album is still on the Billboard Top 10 chart in its 152nd week and her previous album has been on the chart longer than any other artist in it’s history…OF COURSE she’s going to be in the news. At least she’s in the news for good things, I bet you’d rather see her in the news for being drunk or for going out without wearing her udnerwear.
Y’all just seem like a bunch of bitter people annoyed by her success. If you don’t like her, don’t read articles about her, don’t watch her music videos, don’t buy her record. It’s as simple as that really, grow a brain :)
Peacock Queen says:
Amy, you are wrong if you think the people who are not Taylor Swift fans “hate her.” No one hates Taylor Swift. We don’t even KNOW her. How could we hate her? We are simply tired of her because she has been rammed down our throats by radio, television, magazine editors, and now, for crying out loud, Hallmark stores. Is it ever going to end? It’s a problem for me because I am NOT a fan of hers. To me, a real artists is someone who can write songs about a variety of events in life, good or bad, and not just songs about a cute boy. More importantly, Miss Swift sings horribly out of tune. I had to leave the room during her opening act of the CMAs because she was making me cringe with all her sour notes. Watching her slide down a pole and fling her head around while she wallows on the floor is NOT entertaining to me! You are also very wrong about us being “bitter.” We aren’t bitter. I have a very wonderful life, thank you very much and I have no need to begrudge anyone else their success. As a matter of fact, I have been a huge George Strait fan since he entered country radio almost 30 years ago. I certainly have never been bitter about all the success he has had because I am a huge fan of his! Shania Twain is the biggest selling female artist of ALL TIME and I absolutely adore her, and have always supported her as well. Shania is beautiful beyond belief, she is incredibly talented as a song writer, and SHE CAN SING! I am certainly NOT bitter about her wonderful success (nor Martina’s, Reba’s, Faiths, Miranda’s, Patty’s Loveless], Pam’s [Tillis], etc.). I could mention many, many country artists (some you may never have heard of) that I helped MAKE successful by buying their albums and going to their concerts. Taylor Swift is not, nor will she ever be, one of them. I don’t hate her, I simply do not PREFER her as an artist, and I am sick of hearing her every 10 minutes on the radio. There are OTHER very talented artists out there who DESERVE some radio time because they work just as hard as Miss Swift and have really great songs about real life that they can sing very, very well. Country music fans who prefer to hear and see other artists are not full of hatred for Miss Swift nor are they bitter over her success. It’s the same principle as someone buying a Dodge truck rather than a Ford or a Chevy because Dodge is what they PREFER, not because they are full of hate or are bitter toward Ford Motor Company or General Motors. That is rediculous! Posting our opinions on this site is called “debating” the merits of an issue, and debate is what has brought about many, many positive changes in our world. It is important that you learn to respect another person’s rights and opinions without attaching negative labels on them simply because they do not happen to agree with you on a particular issue. By the way, I remember my older sister and her friends screaming over David Cassidy. With all due respect to Mr. Cassidy, he didn’t exactly top the charts for over 20 years, like George and Reba. I happen to believe Taylor’s success is due to the fact that she is a teenager with a teen following (but I could be wrong - time will tell). Those now teenage fans will grow up and move on. That won’t be easy for Taylor. Mr. Cassidy has spoken openly about being on top, then not having a career at all. Therefore, I actually feel sorry for Miss Swift. I fear that she may be headed for as much bitter hard dissapointment as she has had success. That’s NOT hate, Amy, it’s empathy for another human being.
Amber says:
. . This girl is not shoved down my throat by radio(I chose the radio stations I listen to) She is not shoved down my throat on television.(I chose what I watch on television). She is not shoved down my throat in magazines(I chose what magazine I read). Are you that weak of a person, that you allow somone else to control your entertainment habits, or do you just like to complain? They have these really cool things now day’s called CD’s and mp3. I can go for weeks even months and not hear Taylor Swift, if that’s my choice. Is there some reason you don’t have the same choice as me? It seems you like to be controlled.
sarah says:
hey people please,…
let’s keep it cool here,..this is a wonderful site,..if you don’t like the person being given recognition then ignore it,…nobody will win with the debate going on here about taylor swift…I’m a taylor swift fan and I know she’s great and I also know she has a weak and not so great of a voice, but I still like her and accept those negative things about her…you see, it’s all about mentality,….SHe is not being shoved into anybody’s throat if I may say,..there are a lot of radio, tv stations, magazines that doesn’t feature taylor swift,…So,…Chill…It just happens that she is the “hot topic” with all her achievements, broken records, greatness and everything else great about her,..haha…I’m pretty sure it’s not her fault that everyone wants to write about her,… peace..
sarah says:
we all know that the world gives credit to people who has done great and good things,…people are hard to please and so taylor swift must have done something GOOD and GREAT to the millions of her fans for them to put her in the pedestal that she is on right now,….like what she always say, She is owes her fame to her fans,….So please, negative opinions WILL NOT change her fame or make people (her fans) against her…(I didn’t use the word HATER, okay)…
merlefan49 says:
I’ve never heard one Taylor song on the station I listen to. I have heard a wide scope of music from roots, Americana, country, bluegrass.
sadie ann hawkins says:
This is a wonderful opportunity for her. She DOESN’T HAVE TO SING!!!!
Peacock Queen says:
Wow, the Taylor Swift fans get really upset on this site as soon as a non-Taylor Swift fan expresses an opinion about her. I wonder why that is? Is it because the Swift fans are afraid that some of us might be right in our comments???? Look, this site is for country fans to express their opinions and they have the RIGHT to do so and they SHOULD let their voices be heard as long as they are polite, provide facts and/or give examples to back up their thoughts, etc. It’s called debating, which adults do when they get together and begin to discuss a common interest, in this case, country music. It is also a very useful tool to bring about positive change in this world. And I am NOT saying to get rid of Taylor Swift altogether would be a positive change, I am simply saying to tone it down a whole lot with her would be a positive change because she is overexposed to the point of being annoying. No, the non-Taylor fans do not expect to turn the Taylor fans against her with their debate, but rather are simply expressing their opinions about one artist (and she is only one of many). I do, however, agree with Sarah on one thing: this is a wonderful site and yes, let’s keep it “cool” here. Or in other words, respect another fan’s right to express an opinion — good or bad — without stooping to a very low (or immature) level.
rascalfan says:
nope, not getting tired of Taylor yet. Great work alison!!
sarah says:
owkie,..whatever,…I’m not yet tired of taylor also,…there are other artists/stars out there that I have negative opinions also, but I’m not going to comment about them because it just seems to me to be the more sensible thing to do,…besides, no one would really care about my opinions specially if it’s a negative one,…so,…just going to keep it to myself…bye.
D Trotter says:
Here’s the thing, Peacock Queen … the reason an artist gets so much exposure is because they have become a phenomenon. Millions of fans want to hear her and see her. And media, being as they are in business to make money by giving people what they want, oblige.
What’s amusing is that people who DON’T like her act like Taylor is forcing herself down their throats, or that some mysterious marketing genius is doling out money to force-feed the public to be inundated with Taylor. Phenomenon don’t happen that way. If they did, there would be a new one every month. No one knows why an Elvis or Beatles comes along, born at the right time, they just do.
Even Taylor has said that too much over-exposure and hype CAN be dangerous to an artist (although I do believe you’re being a little hypocritical when you say such comments make you “empathetic” toward TS — the sum total of your remarks make it obvious you could care less if she disappeared). But she really has no control of it.
You do, however. By coming onto every blog about Taylor and “debating”, you and the other 180 comments will surely encourage Alison to write even MORE blogs about Taylor. So, way to keep the fire burning!
hotelmotel says:
I do think that all the people complaining about Swift’s alleged overexposure are only encouraging more blogs written about Swift. THink of it this way: Write a blog about Joe Diffie, and get 2 comments and 4 page views. Few care about Joe Diffie, good or bad. He’s a has been. He’s not even worth thinking about. Taylor Swift getting a hangnail is gonna attract more interest than anything Joe Diffie can do. But, Swift is relevant — like her or hate her, when you come to a site and read about her, you are only encouraging more writing about her.
sarah says:
I believe Alison has a female crush on this manly looking girl singer.
sarah says:
hey, I didn’t write the “manly looking girl singer” thing right above this message you guys,…:)
Robin says:
Amy - You said “and her previous album has been on the chart longer than any other artist in it’s history”
This is not a true statement. This is another situation of people taking a headline and twisting into an untruth. “Taylor Swift” has been on Billboard top 200 longer than any other album THIS DECADE. Not in it’s history. “The Dark Side of the Moon” by Pink Floyd holds that record at 741 weeks. There’s no way on Earth her debut album will ever come even close to that record for anyone to even hold their breathe to believe it will beat it.
Amy says:
@Robin….my bad, you’re right. It’s been on the chart longer than any album this decade. There have been so many great artists releasing awesome albums this past decade and Taylor’s been on the chart the longest. I don’t even have to explain what that achievement means, it’s very telling on it’s own.
Kim says:
“Even Taylor has said that too much over-exposure and hype CAN be dangerous to an artist”. Well, than she better be very careful….I am not a “Taylor hater”. I own Fearless. But when every other article and blog on this site is written about her, it gets exhausting. There are other artists that work just as hard and are just as talented that don’t have the record label that pushes them as much, so they don’t get the attention. How about more articles about Dierks Bentley, Joe Nichols, Lady Antebellum, Brad Paisley? Anybody…Please!!!!Dierks Bentley was the most played country artist this year behind Keith Urban and nothing…
starwars says:
Kim they do it because she gets the most comments. If people would quit coming in and comlaining about her and it was just her fans commenting they wouldn’t do it. But these people on here are to stupid to know better.
