1. Art and Diseño

Country
BILLBOARD.COM/NEWSLETTERS
INSIDE
Makin’ Tracks:
Parmalee’s
‘Already Callin’
You Mine’
>page 2
Stark Report:
Broadcasters
Evaluate Radio
Promo Tours
>page 3
Questions
Answered:
Borman
Digital Queen
Cameo Carlson
>page 4
Five Festivals
Fight For
Face Time
>page 4
The ‘Waiting’
Almost Over
For Carrie
Underwood
>page 4
EDITED BY TOM ROLAND, [email protected]
MIDWEEK
UPDATE
JANUARY 29, 2015 | PAGE 1 OF 7
WADE JESSEN [email protected]
Luke Bryan’s ‘Party’ Still Rocking;
Sam Hunt’s Album Holds At No. 1
Luke Bryan banks his fourth Billboard Hot Country Songs
leader from his 2013 album Crash My Party (Capitol Nashville/
Universal Music Group Nashville), as “I See You” rises 2-1. The
set yielded its first No. 1 with second sinBRYAN
gle “That’s My Kind of Night,” which led
for 12 weeks beginning Aug. 31, 2013.
“Play It Again” (nine weeks) and “Drink
a Beer” (five) followed in 2014. (The album’s title track and lead single reached
No. 2, while fifth single “Roller Coaster”
climbed to No. 5.) Bryan has scored nine
No. 1s overall.
Crash My Party is the first album to
generate four No. 1s since Zac Brown
Band’s You Get What You Give in 201011. The most Hot Country Songs No. 1s
that were ever spawned from one album
is five. It was first accomplished by Rodney Crowell’s Diamonds& Dirt (1988-89), and it was matched
by Brad Paisley’s 5th Gear (2007-08).
Bryan’s new No. 1 halts a seven-week run atop Hot Country
Songs by Carrie Underwood’s “Something in the Water” (19/
Arista Nashville), which dips to No. 2. The single still controls Hot
Christian Songs chart for a 17th week, extending the record for
the list’s longest reign by a woman.
Sam Hunt’s Montevallo (MCA Nashville/UMGN) leads Top
Country Albums for a second straight week (and third cumulative frame) with 16,000 copies sold (down 1 percent), according
to Nielsen Music. In anticipation of Hunt’s
Lipstick Graffiti Tour launch (Jan. 29) in
West Hollywood (his first as a headliner;
it sold out its first 15 markets in minutes),
second single “Take Your Time” returns to
No. 1 for a second week on Country Digital Songs, posting his second-largest weekly
digital sum (48,000, up 31 percent). He
notched his best digital week when lead
Montevallo single “Leave the Night On”
sold 50,000 (Sept. 6, 2014). With top Digital and Streaming Gainer honors, “Time”
flies 13-6 on Hot Country Songs. It shoots
10-2 on Country Streaming Songs with
1.1 million U.S. streams (up 37 percent),
below “Night,” which rules the chart for a sixth cumulative week
(1.4 million, up 5 percent).
Keith Urban nabs the Hot Shot Debut on Hot Country
Songs at No. 43 with “Raise ’Em Up” (featuring Eric Church)
(Hit Red/Capitol Nashville). The track is the fifth single from
Urban’s Fuse, which debuted at No. 1 on Top Country Albums in
September 2013. It has sold 430,000 copies.
BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE
JANUARY 29, 2015 | PAGE 2 OF 7
MAKIN’ TR ACKS TOM ROLAND [email protected]
With the burning guitar chords in the intro, the hooky melodicism in the chorus and
the insistent backbeat throughout the performance, it’s easy to view Parmalee’s
new single, “Already Callin’ You Mine,” as a throwback to 1980s power pop/rock.
Don’t think for a second, though, that the track’s target lies anywhere outside
of the present moment. The lyrics are grounded in urgency, and urgency is all
about now.
“We’ve all had that moment when
you’re into somebody and you finally PARMALEE
decide, ‘OK, I’m all in,’ and this is what
this song is all about,” says lead vocalist
Matt Thomas. “It’s like that moment
when you change your Facebook status
from ‘single’ to ‘in a relationship.’ That’s
kind of the whole theory behind the title.”
Modern digital platforms, of course,
are not foolproof, and a tech-related
snafu laid the foundation for some very
real urgency when “Already Callin’ You
Mine” was created two years ago.
Thomas and bassist Barry Knox were
hosting a songwriting session in the basement studio at Parmalee’s home on the
west side of Nashville. “It’s kind of a band house,” says co-writer Wade Kirby
(“All Over the Road,” “I Saw God Today). “It’s real conducive to a bunch of guitar
players. Everywhere you look is music stuff.”