Kim says:
starwars- good point. It wouldn’t generate much interest if everyone was just commenting on how great she is. I guess the bloggers and CMT like a little controversy. It gets people to their website.
Amy says:
@Peakcock Queen…You couldn’t be more wrong. See, I don’t even follow Taylor Swift religiously like some of her fans but I’m open-minded enough to give her a chance. You might say you’re not bitter but reading your post gives me that impression. Let’s get something straight here, her first 2 albums are composed of songs that she wrote between the ages of 14-16 yrs old, when she was in high school. So are you really surprised that all her songs are about the same topic? The point is: she’s an incredibly gifted writer who will continue to evolve as an artist. What separates her from other “teen stars” who fade away is the fact that she writes her own material and as she grows older, her music and lyrics will grow with her.
As for the overexposure part…I’ll say it again. I listen to the radio on my way to work everyday. I rarely ever hear her songs. I don’t know what channels you’re listening to but trust me, if you truly want to avoid her music, you can. There’s no need to whine about her being everywhere because you may not like it but obviously there are millions of people who WANT to see her everywhere and CHOOSE to lister to her records.
She gave Saturday Night Live their highest ratings of the season. The CMA awards got their highest ratings in 4 years, largely thanks to her. Lots of people who don’t watch country music were tuning in to see if she was going to win ETOTY. As someone said, she is a phenomenon. According to some of you, the only reason she’s so big is because “she has a great marketing team behind her”. That’s just hilarious…I give credit where it’s due. You don’t outsell established artists like Beyonce, Kanye West, Britney Spears, Eminem etc because of a “great makerting team”. You don’t become the first country artist EVER to win a VMA because of because of a “great makerting team”. Your album doesn’t remain on the Billboard charts longer than any other album this decade because of a “great makerting team”.
You might want to re-think your theories because none of them apply to her ;)
Peacock Queen says:
Kim, thank you. Too much of anything can be exhausting. I am a country music fan, and I would like to hear more songs on the radio by different artists, not five in one hour by one artist, as has been the case with Taylor Swift, and I would like to come to this site and learn more more about other artists. That is the point I have been trying to make. I guess you said it better than I have. Thanks again.
Country radio is my entertainment media of choice. I enjoy listening to the radio because I like many different artists and would like to hear their music. I like the witty comments of the radio personalities. I get up-to-date information on current events due to the news breaks. I do know what CDs and mp3s are. My generation invented them. But I prefer country radio, and I am strong enough of a person to let my voice be heard. That is not being controlled, it is taking control. I listened to my favorite country station for several hours yesterday and they did not play one Taylor Swift song, so obviously, we are being heard. That is the point of voicing your opinion, on this site or others. We are invited to do so, pro or con. If you only want to hear positive comments about the artists you like, then perhaps you should stick to that artist’s official fan website.
Kim says:
I would like to politely disagree. Marketing does have some to do with it. Taylor Swift is not the one seeking out these magazine covers and greeting card deals. Her management team and record labels are lobbying for her to get these. Even with the CMAs, every artist gets promotional material sent to academy members to even get the nomination. That’s marketing right there. There have been many artists that have left their record labels because of poor sales because their label didn’t market them enough. So yes, marketing has some to do with it. It is not all of it. Taylor is a very talented songwriter and her music can speak for itself, but obviously her name got out there somehow.
starwars says:
I hate to tell everyone this but they play more Carrie Underwood and Brad paisly on the radio than they do anyone . I turn the channel when they come on to each their own.
onecherokee says:
Yep,it had to be marketing.She sure didn’t do it on talent.
Sue says:
Entertainer Of The Year,Female Vocalist Of The Year,Album Of The Year,Video Of The Year Gee what am I missing Huh nothing she got them all!!!!! Great job Taylor now you have a little side job to go along with everything else you have.
Granna says:
Good job Peacock Queen…I understand very well what you are trying to say, but you can’t win with the Taylor fanatics…they are obsessed big time!! I’m over her winning. IMO, the association gave her these awards because of the money she brought in and not the talent, because I know, or believe, she is just a passing fad too! Just ask Gretchen Wilson how quickly your fame can come and go! Just a few years ago she was the one being “overexposed”! And where is she now? She can’t even get in the top 20 with any of her songs! She had a gimmick and it worked for a while, but then people turned on her and didn’t want to hear all that redneck this and that. Time will tell if Taylor will fall victim to her own fame.
Robin says:
starwars - As noted above - Dierks Bentley was the second most played artist on country radio this year and Keith Urban the #1 most played. NOT Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood. The numbers on this issue don’t lie.
Kate says:
Sue
Yeah she won em’ all but not all were deserved…and look at the comments that’s stirred. And look at how they try to sweep FVOTY under the carpet. Now that’s a real humdinger to try and explain. That will forever be the question of the day.
Robin says:
Amy - The CMA’s audience has grown over the last 4 years to huge (and similar) numbers. Meaning the last 4 years the audience has grown, but all 4 years the numbers have been very close to the year before. It was Carrie Underwood that gave the CMA’s their huge growth in audience as her first performance was four years ago and has had a performance every year since. To that, add the fact that this year, it was the 9:00 - 9:30 time frame (when Carrie and Chris Daughtry sang) that had the largest ratings. It wasn’t the EOY time frame or the opening number.
CMA numbers also took a good leap last year when Brad and Carrie began hosting. So, while Taylor clearly does have a audience draw, there is no evidence that she is the biggest draw. All of the hard evidence is to the contrary.
K says:
Robin,
I was just about to post that as well. People who say Taylor drew the biggest audience are kind of like the people who say she is bringing fans to country music. I have a hard time believing this is the case with any artist, but particularly Taylor, because her fans can hear her on pop stations. I’m sure all artists bring some fans to a certain genre, but the numbers of those who seek out other artists is grossly overexaggerated.
Taylor is a talented writer, and it is admirable that she is in control of so many aspects of her career. That being said though, I can’t see her as anything more than a fad until she grows a little older and starts writing songs of the teenage vien. Will her younger fans continue to relate to her experiences, or will they quickly move on? Time will tell, and it will be interesting to see if she can make that transition.
People can use an example of Gretchen Willison as a fad, because everything thought she was going to be huge. People thought Carrie Underwood was going to fad into thin air like most Idol winners, and look what she has accomplished. No one can really predict where any artist will be in their career at any given point, and the same goes for Taylor.
She certainly has made history, but whether or not she sticks around will be the telling factor. People will remember that she had the highest-selling album of the decade IF she stays relevant and maintains a fraction of her superstar status.
If that doesn’t happen, she’ll quickly be forgotten as just another artist who graced the record books; impressive, but another hot artist can make the honor forgotten in a snap.
Kim says:
I also agree that it is questionable how many listeners Taylor is bringing to country music. Why would people switch to a country station when they can hear Taylor on every pop station also? And her songs are remixed to give them even more of a pop sound for those stations. And I also read the most watched hour of the CMAs was the third hour- not the first or last. If she doesn’t get away from her teen sounding songs and her bitter “boys shouldn’t do bad things” attitude- she will be a flash in the pan like Gretchen Wilson.
Robin says:
Looks more like Taylor lost the CMA some audience. Seems people got annoyed when she won female vocalist.
This is the half hour breakdown of the rantings of the CMAs CMA Awards (ABC)
8:00 p.m. 9.7 rating/16 share (#1)
8:30 p.m. 9.7/15 (#1)
9:00 p.m. 10.1/16 (#1)
9:30 p.m. 9.6/15 (#1)
10:00 p.m. 9.2/15 (#1t)
10:30 p.m. 9.0/15 (#2)
As you can see, ratings started slipping at 10:00 p.m., around the time when Taylor won female vocalist. It was the lowest (and even slipped to #2) when Swift won Entertainer.
The largest ratings came in during the 9 to 9:30 slot when Carrie Underwood performed. Another high point came when Daughtry performed. It also remained high throughout the time when the hosts were more actively participating on the show. So the ratings war was Brad and Carrie’s win more than anybody else’s.
D Trotter says:
Robin, why not send your analsis to the CMA? Surely, with such irrefutable evidence, next time they will give Carrie two performances and the opening number and all the teasers before commercials.
D Trotter says:
“analysis”
Robin says:
D Trotter - The CMA’s know what happened with the ratings. They will clearly have Brad and Carrie back as hosts next year. They don’t control who is nominated or who wins, but they will have their ratings drawer back as hostess and she will sing. You don’t need to sing more than once when you are the evenings host/hostess.
kayko says:
I am finding this coversation facinating, but the one fact the non fan’s are not bringing up is that Taylor’s sales increased by 36% to 91,000 (in her 53rd week) after the CMA awards. Evidently someone was paying attention, after all these are the Country Music Awards.
Robin says:
D Trotter - By the way, D, Carrie and Brad did have a ton of teaser commercials for the CMA’s and she has opened and closed them as well. You think they’ll have the exact same line up next year? They do mix it up.
D Trotter says:
But the CMA does get to say who opens, who performs twice, and who is the focus for their ads for the show. And they picked Taylor for a reason, one that everyone in the business knows — Taylor is a mega draw, easily the top draw in Country Music today (and beyond) — and there is plenty of “hard evidence” to prove it. Do I really have to drag all that out?
Your ratings by the minute thing is like a partisan political spin, rationalizing what you want to believe. But it doesn’t hold water. The 9 to 10 slot ALWAYS has the best viewership, and most people don’t have any idea age of who’s going to appear in a given time slot. But the CMA’s usage of Taylor was designed to MAXIMIZE viewership throughout the entire 3-hours program.
Did you not know about the ratings boost she gave CSI and SNL?
Kate says:
Trotter
Carrie has already been there done that..no one (I think) questions that Taylor has had a magnificent year. Of course she is going to be in the spotlight. Those hints by the announcer at each commercial break made it a foregone conclusion that the winner was going to be Taylor. So much for a ’surprise’ huh.
The controversy is around the awards that were bestowed on Taylor. For me the ones to blame for the results of this CMA award show are the CMA voters who voted for Taylor in areas where she was clearly and without question inferior when compared to the other nominees. I guess I was pretty naive to think that these professional folks had integrity and being professionals could distinquish more easily than the lay person between one who has vocal skills and one who doesn’t. Live and learn. The FVOTY is for me the most contentious of the awards won by Taylor.
As for the data reported by Robin, you are right.. that is a reputable source and no doubt provided that information to those at CMA long before it was made available to the public.
Kate says:
Trotter,
I believe it was allover the internet that Taylor was opening the show and that she had two performances…it was also known that Carrie would be performing with dancers….those twitters do like to tweet or twit whatever.
Amy says:
Ah okay…most of you taking offense to what I said are Carrie Underwood fans. I get it :)
Regarding the ratings, the most respected news sources like CNN, NY Times and Daily News said on their websites that the CMA’s brought it huge ratings for ABC because of Taylor Swift. Those were their words, so I believed them since those are pretty credible sources. It is largely believed that Taylor attracted a lot of viewers who otherwise wouldn’t watch the CMAs. That’s not a knock on other country stars, but Taylor was the most popular country singer in America last year. This was also evident by the fact that she gave SNL their highest rating of the season. People who watched SNL knew she was the host AND musical guest. At least we know that SNL audience WANTED to watch her ;)
Anyway, I don’t want to get into a battle between fans of Taylor and Carrie. I’m not a die-hard fan of either artist but I respect them and if people were unfairly criticizing Carrie Underwood the way they’re doing it to Taylor Swift, I’d probably defend her too. I don’t understand why you have to put one down in order to make the other look better. I think they’re both awesome, they’re living proof that “good girls” can succeed in their careers without controversies. And the funny thing is that the two of them don’t even have a rivalry, they seem perfectly friendly. So everyone else needs to CHIIL OUT…it’s not that serious.
Kate says:
Trotter
I’m sorry this will be my last post..but as far as the analysis hour by hour…that makes sense and while the data doesn’t “prove” anything it is a correlational relationship that they are looking at so the network can see what was going on at an appointed time and then look at the rating and come away with a ‘guess’ that whatever was going on most likely produced the the ratings recorded…that ’s what correlational studies are designed to do and that’s what most studies use.
Kate says:
Amy,
Cnn and other news sources would only get the overall results of the CMA rating not a break down of the rating.
What they said was true about the CMA’s getting high ratings…how they got them isn’t that easily explained.
D Trotter says:
Oh, and Robin, your retort to Amy about her “twisting a headline into an untruth” is a little harsh, don’t you think?
I saw stories (including one on THE BOOT) that said Taylor’s album has been on the Billboard 200 “more weeks than any other album” and was the “longest charting album of this entire century” (the latter is technically correct).
Besides your statements on the “Dark Side of the Moon” are at least as much in error. Billboard has completely changed its ratings criteria since DSOTM came out. (I believe you now have to MAINTAIN a position in the top 100 to be counted as a chart stay, and the weeks have to be CONSECUTIVE. The 741 weeks for DSOTM you list includes time the album was on, then off, then back on the charts. I believe their actual record is 591 consecutive weeks, and even that was just to be in the top 200.
Swift’s streak is the longest-chartingalbum by a female country artist in the entire Nielsen SoundScan era (the new system) which began May 1991. And while you might think has absolutely no chance to challenge DSOTM, it is STILL “36 on the Billboard 200 and #11 on thew Country charts after 160 weeks!
Peacock Queen says:
Thanks, Granna. I like to debate. I began my career in D.C. in the political arena. I used to join friends and colleagues for dinner parties. Republicans and Democrats would sit around the table and discuss the hot political topics of the day. It was fun. We never got angry, and we never resorted to nasty comments or name calling, because we respected everyone’s right to express their opinion. That is what free speech is. I love country music, and I thought this forum, by the very nature of this website, would be a good place to go and have some lively discussions over the music of today. As you pointed out, wrong! Just look at some of the comments posted with regard to this article: “moron,” “stupid,” “hypocrite,” “weak,” “whiner.” And to think, I AM the one accused of being bitter! How ironic! I was actually trying to be helpful in my post to Amy, because some of the Taylor fans are quiet young, and I was hoping they would understand that just because someone isn’t a fan of Taylor the performer, does not mean that they hate Taylor the person. And yes, many artists have watched their stars rise very fast only to fall just as fast. Some former teen phenomenons, as I mentioned before, have spoken openly and honestly about their struggles with depression, drug and alcohol addiction when their music stopped. Some have deliberately committed suicide. Others just used drugs until they died from complications of their drug addiction. I stated that I worried about the young woman if (and fans, please, please note that I said IF) and when that happens to her, and of course, I got bashed for that. So you are right. It would be nice if we could be honest and express our thoughts openly as long as we are polite to one another. I love Carrie Underwood and I enjoy Brad Paisley, but I am certainly not going to get upset and start bashing Starwars over the comment about changing the channel when their songs are played. That’s Starwars’ right.
Kate says:
Well in a couple of weeks Taylor will be 20. Maybe people will stop calling her a child (I never have although I find her behaviour very immature which I now think is quite deliberate and calculated…it’s just too over the top not to be..but it does help bridge the gap with many of her young fans)
Wonder if she’got any more adolescent material in her diary for another album? I’m sure her most recent pairing Taylor & Taylor, will be great for a song or two (guess you could say she the kind of girl who kisses and tells)
Well we’ll have to wait and see…but one thing is a constant no matter how old she gets…her voice…it will be as it is now…and with her loyal fans her success may also continue. There you go Taylor fans now you can cheer for your out-of-tune, one note, talking, vocalist of the year.
Peacock Queen says:
Kate, you are so cute!
Robin says:
Trotter
Amy said “in chart history”. That is a WAY distortion of the truth.
This entire century = 9 years = this decade = isn’t even close to the charts history.
“As much as in error”? Really, “The Dark Side of the Mood” is the longest charting album in Billboards History. That is not a distortion. You only have to be in the top 200 NOT top 100. That’s why it’s the Billboard Top 200 achievement. 591 may be consecutive weeks, but that is not what this particular statement was about. Even so, 591 is unbeatable by Swift. Her album is sold to kids that will be adults in 5 years. Other kids in 5 years will be on to the next “teen idol”. “Dark Side of the Moon” is an album that people met as an adult even if they were kids when it came out and they didn’t buy it at that time. Because it is timeless rather than generic “teen” music, new adults kept buying it.
“Swift’s streak is the longest-chartingalbum by a female country artist in the entire Nielsen SoundScan era (the new system) which began May 1991.” Again this was not a part of Amy’s statement. She distorted the truth and gave Taylor a MUCH bigger accomplishment that she actually had.
Amy says:
LOL some people need to chill out. It appears that even a 19 year old kid has more maturity than all these people combined.
Anyway…it was nice to read D Trotter’s posts, good to know there is at least one unbiased person in here who is capable of posting without an agenda against a certain celebrity.
I’m out.
sarah says:
Oohhh..what a great site this is,..
kayko says:
Amy, I agree with you. I wonder if some of the posters realize how vindictive they sound, or if they even care.
merlefan49 says:
I listened to Dark Side of the moon back in the early 70’s.
D Trotter says:
Well, this 9/9/09 statement from “Ask Billboard” has quite a different story , Robin:
In, May,1991, the Billboard 200 converted to point-of-sales data from actual scanning of bar codes (start of the Nielsen SoundScan era). Then, in Jan., 1997, a policy was instituted that “albums more than 2 years old were removed if ranking below 100.” Not 200, Robin, 100. (After 2 years, they go to Catalog listing if below 100).
So,in addition to the fact that people aren’t buying albums like they did in 1970, you have a vastly different standard for what constitutes a chart run from DSOTM days.
Billboard goes on to say, “Jan., 1977 is the fairest starting point for an apples-to-apples comparison to albums charting today. By passing the 151-week chart life of Shania Twain’s “Come On Over”, “Taylor Swift” becomes the longest-charting album by a country female artist, not only since 1997 but in the entire Soundscan era (since 1991).”
Now, at 160 weeks and counting (currently at #36, it is eligible to stay on the Billboard 200 until it dips below 100), Swift now has the longest charting album, any genre, since 1997, placing Swift (in Billboard’s exact words) “at the head of the Century’s class”.
Robin, you need to stop attacking Amy for an honest mistake in her statement. It isn’t like you don’t try to put the worst spin on every blog about Taylor … whose amazing record-breaking accomplishments really don’t require one iota of embellishment.
Robin says:
Trotter - The post was in regards to Amy’s INACCURATE statement that TAYLOR HAD THE LONGEST RUN on Billboard in it’s HISTORY. THAT was an UNTRUE statement. You can make all the ADDITIONAL statements and corrections NOW, that doesn’t change the fact that the ORIGINAL statement was and UNTRUTH OFTEN told by Taylor Swift fans to make her accomplishments bigger than they are.
That doesn’t mean she DOESN’T have GREAT accomplishments, that means everyone is SICK of you trying to make them MORE than they ARE.
And, as you know 741 is over 14 YEARS and even 591 weeks is over 11 YEARS. So, it’s sales went well beyond the 70’s Taylor has barely been alive as long as the real record that her fans were trying to steal is.