Even with his GPS, songwriter Phil O’Donnell (“Doin’ What She Likes,” “She
Won’t Be Lonely Long”) had trouble finding the place and needed an extra phone
call to locate it. Philbilly, as he’s better known, in turn texted the address to Kirby,
but he mistakenly inserted an extra digit. So when Kirby headed out, he went at
least 30 miles past his destination.
“I swear he must have drove to Memphis,” says O’Donnell. “He almost went
to Dickson on Highway 70.”
That led to some frantic tension for Kirby. “I don’t get nervous in co-writes, but
I get nervous when I’m late — and I was sooo late,” he notes with a laugh. “That’s
the nuts part on this song. Matt’s a nice guy, and anybody else would have went
on without me.”
Instead, they noodled a bit in the studio while waiting for Kirby. The band was
in the process of collecting and recording songs for its debut album and needed
an uptempo love song. The Parmalee guys already had a bit of what became the
foundational rhythm — “We call it the money beat,” says Thomas — and when
Kirby finally arrived, he tossed the “Already Callin’ You Mine” title into the soup.
Knox and Thomas wanted a song that embraced love at first sight, and once
the title, the beat and the direction were set, it was a group effort to find the right
words and melody.
“It was almost like passing a hot potato around the room,” observes O’Donnell.
“We all just start throwing stuff. Everybody was singing, and I don’t think it took
a couple hours.”
It helped that the band’s lead singer was part of the process. “He knows better
than anybody knows where his wheelhouse is,” says O’Donnell.
Thomas made slight revisions in the melody, the phrasing and the words as they
pushed through it, shaping it for his range and the band’s point of view.
“Philbilly is a pretty country dude,” explains Knox. “He’s always in his overalls,
and he’s got his glasses on, and a lot of times his lyrics come out real country. I re-
member us saying a few times, ‘Nah, we wouldn’t say that — that’s too country for
us, Phil.’ I can’t remember exactly what it was, but I do remember that happening.”
As the end of the session neared, Thomas insisted that the song have a bridge.
They needed just two lines — “If you like the way that sounds/We can leave this
place right now, right noooow” — to lift the energy a final notch before a compact,
’80s-like guitar solo.
“It’s a really short bridge,” allows
Knox. “But it says a lot.”
They made an iPhone work tape that
day with all four guys playing guitar,
and O’Donnell used that as the basis for
a demo at Legends Studio. The demo
amped up the energy and incorporated
a steel guitar, and it set the tone for the
master session when the NV production team — David Fanning and three
Jason Aldean sidemen: bassist Tully
Kennedy, guitarist Kurt Allison and
drummer Rich Redmond — stepped
into the studio with Parmalee during
sessions for the Feels Like Carolina album.
Scheduling was a problem — Aldean
and Parmalee were both touring — and they cut a bunch of songs in a blur. “Already
Callin’ You Mine” was relatively easy to finish, since so much of it had already been
laid out during the writing session and the demo.
“When you have a good demo to start off with, your job is just to give it a little
face-lift, make it pop a little bit more,” says Fanning.
Parmalee’s Josh McSwain added a Hammond B-3 for texture, NV put echo
effects on the vocals in the bridge, and they wedged additional instruments into
empty spaces to give the track more momentum.
“We always go a little more aggressive — more guitars, you know,” says Fanning. “After he sings in the chorus, the guitars add a little drive. And where there’s
holes, we try to create different [signature] licks everywhere.”
The track was built one instrument at a time, and the interplay between Knox’s
bass and Scott Thomas’ drums became a central, powerful building block.
“Almost every kick drum you hear in our music, I’m playing a bass note with
that kick drum,” says Knox. “I don’t normally skip ’em, and I don’t normally hold
out the notes as he plays the kick drum. I’m playing right along with him.”
As they started playing it live, Parmalee could see people in the crowd who
weren’t familiar with the song trying to mouth the words to the chorus, a good sign
that the audience was responding. Stoney Creek wanted something uptempo for
the next single, and “Already Callin’ ” was an easy choice.
It changes things up a bit from the midtempo nature of the band’s two previous
singles, but Parmalee does hope “Callin’ ” will repeat its chart success. “Carolina”
hit No. 1 on Country Airplay, and “Close Your Eyes” reached No. 4. The release
schedule certainly re-establishes a very familiar timeline for the act: “Carolina”
was shipped to radio via Play MPE on Jan. 14, 2013; “Close Your Eyes” followed
on Jan. 13, 2014; and “Already Callin’ ” was released Jan. 12, 2015.
“I think this song defines us more than just about any of them on that record,”
says Matt Thomas. “It’s not going to throw anybody for a loop, but once the chorus
hits, it sounds like a Parmalee song.”