While Taylor’s accomplishments are a great accomplishment for a new artist, and while she has accomplished a great deal, she’s not the greatest thing in HISTORY. She is very popular RIGHT NOW because she is a teen idol. She hasn’t proven herself in the adult market yet. Since she’ll be 20 years old in less than a month more and more people will take her less and less seriously singing “Fifteen” and the likes. She could have taken “Tim McGraw” into the adult world because it’s reflective. But, she chose to keep to the same topic for album two and didn’t leave the kid stuff for the album she put out as a kid. She put a kid album out when she was moving into adulthoold and should have added some maturity. That doesn’t mean she should have put out a mid-life album, but one with some substance and depth to show she was not a kid anymore.
By the way, THE CENTURY is only THIS DECADE. Ten years is ten years no matter where it falls into a century.
Taylor is mature? By the way Amy - I guess castles are mature? That’s her problem, she isn’t mature. She’s smart, but she’s not mature.
Peacock Queen says:
I don’t know Robin, but I don’t believe she is “attacking” anyone. I believe she saw a comment that she thought was in error, and has tried to correct it.
I am going to try this one more time, although I don’t know why. Maybe I am just a glutton for punishment.
If you are a Taylor Swift fan, good! You can point to her record sales, awards, etc. as to reasons why you think she is great. However, not everyone who comes to this site is a Taylor fan, but we read about her because we are country music fans and we come here to learn what is going on in country music today. The fact that we are not Taylor fans does not mean that we hate her, have an agenda against her, are vindictive, or bitter and jealous over her success. We just do not PREFER her as an artist. We aren’t “worshipping” her because, maybe we are older and have learned to enjoy an artist without swooning over them. For a variety of reasons, we just aren’t Taylor Swift fans. Maybe it’s because we are too old to appreciate the very teenage subject material. Or maybe it’s because we just don’t think she is vocally talented enough to be Female Vocalist of the Year over the other ladies who were nominated and are not happy with the CMAs.
I am not a fan of Taylor’s, but I am not bitter over her success anymore than I am bitter over the successes of Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Beyonce Knowles, etc. I am bewildered by it. I have been a country music fan for far more years than Taylor has been alive. I was a country fan way back in the 70s and 80s when country wasn’t cool (but to paraphrase Barbara Mandrell, it was cool to me). I took a lot of good-natured ribbing from friends and colleagues back then because I liked music with banjoes, fiddles and mandolins. This was a long time before the banjo-riddled “Our Song.” So I am befuddled as to why all of a sudden there is this country music “sensation” in a teenage girl who may be a very delightful person, but isn’t a very good vocalist, or, in my opinion, isn’t even “country.” I don’t like the “performing” because to me, country music has always been about class. Dressing like a dominatrix, sliding down [stripper] poles, wallowing on the stage while shaking her head around is not entertaining to me. I find it rather embarrassing, but then, that’s just my humble opinion, and hey, I’m old. And the worst thing is, it doesn’t come natural to her. I don’t think she’s that kind of gal, but I think she is trying to compete with other older, more provocative artists (Rhianna, Beyonce, Miranda).
Trotter, yes, I agree with you. Media executives are in the business to make money. So the greeting card venture is simply an example of how everyone who can is jumping on the Taylor bus in order to get rich. However, in my humble opinion, heavily promoting this very young woman and allowing her to think she is possibly (and NOTE I said possibly), more of an artist than she may really be is morally reprehensible to me. By more of an artist, I mean that her vocals are not in the same league as many other talented singers, and so far, her song writing has been limited to teenage crushes. As Robin stated, it’s “kid stuff.” Therefore, as I have stated before, if she is simply a fad, they will drop her like a hot rock in order to move on to the next big thing. I was once a young woman, like Taylor. I can imagine how hard that will be for her, IF it happens. Time will tell.
I, too, enjoy this site, so I am trying very hard to get my point across that if you don’t agree with someone, that’s fine. State your case and give examples, as Robin and Trotter have done. But please do not stoop to a rather low level by applying “labels” or being hateful to your fellow country music fans in your responses. It makes these discussions difficult to enjoy. Peace to everyone who loves music.
Redmaz says:
That’s great you are a Country Music fan. Who are some of your favorite Roots Country artists of today? Do you like Red Dirt music too? Who are some of your favorites? Just wondering what all you’re listening to, and why is someone you don’t think is even Country your main focus? I haven’t seen you post on many other blogs(if any). It seem your focus is on who and what you dislike about Country music more than what and who you do like.
Kate says:
Peacock Queen
Your posts are so eloquently expressed. I love them. However you are much too logical and sensical and may I add very respectful. I commend you for your restraint in an atmosphere where selective listening is the main mode of communication.
By the way I’m with you all the way.
Peacock Queen says:
Thanks, Kate. I came to this site and saw where someone had referred to the non-Taylor fans as “haters” and I simply wanted to try and explain what I thought was the real position on that. It got me into hot water, and still is, but I tried. And tried again. Oh well.
D Trotter says:
I will try this once more Robin, but it is becoming apparent you either refuse to acknowledge the point or don’t understand it, so I’ll keep it simple.
1. Dark Side of the Moon’s 741 weeks includes weeks the album fell out of the top 200, then came back in. NOW, once an album leaves, it’s run is over.
2.DSOYM’s 591 weeks is consecutive but it includes weeks the album was in the top 200. NOW, once an album is on the charts for 2 years, it must STAY IN THE TOP 100 (not just the top 200) or it’s run is over and it goes into the “Catalog” chart.
3.There are lots of other differences, too. The economy, internet downloads, tons of factors have enormously curtailed the number of albums sold. The method for collecting data on sales is completely changed. The new SoundScan era began in May,1991, and their current policy of albums being maintained in the Top 100 began in 1997. I made a typo error above saying “1977″, when Billboard’s actual date was “Jan., 1997″ for “the fairest starting point of an apples-to-apples comparison”.
Clearly, YOU are comparing apples to oranges. I have no idea how long DSOTM stayed in the top 100 after 2 years, nor do you, but I’m betting a very good chunk of it was earned in the top 200, which would not be not countable now. And if you want to apply the SAME standard to Taylor’s debut, currently #36 after 160 weeks, I’m not sure she won’t have a crack at 591 weeks in the top 200. It really doesn’t take a ton of sales to be listed #200, you know.
4.Since the current policy of needing to maintain a spot the Top 100 began in 1997, Taylor has the top charting album, any genre. She also has the longest run of any country female artist in the entire SoundScan era beginning 1991.These are facts. Everything else you say about Taylor in your comment are your own opinions, to which you are entitled. I don’t agree with any of them, however, and time will show who is correct.
Redmaz says:
Oh sorry..My questions were to Peacock Queen. I’ll wait. Thanks. Also, were you listening to any of the new emerging Alt.Country sounds of the 70’s and 80’s?
Peacock Queen says:
Redmaz,
I am happy to answer a few of your questions. As to why I am new to this site, well I had a very lucrative and rewarding career, but a recurring back injury put an end to that. My husband works, and during the day, I get lonely. I started reading the articles on CMT, and was reading the comments. I thought I would get in on the fun of blogging. So, in a nutshell, that is why I am “new.” As to why I post on Taylor, the CMAs really got my dander up, but I think I have already explained that in my previous comments, so let’ just leave it at that, O.K.? I have posted on Carrie, and I did try to post some (very positive) comments on “Chicken Fried” and Jamey Johnson the other night, but my computer was acting up and I kept getting “error on page” so I gave up.
I like way too many artists to mention, today, yesteryear, even way before I was born. That is why I enjoy listening to the radio, because there is so much variety. Every once in a while, I will hear an old Don Williams, Patty Loveless, Emmylou, Vern Gosdin or Pam Tillis tune (just to name a few) and I am surprised that I actually remember the words!! I sing, sing, sing.
As to why I don’t find Taylor “country” well we have already had that discussion and we can agree to disagree, O.K.? Have a good day.
Redmaz says:
So when will you get around to answering any of my questions? I didn’t ask you why you are new to this site. I asked who are some of your favorite Roots Country artists of today? Do you like today’s Red Dirt Music? Who are some that you have checked out? What about Alt.Country movement of the late 80’s early 90’s? Today’s Western Swing artists? This is what I’m wondering about, not Taylor Swift……
Peacock Queen says:
Redmaz, Oops! Sorry, I thought you were asking why you hadn’t seen me blog much before, and I was explaining that I am new to this. My bad!
No, I do not listen to Roots Country or Red Dirt music but I am willing to give it a try. I think I will try it out today on the Web. Can you suggest some artists? Alt. Country, no, but I seem to recall some of the artists, but again, not that familiar with it. I have been a traditional country fan (Carter Family, Wagonner, Tubb, Morgan, Haggard, Jones, H. Williams, D. Williams, Lynn, Cash, Wynette, Cline, too, too many to list!!!!), an outlaw country fan, a rockabilly country fan (although what I call rockabilly may not be what real rockabilly is, but more Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Steve Earle), a bluegrass country fan (I grew up in the southern Appalachians, so the Traditional and Bluegrass sound is more my thing), and even a pop country fan. Western Swing, oh yes! Hey, I was around when this genre was “Country and Western.” I listen to the radio a lot, so I have become familiar with many of today’s artists and there really isn’t but one or two I don’t like. Really, there are way, way too many artists to list, and I don’t want to put the other bloggers to sleep!
Robin says:
Trotter - We are back to the fact that Taylor does not hold the record that Amy CLAIMED she had. Want to give her some additional information and clarify her real achievement? Well, that’s secondary to the inaccurate statement that was made and the misleading information that was thrown out here.
Taylor has this or that record? THAT is fine, but making up records is not.
Robin says:
By the way, Carrie has this or that record for American Idols. To me those are useless records as well. Who cares who the most successful AI participant is. What matters is how the fit into the music industry as a whole (if that even really matters).
She also has the largest selling debut female country album in soundscan history (1991). So, while “Taylor Swift” has been on the billboard 200 chart more consecutive weeks, she has sold far less of them than Carrie’s “Carnival Ride”. Do, I think that really matters? Nope, but at least it is an truthful record and a record that pays bigger bucks since it is more units sold (many more).
Do I want to sell 50 records over 50 weeks or do I want to sell 100 records over 10? I’ll take the 100.
kayko says:
Robin, why are you making a federal case out of this? Amy made a mistake, which by the way is no different then some CLAIMS I have seen before made by fan’s of other artists.
kayko says:
Robin, and Taylor’s “Fearless” sold far more than Carrie’s “Carnival Ride” and took the soundscan record from Carrie, and is still selling large amounts every week. So what does this all prove? We could argue about this forever and never agree. Why can’t we just except and celabrate the success of both. Why does everything have to turn into a competition?
Robin says:
That was my point kayko. (clearly stated I might add) None of that matters.
“Fearless” didn’t take the record from Carrie. A debut record is a debut record and “Some Hearts” is the record holder and still is. It hasn’t been “taken”. By the way, “Some Hearts” has still sold more than “Fearless” so while it may have been out prior to “Fearless”, “Fearless” still can’t claim to take any records from that either. So, what’s your point.
What does matter when it comes to records, is if you are going to state them as fact, they better be fact. Amy’s facts weren’t accurate.
kayko says:
Robin, check your post at 2:34 pm, you stated that “Taylor Swift” has been on the Billboard 200 chart more consecutive weeks, she has sold far less than Carrie’s “Carnival Ride”. “Some Hearts” yes, but not “Carnival Ride”. You clearly stated afact that is not accurate. oops.
flower says:
yes kayko you 100% right!!taylor’s fearless has been on the billboard 200 for 160 and cu’s was 134 weeks, look it up if you all don’t trust what we say!!!! taylor rules!!
merlefan49 says:
For Peacock queen,
Here are a few artist I like you may like them also
First and foremost check out Dale Watson.
Billy Don Burns pure outlaw
Also try Wayne Hancock the man can channel Hank Sr and he has his own music as well
Miss Leslie
Amber Digby.
D Trotter says:
Robin, it’s interesting that you bring up Carrie’s impressive debut album sales, since it serves to debunk one of your favorite spins about Taylor, namely that she is a marketing creation foisted upon the public.
Totally unlike Carrie, who rode the wave of American Idol hype into enormous sales of her first record, Taylor’s debut was just a modest blip on the sales radar upon its release (39,000). Who was she? Nobody knew. She didn’t have AI hype. She didn’t have a Disney TV show. Just some girl with a guitar on a small fledgling label with no other artists and a minimal PR budget. The song “Change” is written about those days.
So she took her guitar out to radio stations and farm shows, played wherever she could (live, no autotune) and she toured and toured. And the album started selling … and selling … and selling … and the little album that could is now closing in on quintuple platinum and is the longest charting album in Nielsen SoundScan history.
Everything changed with “Fearless” which sold 220,000 copies the first day, 592,000 albums the first week, debuted at #1 and accumulated 11 weeks in the Billboard 200 top slot (the MOST of ANY album, any genre in a decade). After 53 weeks it is still #5 and has SOLD OVER 4 MILLION ALBUMS IN ONE YEAR. She also joined Garth Brooks and Shania Twain as the only artists to ever have TWO albums both achieve TWENTY WEEKS AT #1 ON THE COUNTRY CHARTS!
Let’s look ahead. After all her firsts … youngest CMA EOTY …. youngest artist ever to win ACM Album of the Year ..first VMA by a female country star … first #1 country song to cross over to become a Billboard Top 40 #1 in the charts 16-year history, then she did it again … hosting SNL … etc., etc., … can you even imagine what her sales are going to be like for her NEXT album ?
T J says:
D - Before Fearless came out I predicted sales in the 10 million range. I had no idea that Fearless would do 5X platinum in less than one year! I may have to revise my original estimate!
foisted? haha
timcum says:
hotelmotel said: “Write a blog about Joe Diffie, and get 2 comments and 4 page views. Few care about Joe Diffie, good or bad. He’s a has been. He’s not even worth thinking about. Taylor Swift getting a hangnail is gonna attract more interest than anything Joe Diffie can do.”
I agree that blogs about Taylor get a lot of responses, but about 99% of them are negative. That’s not saying much for Taylor.
Shadow says:
Actually, neither one of those facts say much about the “fans”.
Peacock Queen says:
Merlefan49, thanks so much for the suggestions! I will absoulutely try them out.
As for the records on albums, I agree with Robin that it doesn’t really matter. Roy Clark was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, and they mentioned his name once during the CMAs (Barbara Mandrell mentioned it the second time during her acceptance speech). There was no picture of Roy on the screen. No snippet of him performing. No one reading a list of his accomplishments. Roy Clark was to country music during his day what George Strait, Kenny Chesney and Brad Paisley are today. Recording artist, incredible musician, country comedian, ambassador for country music (he played in Moscow during the Cold War), co-host of the longest-running variety show in history, former male vocalist of the year, former entertainer of the year, and a career that spanned 50 years. And they barely even mentioned his name. How sad. Would it have killed the CMA producers to have elminated one, just one, of the Kanye West jokes in order to have time to give this man (Clark) what he so richly deserves? Years from now, when Taylor is inducted into the hall of fame, hopefully future CMA producers will treat her better and at least remember to mention all of those accomplishments being debated here.
As a matter of fact, Kanye West, who is admittedly NOT country (I don’t think there will be any arguments on that, but you never can tell!) was mentioned on the CMAs more times than Dierks, Alan, Toby, Josh, et. al. I think that is what some of us are so upset about. There are a lot of really talented artists out there. Let’s give them a chance to be recognized for their accomplishments, too.
Amy says:
I didn’t want to come back to this site but just wanted to say: D Trotter is OWNING this argument!! Great posts, enjoyed reading all of them :)
D Trotter says:
Thanks, Amy. I just got annoyed when I saw you being maligned for what was obviously an innocent error, one you immediately admitted, especially when so many Taylor-bashers deliberately and repeatedly make up the most ridiculous, near-slanderous accusations about Taylor.
merlefan49 says:
Peacock Queen
Let me know what you think also look up Arty Hill.
Peacock Queen says:
Well, I went back and read all of Robin’s comments, and I could not find in any of them where she “bashed” Taylor Swift. As a matter of fact, she didn’t say anything negative about Taylor at all. I also didn’t get the impression that she was “maligning” Amy. What I hear when I read her comments is someone who saw a statistic in a comment that she did not think was accurate, and tried to correct it. She brought forth some historical facts and other data to support her position, and she did a good job, I might add. Exactly how is that “maligning” or “bashing” anyone? I would like to know.
There are some ridiculous accusations going on here, but I don’t think they are coming from Robin.
D Trotter says:
“Peacock Queen”, I have no problem with Robin correcting an inaccuracy, as she did in her 11/19/09 response to Amy — and note that Amy, within minutes, quickly acknowledged her error in the very next post.
But Robin wasn’t satisfied to simply correct, she also added: “This is another situation of people taking a headline and twisting it into an untruth”. Now we have gone to an accusation of purposeful deceit.
Calling someone who has made an honest error a liar is very much “maligning ” someone in my book. I asked Robin if she wasn’t being a bit harsh, and she simply repeated that it was an “untruth”.
How’s this for an “untruth”? Another of Robin’s posts on 11/19 says: “The CMA’s audience has grown over the last 4 years …It was Carrie Underwood that gave the CMA’s their huge growth audience…”
The News releases on the CMA Awards — almost all of whom credit Taylor Swift and her quest to become the youngest EOTY ever as THE REASON for the ratings spike — reported that the 16.8 million viewers was the highest figure since 2005. In 2005, Gretchen Wilson and Keith Urban won the awards. In 2006-08, the years Carrie won FVOTY, the ratings were DOWN from 2005, they didn’t keep growing as Robin said. (Hmmm … now was this an error, or a deliberate untruth?)
But,Peacock, you never seem to see any “bashing”, just oversensitive Taylor fans. You’re not bothered by someone using one of those fans screen names to say, “Alison has a female crush on this manly looking girl singer”?
Oh, wait, you’re the one who described Taylor as “dressing like a dominatrix, sliding down stripper poles, wallowing on the stage” and then described former teen stars who became drug-addicted and suicidal.
But you aren’t a hater. Not you.
sarah says:
D Trotter, I’m impressed,…you seem to be a very fair person,..i like it, way to go!
Amy says:
Well said Trotter, I see that Robin has disappeared now that she has no comeback for your awesome posts ;)
And I’d just like to verify WHY I said the CMA’s got their highest ratings because of Taylor Swift. Here are some of the headlines and quotes from news articles regarding the CMAs:
1) New York Times: “Taylor Swift Boosts Ratings For Country Awards”
“Taylor Swift’s clean sweep of the Country Music Assn. (CMA) Awards helped the broadcast reach its biggest audience in four years, according to preliminary figures.
The three-hour show averaged 16.8 million viewers for ABC on Wednesday, up from 15.9 million last year. It marks the highest score since 2005, when 17.7 million people tuned in to the CBS broadcast.”
2) Variety: “CMA Awards rock in ratings for ABC”
“Prominently featuring the popular Taylor Swift, the show hit a six-year high in women 18-34 (5.7/15) and a four-year high in total viewers.”
3) Orlando Sentinel: “Taylor Swift, CMA Awards send ABC to huge Wednesday win”
“Taylor Swift cleaned up at the Country Music Association Awards, and so did ABC.
The Disney-owned network averaged 17.2 million viewers in prime time and easily won the night in total viewers as well as the 18-to-49 age group. The great showing by 19-year-old Swift, who won entertainer of the year, obviously helped. The show was hosted by Brad Paisley and “American Idol” champ Carrie Underwood.”