A little power pop during the Facebook era. Much like Kirby, this one arrives a
little late in the process. But it might be right on time.
PARMALEE:ED RODE
After A Late Start, Parmalee
Finds An Uptempo Groove
BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE
JANUARY 29, 2015 | PAGE 3 OF 7
THE STARK REPORT PHYLLIS STARK [email protected]
Are Country Radio Tours
Still Worth Labels’ Investment?
If you’re having trouble getting a country radio programmer on the phone right conference room or in my office.”
now, it’s likely because he or she is in the station’s conference room watching one
With so many new artists knocking on doors and a limited amount of time in
of many new potential stars belt out a few songs.
any given week to see them, programmers have to curb such visits to between one
Introductory radio tours — largely unique to the country format — go on year
and three a week, depending on the station. Words like “crazy” and “extreme”
’round, but this time of year the traffic is particularly heavy as label promotion are how programmers describe the volume of requests for visits they’re getting
reps brave potentially snowy weather in an
from Nashville.
effort to get their artists in front of radio
Says KSCS and KPLX Dallas operations
early on and make what they hope will be
manager J.R. Schumann, “It seems like
a lasting impression.
we’re getting hammered with requests every
But with costs to labels typically in the
week for artists to come by. Any more than
tens of thousands of dollars, are radio tours
one per week is tough, and having one every
still an effective tool? To answer that quesweek is also tough.”
tion, we reached out to various country radio
WQDR Raleigh, N.C., station manager/
POE
SCHUMANN
JORDAN
programmers for their opinions.
PD Lisa McKay says that even though the
For the most part, programmers remain bullish on radio tours. iHeartMedia San
artist visits are “usually the best part of my day,” she “loses track” after more than
Antonio operations manager Don Gosselin calls them “a fantastic way to be intro- three new acts in a week.
duced to new artists, get a feel for their personality and learn about their history.”
“We do need a traffic light, that’s for sure,” says KUZZ AM/FM Bakersfield,
Mike James, operations manger for Hall Communications’ Lakeland, Fla., Calif., PD Tom Jordan. “At times it is overload. I have figured out we can do two
cluster, also feels that such visits still have great value. “We believe that we can
conference room visits a week,” but any more than that, and “I’ve started shutget a much better sense of the artist’s true talent and personality when we get a
ting people down … I do have a regular schedule to adhere to.”
chance to meet them face to face and hear them perform acoustically.”
Says KILT Houston assistant PD/music director Chris Huff, “I always try to
Sue Wilson, vp operations for Rubber City Radio Group in Akron, Ohio, agrees.
be as respectful to the artist as possible, and never lose sight of the fact that, for
“When the PD and MD and staff experience an artist early in their career and feel many, these radio tours are a really big deal … That being said, when we start getinvested, then I believe it does encourage airplay … Sometimes the live perfor- ting requests for third or fourth visits in one week, it really becomes too much.”
mance and engagement is the tipping point.”
Poe has a different reason for limiting artist visits that he thinks labels should
WDAF Kansas City PD Wes Poe says such visits also show “commitment from consider: “The volume of what is coming through far exceeds the amount of space
the labels these artists are on that they are worth the trouble and hassle associ- I have to add new music from untested, unfamiliar artists,” he says.
ated with shuffling around the country through over 100 stations ... It does affect
In the Feb. 5 issue, we will examine the common mistakes artists make on radio
new-music decisions here.”
tours and what labels and artists should be doing to make the best possible imHowever, WCTK Providence, R.I., PD Bob Walker is less convinced. “To pression. We’ll also share a few radio-tour-gone-wrong stories and hear from probe blunt, most radio tour stops are a waste of time,” he says. “We add songs grammers about whether these outings forge long-lasting friendships with artists
based on what comes out of the speakers, not how they sound singing in our
— and why some programmers actually hope they don’t.
Country
UPDATE
THE COUNTRY MUSIC INDUSTRY’S MUST-HAVE SOURCE FOR
NEWS, ANALYSIS AND CHART INFO EVERY MONDAY AND THURSDAY
Get your message front and center with
top country radio programmers and other
key music influencers
TO ADVERTISE, CONTACT:
Lee Ann Photoglo, 615-376-7931, [email protected]
BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE
JANUARY 29, 2015 | PAGE 4 OF 7
viously done extremely well in country and has
some crossover, but this put him in front of a different audience on television two nights a week.
I was really excited about that. Plus, I knew that
people would fall in love with Keith, so it made it
very easy for us to genuinely go in there and make
those connections with the fan base and make
sure they were connecting it back to the music.
QUE STIONS
Answered
Cameo Carlson
Head, digital business development
@DigiMusicBitch
After working at iTunes and the Universal Motown Republic Group,
Cameo Carlson moved to Nashville in 2011 to work with Gary
Borman’s management firm, Borman Entertainment. She guides the
division’s clients — including Keith Urban, Alison Krauss, Mickey
Guyton and Clayton Anderson — in their digital and online outreach.
And, despite relocating in Tennessee Titans territory, she remains a
Seattle Seahawks fan. It’s a good time to catch up with her, given a
come-from-behind victory against Green Bay that put them in the upcoming Super Bowl (Feb. 1).
You came to Nashville from New York about four years ago. How
has your experience with the town been so far? I ran the label rela-
tions and editorial teams at iTunes, so there’s been a long-standing
relationship there with Nashville. I felt kind of comfortable, but it was
a different position because I was going into management. There’s
some things that are misnomers about Nashville and how we work,
particularly as it pertains to digital. There are some of the stereotypes
for the fan base and certain artists that live up to that stereotype. But
it’s a community, which is so different from the rest of the music industry. People are connected, so you can’t just rush through things.
Coming straight out of New York, that was sort of my M.O. You’ve got
to slow down a little bit and have conversations and make connections here. The town sort of requires that from you.
When Keith took the American Idol role, how did that change
the parameters for what you can do? It gave us another platform
that we could market to and talk to on the digital front. Keith has ob-
As the recording business has shifted from
sales to streaming, does that change how you
conduct business, or where you are trying to drive people? There’s sort of a
micro and a macro answer for this. The macro is yes, we have to make sure that
we strategize around streaming and what makes sense for each artist, and part
of our job as management is education, making sure that our artists understand
how it works specific to them, because every contract is different. Then micro,
it’s been a really interesting case study with Mickey Guyton. There were a lot
of partners that were interested in her early on, and we wanted to really work
the streaming services to make sure that people weren’t able to put her in a box
when it came time for radio. We were really big on playlisting and that content
was in the right place and that people have a way to explore it. We took an artist
that was virtually unknown and got to a place where she was a little over 4 million streams before she went to radio with her first single.
A couple years ago at an Americana conference panel, you were talking
about social media as helpful, but you said an email list is a retirement
plan. I still believe that email is a retirement plan because that’s data that you
own. Those are the people that you can talk to that are going to buy tickets, buy
merchandise, well after the peak of a radio career or the peak of hit singles. It’s
great to use social media, it’s incredibly important — you can have dialogue,
you can build communities — but ultimately if you don’t own that relationship
in some way, you are selling yourself short. When that hit song is gone, if you
don’t have a way to talk to people other than that same format, you’re going to
be missing out on people who would still buy a ticket and buy a T-shirt and support you financially. It’s a very fleeting thing in social media.
It looks like, from reading your Twitter account, that you’re a Seattle
Seahawks fan. I’m assuming you’re very happy at the moment. I’m a
huge Seahawks fan. [The Packers game] was simultaneously the best and
worst game of the entire season. So, yes, I’m very happy, although I have to
admit that I had sort of lost hope. I wasn’t thinking [the Super Bowl] was going to happen. —Tom Roland
MIDWEEK NEWS UPDATE
COUNTRY GETS ULTRA-FESTIVE
The competition is on for consumers’ festival dollars. In a scant
24 hours Jan. 27-28, five country
events were either announced or
added more talent: Tortuga Music
Festival in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.,
April 11-12 (The Band Perry, Josh
Turner); the Key West Songwriters
THE BAND PERRY
Festival, May 6-10 (Chris Young,
Kacey Musgraves); the Shaky Boots Festival in Atlanta, May 16-17 (Blake
Shelton, Brad Paisley); the Taste of Country Music Festival in Hunter,
N.Y., June 12-14 (Billy Currington, Eli Young Band); and the Windy Lake
Shake in Chicago, June 19-21 (Dierks Bentley, Florida Georgia Line).
After waiting all year for the Super Bowl, NFL fans will get one last look at
Carrie Underwood on Feb. 1 when she rolls out the season’s final edition of
the NBC Sunday Night Football theme. “Waiting All Day for Sunday Night”
has been rerecorded as “Waiting All Day for a Super Bowl Fight” with a special set design and revamped lyrics that reference the New England Patriots
and Seattle Seahawks.
Streamsound has assigned an April 7 release date to the solo debut by Sugarland’s Kristian Bush. The lead single from Southern Gravity, “Trailer
Hitch,” is currently No. 25 on Hot Country Songs.
Ovation TV will celebrate the Man in Black’s Feb. 26 birthday with at least
10 back-to-back shows about Johnny Cash. The mini-marathon includes
six editions of Song by Song, each focusing on one specific title, such as “Ring
of Fire,” “I Walk the Line” and “Sunday Morning Coming Down.” Johnny
Cash in San Quentin and Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison will also be included
in the programming.
BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE
JANUARY 29, 2014 | PAGE 5 OF 7
Hot Country Songs
THIS
WEEK
LAST
WEEK
1
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2
2
3
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5
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6
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9
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1
3
5
6
13
8
10
11
TWO
WEEKS WKS ON TITLE
AGO
CHART PRODUCER (SONGWRITER)
4
13 I SEE YOU
3
5
7
15
9
10
11
18
19
19
13
13
22
22
14
M.BRIGHT (C.UNDERWOOD,C. DESTEFANO,BRETT JAMES)
TALLADEGA
J.JOYCE (E.CHURCH,L.LAIRD)
SUN DAZE
J.MOI (C.R.BARLOWE,J.FRASURE,S.BUXTON,T.HUBBARD,B.KELLEY)
LONELY TONIGHT
S.HENDRICKS (B.ANDERSON,R.HURD)
TAKE YOUR TIME
MAKE ME WANNA
J.JOYCE (THOMAS RHETT,B.BUTLER,L.MCCOY)
DRINKING CLASS
M.MCCLURE,K.JACOBS,L.BRICE (J.KEAR,D.FRASIER,E.M.HILL)
JUST GETTIN’ STARTED
M.KNOX (C. DESTEFANO,R.AKINS,A.GORLEY)
SHOTGUN RIDER
7
2
19
11
l
12
l
14
22
L.LAIRD (B.ELDREDGE,SCOOTER CARUSOE)
16
16
33
D.GEORGE (R.HOUSER,B.LONG)
13
9
8
17
B.CANNON,K.CHESNEY (R.CLAWSON,D.L.MURPHY,J.YEARY)
14
l
15
l
17
13
19
J.STROUD (J.BULFORD,J.MATTHEWS,L.VELTZ)
17
l
18
l
19
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20
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21
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22
l
23
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25
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12
18
4
20
22
21
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19
6
17
41
21
25
22
23
30
27
29
17
23
22
3
24
15
24
18
8
13
14
★★Digital & Streaming Gainer★★
Z.CROWELL,S.MCANALLY (S.HUNT,J.OSBORNE,S.MCANALLY)
14
16
★★No. 1 (1 week)★★
SOMETHING IN THE WATER
10
19
Artist
IMPRINT / PROMOTION LABEL
J.STEVENS (L.BRYAN,L.LAIRD,A.GORLEY)
1
SALES, AIRPLAY &
STREAMING DATA
COMPILED BY
Luke Bryan
CAPITOL NASHVILLE
Carrie Underwood
19/ARISTA NASHVILLE
MEAN TO ME
TIL IT’S GONE
0
Sam Hunt
6
M
CA NASHVILLE
Thomas Rhett
VALORY
Lee Brice
CURB
Jason Aldean
B
ROKEN BOW
Tim McGraw
4
5
7
6
9
0
12
8
13
15
W
ARNER BROS./WMN
M.CARTER (C.SWINDELL,A.SANDERS,J.MARTIN)
PERFECT STORM
Brad Paisley
L.WOOTEN,B.PAISLEY (B.PAISLEY,L.T.MILLER)
ARISTA NASHVILLE
HOMEGROWN HONEY
Darius Rucker
4
17
CAPITOL NASHVILLE
F.ROGERS (D.RUCKER,C.KELLEY,N.CHAPMAN)
★★Airplay Gainer★★
TAKE IT ON BACK
D.GEORGE,C.BRYANT (C.BRYANT,T.L.JAMES,D.ALTMAN)
SAY YOU DO
1
11
Chris Young
RCA NASHVILLE
Cole Swindell
AIN’T WORTH THE WHISKEY
1
3
B
LUE CHAIR/COLUMBIA NASHVILLE
LONELY EYES
J.JOYCE,Z.BROWN (Z.BROWN,W.DURRETTE,N.MOON)
1
Brett Eldredge
A
TLANTIC/WMN
Randy Houser
S
TONEY CREEK
Kenny Chesney
LIKE A COWBOY
HOMEGROWN
PEAK
POSITION
Eric Church
E MI NASHVILLE
Florida Georgia Line
R
EPUBLIC NASHVILLE
Blake Shelton Featuring Ashley Monroe
W
ARNER BROS./WMN
M
CGRAW/BIG MACHINE
B.GALLIMORE,T.MCGRAW (H.LINDSEY,M.GREEN,T.VERGES)
CERTIFIED
Zac Brown Band
4