4) Chicago Tribune: “Swift helps CMAs to highest ratings since 2005″
“All eyes were on Wednesday’s Country Music Association Awards — and on its biggest winner, Taylor Swift. ABC’s broadcast drew an average of 16.8 million viewers, Zap2it.com reports, the CMA ceremony’s highest since 2005, according to TVbythenumbers.com.
Swift, meanwhile, took top honors (entertainer of the year) and performed live twice. Just how big is country music’s ingenue getting? Big enough to get away with throwing furniture during the show.”
5) E! Online: “Taylor Swift can’t lose”
“At first glance, it sure looked like Glee’s Rachel and Kurt picked the wrong night to do a diva-off against Taylor Swift.
Just days after Swift led Saturday Night Live to its best ratings of the season, the singing sensation helped the Country Music Association Awards to its biggest audience in four years.
The ABC telecast, featuring big wins by Swift, Swift, Swift and Swift, averaged nearly 17 million viewers, easily winning Wednesday’s prime-time race.”
6) NY Daily News: “CMA Awards pull in 16.8M viewers; show’s highest ratings in four years”
“Taylor Swift’s run on the top honors at Wednesday’s CMA Awards drew an average of 16.8 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research.
Nielsen estimates that more than 35.8 million people caught at least six minutes of the three-hour show, which saw Swift become the youngest person ever and the first solo female act in a decade to win the CMA’s Entertainer of the Year award.”
CNN, Billboard, Boston Herald, etc all reported the same facts as the NY Times. Just about EVERY credible news source gave credit to Taylor for the high ratings. The consensus was: everyone is tuning in to watch the 19 year old singing sensation. I think we can all agree that these news sources are WAY more credible than some bitter Carrie Underwood fan on the internet. So really…I could go around giving a lecture to Robin for trying to falsely suggest that Taylor DIDN’T help the ratings. But I’m not that insecure.
I seriously laughed out loud at her “break-down” of the ratings…her words: “So the ratings war was Brad and Carrie’s win more than anybody else’s.” HAHA. I should’ve realized right there that it was useless arguing with a person who is so blind to the FACTS. The fact that the this year’s CMAs pulled in the highest ratings since 2005, despite Carrie Underwood being shut out of winning in any category, is very telling. That is all :)
Peacock Queen says:
Trotter,
No, I am not a hater. I didn’t see any “bashing” or “maligning” in anything Robin wrote. I did not get the impression that she was calling Amy a liar. I do not believe that was her intent. As I said before, I believe Robin saw a statitical quote that she thought was in error, and tried to correct it.
Why does the fact that my opinion of Taylor Swift is not as glowing as yours? I have been honest and have tried to explain why I am not a Taylor fan. For one thing, I am just very, very tired of her. I believe there is a lot of “over kill” where she is concerned.
I am certain that I like artists you do not care for. I am not going to jump off the deep end just because someone has an opinion that differs from my own.
sadie ann hawkins says:
Peacock Queen, the Taylor fans in general can’t handle any criticism of their darling and will create controversy where it does not exist to justify their obsession. It’s funny to watch.
kayko says:
Sadie, I have yet to see a fan base that can “handle any criticism” of their favorite artist’s. Can you name one?
Peacock Queen, when an artist is as popular as Taylor is it may seem like “over kill” to someone who obviously doesn’t like them. To be honest with you I’m not a big fan of Carrie Underwood’s, but I don’t go to her blogs and rant about the fact that she is doing alot of specials, has quite a few blogs written about her, getting alot of promotion. I accept the fact that she has alot of fan’s and is very successful, and quite frankly has gotten just as much air time in the past, and continues to get alot of air time. I have said it before and I’ll say it again, to each his/her own.
merlefan49 says:
Red,
Maybe you can help me I’m looking for a song with this line
“Gun’s in hand some never made it to the sand”
Robin says:
I’ve only disappeared because it’s the freakn’ weekend. I have a life. But, I’ll be back to respond to this mess later.
Pecos Pete says:
Why bother Robin? Since you’ve been served so many times by Red and solo, you have no credibilty here.
K says:
I’m not tired of Swift’s “overexposure” because I don’t have to read about her or listen if I so chose.
I am, however, sick of overzealous Taylor fans who act like she is the ONLY artists “bringing fans to country music” and she is the ONLY one who has broken records and made history.
Every artist has done everything Taylor has accomplished, yet her fans act as if that isn’t true.
Most of Taylor’s fans ARE pop listners; as I’ve said before, she’d never get some the chances she has without remixing her music.
D Trotter says:
“K”, I don’t think its overzealous at all to say that Taylor has brought fans to Country Music, at least the pop country form of it that dominates CMT. In fact, I think that the professional analysts who actually track such things take it as an absolute irrefutable fact — didn’t they even have her on some country radio show to discuss her marketing strategies?
“Every artist has done everything Taylor has accomplished,” you say? You need to look at the book with all the records she holds. Seriously.
Most of the other artists readily admit it too. Reba? She says she likes to “pick (Taylor’s) brain a little” because she has such a great head for the way to do it. Reba just loves the girl.
Brad Paisley says Taylor’s earned every bit of her success, and he’s very proud of her. He says she’s reached a whole other level of superstardom. Brad has gone on record to say he knows he has NEW FANS coming to see his shows before BECAUSE OF TAYLOR SWIFT.
And now there are going to be EVEN MORE NEW fans because Taylor dominated the American Music Awards even more than she did the CMA’s, winning 5 major Awards including the Artist of the Year. And some of those people watching that show who didn’t know her before are going to hear her talk about getting her start on Country radio, and some are gonna say … hey, maybe Country is cool!
Country has a fantastic Ambassador for its future — the youth of today — in Taylor Swift.
Robin says:
Pecos Pete - Red has served nothing by saying over and over again that country is more than pop country. I’ve said the EXACT same thing. He takes issue that I take issue with the way he speaks to people about it with his arrogance and idea that he thinks he knows everything.
“POP” country is NOT a genre. “POP” country is country’s “POP” industry. “POP” country is made up of MANY (or at least several) sub-genre’s of country. To say otherwise is to say that Taylor and Miranda sing the same genure of country. AND THEY DON’T.
Robin says:
Back to where I left off above. Ooops kayko, you are correct. “Some Hearts” not “Carnival Ride”. There is a difference in a typo and NOT checking your facts and actually purposely stating facts (even if you didn’t realize) that wasn’t true because you didn’t check.
Robin says:
flower - CU’s “Some Hearts” has sold “nearly” 8 million copies to Taylor’s 4 million (ish). Big difference - who cares about the number of weeks.
By the way, I still don’t care about any of these records including CU’s.
Robin says:
kayko - By the way, the only Federal Case that was made is people not wanting to accept the fact that the squash was put on the fact that Taylor really didn’t break the record it was claimed she broke.
It could have been left at that, but Trotter couldn’t do that. So then, I guess lawyer Trotter made it a Federal Case.
Robin says:
Trotter - you say “I just got annoyed when I saw you being maligned for what was obviously an innocent error, one you immediately admitted,”
The arguement could have been left at just that. Amy readily admitted it was “just a mistake” and I took it at that. Then YOU tried to claim that the records secondary to that arguement was point and IT WASN’T. So, YOU drug this conversation on when it could have been left at Amy’s admission that she made a mistake.
But, you wanted to drag it out so more than one can play at that game. You can’t come along behind a conversation and put in other topics AT A LATER TIME to pretend the first disagreement wasn’t really wrong (which is what you attempted to imply).
Robin says:
Trotter - you say “But Robin wasn’t satisfied to simply correct, she also added: “This is another situation of people taking a headline and twisting it into an untruth”.
This is many more than the first occassion where a Taylor fan has taken part of a story and either not checked the facts or just “assumed” it must be this or that and started posting. This is what I’m tired of seeing and that’s whether it’s Taylor, Carrie, Kenny or ANYONE.
These artists work hard and their records shouldn’t be stolen (intentional or not). MY POINT in the statement was that peole should check their facts because this isn’t just a random instance.
Robin says:
Trotter and Amy - whatever the “headlines” are doesn’t matter. The stats speak for themselves. The ratings were highest NOT when Taylor opened the show (which everyone knew she was doing so they would have watched had they wanted to). It was up from the time Carrie, Chris (and others) sang until “around” the time Taylor won FVOY. Then it dropped not only by a large raw number, but went from #1 to #2 in the time slot rating.
So, the “media” can claim anything they want. They are looking at the same thing everyone else is looking at. I’m looking at those same numbers they are and it tells a different story than they are trying to tell.
Now, unless I’ve missed anything (which I’m sure I could have). I’m off for a bit today on this topic. I have decided to create a list for myself that I’ll share later (if anyone is interested - in the words of Sugarland “not that they are”) about what I DO like about Taylor Swift. Because I’m definitely not a Taylor Swift “hater” as you like to claim. Nor am I a “Carrie Underwood” fan as you like to claim. That would imply that I like Carrie more than anyone and that is just not true. I have tiers of artists I like and there is quit a handful other than Carrie in that top tier. She was just an EXAMPLE I used. And as suspected Taylor fans went nuts because that’s their nemisis.
Pecos Pete says:
Robin, you’re just like the Thanksgiving turkey about to be SERVED! You have been busted so many times.
merlefan49 says:
You know Pop country artists are going to “praise” Taylor because it would politically incorrect for them to say other wise. I’m more interested in what Dale Watson would say.
Peacock Queen says:
Kayko,
It’s called the First Amendment, Sweetheart. Our entire way of life revolves around it. Religious freedom, judicial system, even the arts. Throughout your lifetime there will be people who do not agree with you 100 percent. But they have a right to their opinions. And, you can learn to respect their differing opinions because some of those people may actually be people you like, or love, for that matter.