VARVATOS/REPUBLIC/BMLG/SOUTHERN GROUND
Chase Bryant
R
ED BOW
19
Dierks Bentley
20
Jake Owen
21
J.CATINO,J.KING (M.PEIRCE,J.SINGLETON,B.TURSI)
Tyler Farr
C
OLUMBIA NASHVILLE
22
GIRL CRUSH
Little Big Town
CAPITOL NASHVILLE
Lady Antebellum
C
APITOL NASHVILLE
Kristian Bush
S
TREAMSOUND
23
CAPITOL NASHVILLE
R. COPPERMAN (M.T.RAMSEY,S.MCANALLY,T. ROSEN)
WHAT WE AIN’T GOT
RCA NASHVILLE
J.MOI (T.J.GOFF,T.MEADOWS)
A GUY WALKS INTO A BAR
J.JOYCE (L.ROSE,L.MCKENNA,H.LINDSEY)
FREESTYLE
N.CHAPMAN,LADY ANTEBELLUM (D.HAYWOOD,C.KELLEY,H.SCOTT,S.MCANALLY)
TRAILER HITCH
K.BUSH,T.TAPLEY (K.BUSH,B.BUSH,T.OWENS)
24
25
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Country
UPDATE
BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE
JANUARY 29, 2015 | PAGE 6 OF 7
Hot Country Songs
THIS
WEEK
LAST
WEEK
26
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28
34
29
30
32
33
35
TWO
WEEKS WKS ON TITLE
AGO
CHART PRODUCER (SONGWRITER)
31
12 SHE DON’T LOVE YOU
Artist
IMPRINT / PROMOTION LABEL
32
—
33
35
36
34
37
3
F.LIDDELL,C.AINLAY,G.WORF (A.MAE,GINSBERG J.)
LAY LOW
10
F.ROGERS (R.COPPERMAN,T.MARTIN,M.NESLER)
DON’T IT
10
D.HUFF (J.JOHNSTON,A.GORLEY,R.COPPERMAN)
BABY BE MY LOVE SONG
12
C.CHAMBERLAIN (J.COLLINS,BRETT JAMES)
DRUNK AMERICANS
15
T.KEITH,B.PINSON (B.CLARK,B.DIPIERO,S.MCANALLY)
LOVE ME LIKE YOU MEAN IT
9
F.G.WHITEHEAD (K.BALLERINI,J.KERR,F.G.WHITEHEAD,L.CARPENTER)
MAKE YOU MISS ME
13
44
6
B.BUTLER,J.PARDI (J.PARDI,B.BUTLER,J.SPILLMAN)
37
40
7
M.J.CONES (R.HATCH,J.SELLERS)
44
43
18
40
28
3
46
42
45
NEW
45
46
48
47
39
43
LITTLE RED WAGON
39
42
Keith Urban Featuring Eric Church
HIT RED/CAPITOL NASHVILLE
Chase Rice
DACK JANIELS/COLUMBIA NASHVILLE
Dustin Lynch
BROKEN BOW
Brantley Gilbert
VALORY
Sam Hunt
MCA NASHVILLE
The Band Perry
BIG MACHINE/REPUBLIC NASHVILLE
Maddie & Tae
D
OT
Justin Moore
V
ALORY
B.BEAVERS,J.ROBBINS (C.SMITH,B.BEAVERS,J.BEAVERS)
36
41
27
LOVE YOU LIKE THAT
38
43
26
A Thousand Horses
R
EPUBLIC NASHVILLE
Canaan Smith
MERCURY
Miranda Lambert
RCA NASHVILLE
Josh Turner
M
CA NASHVILLE
Billy Currington
M
ERCURY
Easton Corbin
M
ERCURY
Toby Keith
S
HOW DOG NASHVILLE
Kelsea Ballerini
BLACK RIVER
Sam Hunt
MCA NASHVILLE
Jon Pardi
C
APITOL NASHVILLE
Joe Nichols
R
ED BOW
Sam Hunt
MCA NASHVILLE
Reba
NASH ICON/VALORY
Rascal Flatts
B
IG MACHINE
Sam Hunt
MCA NASHVILLE
Gloriana
D.COBB (M.HOBBY,J.M.NITE,R.COPPERMAN)
17
47
—
49
50
38
NEW
NEW
Z.CROWELL,S.MCANALLY (S.HUNT,J.OSBORNE,M.T.RAMSEY)
WHEN I’VE BEEN DRINKIN’
HARD TO BE COOL
EX TO SEE
Z.CROWELL,S.MCANALLY (S.HUNT,J.OSBORNE,M.T.RAMSEY)
GOING OUT LIKE THAT
T.BROWN (B.HAYSLIP,R.AKINS,J.SELLERS)
RIOT
3
J.DEMARCUS,RASCAL FLATTS (J.BOYER,S.HAZE)
HOUSE PARTY
19
Z.CROWELL,S.MCANALLY (S.HUNT,Z.CROWELL,J.FLOWERS)
TROUBLE
4
1
N.CHAPMAN,K.URBAN (J.JOHNSTON,J.STEELE,T.DOUGLAS)
★★Hot Shot Debut★★
GONNA WANNA TONIGHT
8
C. DESTEFANO (S.MCANALLY,J.M.NITE,J.ROBBINS)
HELL OF A NIGHT
3
M.J.CONES (Z.CROWELL,A.SANDERS,J.BOYER)