Look, country music wasn’t always cool. For years, I had to listen to a lot of people dog country music, the mainstream media for one. Country music was a joke. I even had to listen to people criticize country while a guest in my own home. I didn’t get upset. I just smiled and said, “Well, I LIKE it!” and went on about my business. I purchased Emmylou, Haggard, Jones, Gosdin, etc. and listened to what I wanted and I didn’t care what anyone else thought. I guess you could say that, even at a young age, I was secure about who I am.
I agree with you, though, on one point. To go onto one of Swift’s official fan sites and post negative comments is not cool. But this isn’t an inclusive Taylor Swift fan site. This is the Country Music Television fan site. There’s a big difference. This site is for everybody, and not everybody loves the same artists. As someone else has already pointed out, 99 percent of the comments posted on Taylor here are negative. So, clearly, not everyone loves Taylor Swift. It doesn’t mean that they are mean, awful people full of hate. It means they do not prefer her as an artist. As you said, to each his own
Merlefan, you are so funny! Dale Watson? Hey, what would Cash say? Or Jennings, the original “outlaw.”
merlefan49 says:
Hey Peacock Queen,
Have you checked out the artists I told you about? If so let me know what you thought?
merlefan49 says:
opps I mentioned Dale because he very outspoken and says what he really think.s
kayko says:
Robin, I agree everyone should check the facts and that includes you. Maybe you should the check sales numbers before you post them. You inflated sales difference between “Some Hearts” and “Taylor Swift” by about 1,500,000.
Peacock Queen, I was around when country music wasn’t cool myself. I can remember when some country stations wouldn’t play Patsy Cline because they felt she was to “pop”. Back in the 60’s I listened to WLS in Chicago which was a “POP’ station and they played not only Patsy Cline, but also Johnny Cash, Marty Robbins, Brenda Lee. to name a few. That was when I decided to check out country music and became a fan. The thing is I can appreciate many genre’s of music and have never limited myself by being closed minded because a certain song or artist does not fit into a category. As far as CMT not being a fan site I totally understand that, my point was that even here on CMT you can better believe that if you post someting negative about an artist the fan’s are going to defend that artist, I don’t care if it’s Taylor Carrie, or whoever else, the result will still be the same.
Robin says:
kayko - You do know what “nearly” and “(ish)” means correct? That is noting estimates rather than stating specific amounts as exact amounts.
kayko says:
Robin, come on 1,500,000 if far from being nearly or ish. If I would have posted such inflated numbers you would have nailed me.
Robin says:
kayko - I would have pointed out the differences - absolutely. Calling those estimates “wrong” is wrong. They are good estimates. You may very well “as a fan” want to clarify those numbers, but they are good estimates based on where they stand near their certification level.
Robin says:
Let me clarify my point of view and the “type” of fan my “opinion” is coming from. First of all, I see it as “my opinion”, not “fact”, not an “opinion” that represents everyone in the logical world, etc. Just simply my opinion and in most cases I bring (when possible) data to back that up. I believe that if you are going to have an opinion you should be able to back it up (when “back it up” relates to the situation) with some information outside your own head. “I like artist xyz” requires no back-up. “Artist xyz was the reason for high ratings on program lmnop.” requires some back up to make for reasonable debate.
Amy’s assertion that Taylor has the longest charting album in history annoyed me as a fan of music, not a fan of any particular artist. In the last week alone I’ve seen countless (more than 20) similar assertion by Swifts fans (or supporters – whatever level of contributor they’ve been I won’t call) alone. While I agree that it was a mistake and not a sinister plot, the point is that while this is only a blog and not the news, people should check their information/facts to have a reasonable discussion. And, with Amy’s note that she made a mistake, I moved on in conversation. Trotter didn’t want to leave it at that, so we picked up the dead dog and ran on. Estimates are just then when you note them to be just that. Just like my argument Redmaz, I don’t think when you are talking about country music on CMT, you have to specify you are talking about country music as it relates to the pop country industry. It is quit fine to just say “country music”.
I like all types of country music from both Americana (Lucinda Williams, Jody Faison, A Good Natured Riot – just to name a few) to almost everything in the popular country music industry.
Now to just talk about those artists I like in that are or were in the pop country industry (some of them consider theirselves Americana now, but they were in the pop country industry), I put them in “tiers” of who I like. I do not like “one” artist the best. My top tier list (including non-active artists) include artist like Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood, Sugarland, Darius Rucker, Miranda Lambert, Jason Aldean, Reba, the Dixie Chicks, Toby Keith, Garth Brooks, Vince Gill, Alabama, Brooks and Dunn, Trace Adkins, Sons of Sylvia, Barbara Mandrell, George Strait, Gloriana (I doubted them at first because of Swift, but they are very talented), Alan Jackson, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, Shooter Jennings, Bill Monroe, Keith Whitley, Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette.
My second tier artists are: Kellie Pickler, Julianne Hough, Keith Urban, LeAnn Rimes (mostly because of her music not her voice, her voice is incredible), but she only had 3 good songs on her last CD), Shania Twain, Dolly Parton, Rissi Palmer, Montgomery Gentry, Josh Gracin, Sara Evans, Faith Hill (I used to like her music more, but haven’t liked her music that much since “Cry”), Tim McGraw, George Jones, Ronnie Milsap.
My third tier I guess is the “what the heck is everyone thinking” tier and that list is very small. Taylor is definitely on this list right now (although I like three of her songs, “Tim McGraw”, “Our Song”, “Fifteen”, but so is Rascal Flatts (although I like “Bless the Broken Road”, and for Pecos, that lists includes the terribly untalented (in my opinion) Sunny Sweeney. Actually I have several Americana artists on this list, but I won’t go there since no one on this blog really knows who they are.
While I listed several artists, this is just a small handful of the artists in these three categories for me. And, their level of commercial success doesn’t affect how I feel about the artists and how I feel about one doesn’t affect how I feel about an other. Reba is one of my all time favorites and Shania is just “okay” for me. They were both working their magic around the same time with Reba coming first. Shania coming to the forefront and then becoming a global megastar and Reba lagging her (in record sales and world wide popularity) never made me dislike Shania nor did it upset me that Reba didn’t get the recognition Shania got. It bugs me today that they “say” Reba is the best selling female country artists of all time (they just did it again this weekend) when they are blatantly leaving out Shania’s international sales. If they said Reba was the best selling female country artists in the U.S., then by all accounts they’d be correct. While I prefer Reba to Shania, Shania earned that particular honor/stat/whatever you want to call it and it shouldn’t be stolen from her. Reba has sold 55 million albums worldwide. Shania has sold roughly 65 million albums worldwide, including 48 million in the USA alone and is the top selling female artist (any flavor) in history. Shania did this with just three albums—all of which have received Diamond certification by the RIAA for sales of 10 million copies in the U.S. She is the only artist to have three consecutive albums sell more than 10 million copies.
So, again I say CMT, Reba is the best selling female country artist in the U.S.
Robin says:
What DO I like about Taylor Swift:
1) Even though it’s juvenile and not as great as people carry on, she does write her own music. Note, I’m not saying I like what she writes, but I appreciate that she writes it.
2) She’s a nice kid
3) She works hard
4) She appreciates her fans
5) She’s smart (notably marketing and business sense). Thank you daddy for the education (I’m not being sarcastic – that’s a daddy’s job)
6) While I’ve only heard about her charity to some degree. I think she’s more charitable with her money than is made known.
7) I like her family and her apparent family values.
8) Her parents seem to be supportive. Not pushy.
9) That she was the geeky girl people made fun of that made it big. Why she was made fun of is beyond me, she’s always been a cute, nice girl.
10) She brought Glorianna some notoriety. They sound great and are really good with good music.
11) She’s a good influence on kids
a. While I don’t think she’s that artistically talented, I don’t mind her success.
b. There’s a lot of people I don’t think are artistically talented that while I still don’t care that much that they are successful, I’m happier that she is.
Examples:
i. Madonna is not a good singer and yet is a mega star. Not only is she not a good singer she’s (or at least “was” and is not that great now) a terrible role model.
ii. Britney Spears is a better singer than Swift, but not much and she’s a horrific role model.
iii. Michael Jackson is a great artist (although not my cup of tea. I can acknowledge talent even if I personally don’t like them), but the last 10 to 15 years of his life outweighs him as an artist and his childhood was torturous so his life was not worth the fame. I am convinced that that won’t be Taylor’s end.
12) I love the greeting card thing. I know she was big on writing letters and having stationary on the road (so it fits her). And, the one to two liners she should be able to pack with something different than most other greeting card writers. That’s actually what I came to this blog originally to post, but it looks like that original post is gone (or it didn’t take like so many of these posts do – they disappear).
13) I love her baby Taylor guitar thing. I think while this already existed, Taylor doing this will excite kids to go out and get a guitar to start telling their stories through music.
I haven’t marked her off as an artist. I do hope she improves her vocals. And, I’ll see if she can put out some more mature work next album. I prefer “Taylor Swift” to “Fearless” because I think “Taylor Swift” belongs on pop country radio while I think “Fearless” belongs on pop rock radio.
Robin says:
What I DON’T like about Taylor Swift
1) She’s not as talented a songwriter as “they” claim and the continuance of this belief by her label may stunt her writing growth. (we’ll see)
2) She’s not as talented an entertainer as “they” claim – not nearly. Her performance of the opening number at the CMA’s was terrible. She cannot dance. It looked like a kid got up on stage to sing and dance on her bed in front of an audience. The song did not match the performance either.
3) She’s a terrible singer (yes, so are a lot of other pop singers, but she sings live too much and she represents country).
4) The belief that she alone is bringing fans to country music.