ONE HELL OF AN AMEN
4
D.HUFF (B.GILBERT,M.DEKLE,B.DAVIS)
SPEAKERS
7
Z.CROWELL,S.MCANALLY (S.HUNT,B.HOOD,K.SACKLEY)
GENTLE ON MY MIND
12
D.HUFF (J.HARTFORD)
FLY
1
D.HUFF (M.MARLOW,T.DYE,T.VARTANYAN)
THIS KIND OF TOWN
1
28
29
29
30
32
33
34
32
36
37
37
28
40
39
42
EMBLEM/WARNER BROS./WAR
M.SERLETIC (R.REINERT,M.GOSSIN,R.COPPERMAN,J.M.NITE)
RAISE ‘EM UP
J.S.STOVER (A.DORFF,C.TOMLIN)
PEAK
POSITION
Eric Paslay
SMOKE
3
CERTIFIED
E MI NASHVILLE
M.ALTMAN (E.PASLAY,J.WAYNE)
48
SALES, AIRPLAY &
STREAMING DATA
COMPILED BY
34
45
46
40
35
49
50
The week’s most popular country songs, ranked by radio airplay audience impressions as measured by Nielsen Music, sales data as compiled by Nielsen Music and streaming activity data from online music sources tracked by
Nielsen Music. Descending titles below No. 25 are moved to recurrent after 20 weeks.
COUNTRY MARKET WATCH
A Weekly National Music Sales Report
YEAR-TO-DATE
Year-Over-Year Album Sales
’14
’15
’13
2.0 million
1.9 million
DIGITAL TRACKS SALES
’14
’15
Weekly Unit’14
Sales
11.7
million
000.0
million
9.5 million
For week ending January 25, 2015. Figures are rounded. Compiled from
a national sample of retail store and rack sales reports collected and
provided by Nielsen Music.
Overall Unit Sales
ALBUMS
DIGITAL
ALBUMS*
DIGITAL
TRACKS
This Week
469,000
207,000
2,125,000
Last Week
451,000
180,000
2,195,000
4.0%
15.0%
-3.2%
455,000
166,000
2,720,000
3.1%
24.7%
-21.9%
Change
This Week Last Year
Change
Albums
Digital Tracks
2014
2015
CHANGE
1,993,000
1,914,000
-4.0%
11,663,000
9,509,000
-18.5%
Sales by Album Format
Physical
Digital
2014
2015
CHANGE
1,261,000
1,147,000
9.0%
732,000
767,000
4.8%
*Digital album sales are also counted within album sales.
For inquiries about any Nielsen Music data, please contact Josh Bennett at 615-807-1338 or [email protected]
BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE
JANUARY 29, 2015 | PAGE 7 OF 7
SALES, AIRPLAY &
STREAMING DATA
COMPILED BY
2
3
1
3
3
2
4
4
13
SAM HUNT
16
JASON ALDEAN
7
Montevallo
MCA NASHVILLE 021502/UMGN
CARRIE UNDERWOOD
19/ARISTA NASHVILLE 500876/SMN
11
7
SHELTON
17 BLAKE
WARNER BROS. 544918/WMN
5
2
1
BROOKS
11 GARTH
PEARL/RCA NASHVILLE 501135/SMN
6
5
5
7
6
8
l
9
l
10
11
l
1
1
Greatest Hits: Decade #1
0
1
BRINGING BACK THE SUNSHINE
0
1
Man Against Machine
1
1
GEORGIA LINE
15 FLORIDA
REPUBLIC NASHVILLE /BMLG
Anything Goes
0
1
6
BRYAN
77 LUKE
CAPITOL NASHVILLE 018733/UMGN
Crash My Party
2
1
9
CHURCH
50 ERIC
EMI NASHVILLE 019402*/UMGN
1
1
The Outsiders
SIMPSON
Metamodern Sounds In Country Music
16 14 37 STURGILL
HIGH TOP MOUNTAIN 002*/THIRTY TIGERS
RICE
16 23 CHASE
COLUMBIA NASHVILLE 22573/DACK JANIELS
8
ELDREDGE
23 21 63 BRETT
ATLANTIC 525855/WMN
12 12 13
BROWN BAND
11 ZAC
ROAR/SOUTHERN GROUND/ATLANTIC 546369/AG
13 14
LAMBERT
34 MIRANDA
RCA NASHVILLE 379278/SMN
l
14
11
1
NEW
15 13
8
RALPH STANLEY
9
Ignite The Night
1
Bring You Back
2
Greatest Hits So Far...