5) Her fans are not coming to country radio. They are listening to her on pop radio. While she DOES have country fans; that is not where her super stardom is coming from. The “bulk” of the people that buy her CD’s are listening to other pop acts like the Jonas Brothers, Miley, etc. They are not listening to Sugarland, Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, etc. (and certainly not Martina, Faith, Sarah Evans, George Strait, etc.)
6) She spends way too much time “crossing over” than working within the world of country.
7) She has been awarded too much by the industry (specifically the CMA’s) for record sales and being picked on by Kanye (while he is a talentless, self-righteous hack, every award was too much).
a. In my personal opinion, “Fearless” legitimately won album for sales. I don’t think it was the best album in the category, but I do think that was a legit reason.
b. I guess a video is very subjective, but the video for “Love Story” was really not special at all. I think some of her other story telling videos are a lot more of what a video award winner should be (“Teardrops on My Guitar” was a great “story” video and so was “You Belong With Me”.
c. I think FVOY was the biggest travesty. Any of the other four should have won over her. Martina probably shouldn’t have been nominated given her mediocre success this year. But, she’s still an outstanding vocalist. I personally was pushing for Miranda, but thought it would go to Reba or Carrie.
d. EOTY – was a reasonable win. I was pulling for Brad. I think his concerts are all around much more entertaining and for adults too. But, I still think that Taylor’s win in this category is reasonable.
I find it interesting that they nominate and give her album honors, but don’t think any of her singles are nomination worthy in either category. Again, I don’t find the album win inappropriate; I just find that fact odd.
I don’t find any of her wins at the AMA’s surprising. I expected all of them even the win over Michael Jackson. I don’t mind any of her wins and don’t think they are a bad thing at all. Like the CMT awards, this is internet fan voted and her fans are many and very knowledgeable about where and how to vote on these things. Like the Billboard Awards (while not fan voted directly, it is by consumption); she is the deserved winner of this type of award. She’s had most of the money spending music consuming population with her this year. I would expect the same type of results for the People’s Choice Awards and have no problem with it.
So, there it is, my three cents. I don’t need anyone to agree, but to call me a hater is just not the truth. I have vigorously defended Swift when she has been personally attacked by whomever’s fans. Like after the CMA awards and folks were calling Carrie on one side and Taylor on the other side horrible words I won’t repeat that attacks them personally. I don’t think for one minute that Taylor deserves that treatment from anyone including internet posters. But, the music is up for grabs when it comes to opinions.
Robin says:
If no one wants to hear it, then they shouldn’t “make stuff up” like accusing people of being haters.
You want to say stuff, you should be able to back it up. So, Michael, you can get over yourself and not post or read blogs you aren’t interested in. Imagine, tons of people posting and you can respond to people actually saying something YOU are interested in? See how it works? It’s really really really easy. No one needs to be real bright to get how works.
solongsowrong says:
Hey Robin, talking about backing things up, why don’t you back up your statements from awhile back about this being a Pop Country only site, even though this month alone there have been articles on John Fogerty, Reckless Kelly, Charlie Daniels, Chip Taylor, Gene Watson, Rhonda Vincent, Patty Loveless, Shawn Colvin, Rosanne Cash, Kris Kristofferson, and Guy Clark, mixed right in with all your Mainstream Country artists? Not to mention all the other “hidden” artists discussed in those blogs about these artists.
Also like to know how you explain all these Roots Blog Roll sites, listen on the left hand side of the page here. They sure don’t seem very hidden to me, if you take the time to open them up.
Peacock Queen says:
Kayko,
My apologies to you. Until I read your last comment, I believe I have misunderstood where you were coming from. I get it now.
When I first came here and read about the greeting card venture, I wasn’t even going to comment. The first few posts were not exactly positive about Taylor, and Amy asked the question why were the non-Taylor fans “haters.” She was really riled up over it. I unfortunately opened this can of worms by stating that I didn’t believe people hated Taylor Swift, they just don’t dig her, so to speak. I was actually trying to be helpful, but some people didn’t take it that way. I don’t hate Taylor Swift (hate is simply too strong a word within this venue). I am just not a fan. It’s hard to say why, exactly. I am just not into her. Sometimes it’s hard to explain why someone’s art appeals to you while others’ do not. For one thing, I believe her songs are so “young” in content they belong on pop radio. I read a great article on Tim McGraw a few weeks ago, and the author described country music as the anthem of the working man. I guess that’s kind of where I lean when describing country music, although it is about so much more than that. To me, Taylor’s songs are more what I call “bubble gum pop.” It’s hard for me to explain why, exactly. They just are. But that’s only my opinion. It’s not shared by everyone, I know.
I am not closed-minded about the music. I am surprised to learn that I have come across that way. Maybe it was in a poor choice of words while trying to explain my position. I am not a staunch traditionalist. I enjoy the straight up country because I grew up on it(Jones, Gosdin, Haggard), but I am a Bluegrass fan, too. I loved the “outlaw” movement. Waylon Jennings has always been one of my favorites and I wish he were still here. I just love music, period. Every once in a while, I turn to classic rock or I will put Puccini on the CD player. But country is first and foremost my biggest music love. Honestly, I listen to the radio because I really love the variety. Lady Antebellem is pop and I love their song “Need You Now.” I love Montgomery Gentry, and they can play it straight country, as in “Lucky Man” but they can also be southern rockers, as in “Gone” and “Hell Yeah.” The wide variety of sound, or “sub-genres” within today’s country doesn’t bother me. Quite the contrary.
I am pretty much a fan of many artists in country radio, past and present, but I am not so absolutely in love with any of them that I cannot handle it when someone expresses an opinion that differs from my own. In some other articles on CMT.com this week, some people have posted negative comments on Carrie Underwood, Tim McGraw, and Zac Brown Band, all artists I like. On the article about ZBB hearing Grammy buzz, someone said Lady Ga Ga deserved a Grammy more than ZBB. Well, I would be happy to see ZBB win a Grammy, because I love “Chicken Fried” and believe the content of that song is what being country is all about. But I didn’t get into it with the person who wrote that comment. If that’s how they feel, well, that’s how they feel. I’m not going to call them derogatory names, or verbally slap them around. It just doesn’t bother me.
As for the “overexposure” part, someone else started that on this blog and I agree. I know that bothers you, but I am very tired of hearing about Taylor Swift. Even my 15-year old niece, who is far more ubber cool and “with it’ than her “older-than-dirt” aunt, said, “She’s [Taylor] O.K., but they (radio) play her songs too much. I’m sick of them.” My husband and sister feel the same way. But, I guess that’s also a matter of opinion. You made a good point that some non-Carrie fans could say the same.
I will be off here for a while. My husband is on vacation, and I have family coming in for the holiday. I hope you have a nice Thanksgiving.
Redmaz says:
…and still no comment on today’s Americana/Roots Music PQ? Guess you’re not as open minded as you claim to be. You’re really no different than any other Mainstreamer here.
Peacock Queen says:
Redmaz,
I answered your questions yesterday or the day before. You weren’t paying attention. Merlefan came to my aid, though.
Redmaz says:
So I guessed I missed it. So after spending some time checking out today’s Americana/Roots Music…who are some of your favorites? Some you didn’t care for etc. I see you mentioned Dale, but what about his music? Did you check out, Reckless Kelly? Arron Navarro? Amy Hughes? Wayne Hancock? Jason Boland? James Intveld’s latest CD? Roger Wallace? Mando Saenz? Walt Wilkins? Spur 503? David Fenley? Whiskey Myers? Kevin Fowler? Jolie Holliday? Adam Hood? Justin Townes Earle? Stoney LaRue? Amber Digby? Charlie Robison? Todd Fritsch? Just wondering.
merlefan49 says:
Robin,
What do you mean posters on this blog wouldn’t know the americana artits you may mention?
Robin says:
solongsowrong - any advertisement of that “hidden” stuff on CMT’s main page?
Robin says:
merlefan49 - “no one” is incorrect, but you weren’t really the “group” I was having this particular conversation with and Pecos was just ranting so I was ignoring.
solongsowrong says:
Yep. Go down to the left corner and click on things like CMT webtools, music, site map, radio, probably a few others too.
Now I answered your question, how about answering mine.
Robin says:
solongsowrong - that is not advertisement or giving any notariety to that “hidden” stuff. I find plenty of real information about Americana, but not on CMT. It is clearly backed up to say that CMT is primarily a pop country industry website when they do no prominantly display anything else. They have it, but that is not what their focus is.
No one would know who won Americana awards without digging into the website. It is clear who won the artist of the year at th AMA’s. You don’t have to agree, but there is enough evidence for me to have that opinion. You think CMT does a fine job for Americana, then so be it. I do not.
solongsowrong says:
Oh, so now you are finally saying that CMT is PRIMARILY a Pop Country site. Far cry from your original statement. Now maybe I’ll agree a little bit more. But only on that part of it.
Still take issue with the hidden part though. Nothing on this site or any of CMT’s sites are hidden, if you’re willing to look for them. I for one, am. After all, rarely does an archeologist find the best stuff without digging. I find the same applies to music.
I haven’t looked at CMT’s main page for years. Too much fluff for my tastes. I never said, nor ever will, that CMT does a fine job for Americana…that’s best left for sites that focus more on that style of music… but they certainly don’t completely ignore it, either. And as long as they continue to support it, I’ll continue to use their sites. My favorite Americana artist, has been featured quite well by them thru the years.
solongsowrong says:
Notice you didn’t come back to reply Robin, but just in case you’re still paying attention, there’s a nice news article today…advertised on the Main CMT page… about mandolinist Adam Steffey. Course, I suppose you’ll suggest that doesn’t count either, since they don’t have a picture of him plastered across the main page.