Platinum
5
0
Ralph Stanley & Friends: Man Of Constant Sorrow
1
14
CB MUSIC /CRACKER BARREL
STRAIT
The Cowboy Rides Away: Live From AT&T Stadium
19 GEORGE
MCA NASHVILLE 021477/UMGN
l
2
l
2
13
6
18
3
3
14
4
4
17
5
7
12
6
1
2
7
5
19
8
8 20
9
9
18
10 11
l
17
1
11 10 12
l
12 13 16
13 12 25
14 16
l
15 17
l
5
21
2
16 15 14
Moonshine In The Trunk
1
17 14 21
The Big Revival
1
18 20
l
1
19 18 26
Pain Killer
3
20 18 20 20
LEE BRICE
I Dont Dance
1
21
l
DUSTIN LYNCH
Where It’s At
2
l
21 24
l
22 25
l
747
16
l
17
l
29 26 22
BRAD PAISLEY
20 17 18
KENNY CHESNEY
ARISTA NASHVILLE 305528/SMN
BLUE CHAIR/COLUMBIA NASHVILLE 306274/SMN
GILBERT
10 36 BRANTLEY
VALORY BG0200A/BMLG
18 17
Just As I Am
BIG TOWN
19 21 18 14 LITTLE
CAPITOL NASHVILLE 021360*/UMGN
28 22 20
CURB 79392*
BROKEN BOW 7337/BBMG
22 15 12 17
LADY ANTEBELLUM
23 22 15 19
TIM MCGRAW
1
24 22 22
Cole Swindell
2
It Goes Like This
2
The week’s most popular country albums, ranked by sales data as compiled by Nielsen Music. Albums are
defined as current if they are less than 18 months old or older than 18 months but still residing in the Billboard
200’s top 100. Charts update weekly on Thurdays at www.Billboard.Biz/charts. Copyright 2015, Prometheus
Global Media, LLC and Nielsen Music, Inc. All rights reserved.
STREAMING DATA
COMPILED BY
1
l
2
l
1
31
10
4
3
2
48
4
l
6
7
5
3
29
6
l
5
95
7
4
17
8
l
9
l
10
l
7
57
9
44
11
8
LEAVE THE NIGHT ON
AM HUNT
S
TAKE YOUR TIME
SAM HUNT
THIS IS HOW WE ROLL
FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE FEAT. LUKE BRYAN
I SEE YOU
LUKE BRYAN
DIRT
FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE
CRUISE
FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE
SOMETHING IN THE WATER
CARRIE UNDERWOOD
BOTTOMS UP
BRANTLEY GILBERT
PLAY IT AGAIN
LUKE BRYAN
TALLADEGA
ERIC CHURCH
11
l
12
l
WKS ON
CHART
LAST
WEEK
THIS
WEEK
WKS ON
CHART
LAST
WEEK
THIS
WEEK
COUNTRY
STREAMING SONGS
ARTIST
13 14
20 55
13 12 12
l
15
l
16
l
17
l
14 14 12
15 11
17 76
16 27
18 18 27
19
l
20
–
8
1
28
23 19 18
RHETT
26 27 65 THOMAS
VALORY TR0100A/BMLG
TITLE
5
2
SWINDELL
24 19 19 49 COLE
WARNER BROS. 541372/WMN
25
l
20 21 32
Sundown Heaven Town
CAPITOL NASHVILLE /UMGN
MCGRAW/BIG MACHINE TM0200A/BMLG
0
10
25 23 27
ARTIST (IMPRINT/LABEL)
TAKE YOUR TIME
AM HUNT ( MCA Nashville/UMGN)
S
SUN DAZE
FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE (Republic Nashville/BMLG)
LONELY TONIGHT
BLAKE SHELTON FEAT. ASHLEY MONROE (Warner Bros./WMN)
SOMETHING IN THE WATER
CARRIE UNDERWOOD ( 19/Arista Nashville/SMN)
I SEE YOU
LUKE BRYAN ( Capitol Nashville)
HOMEGROWN
ZAC BROWN BAND (Southern Ground/Varvatos/Republic/BMLG)
SHOTGUN RIDER
TIM MCGRAW ( McGraw/Big Machine/BMLG)
DRINKING CLASS
LEE BRICE ( Curb)
TALLADEGA
ERIC CHURCH ( EMI Nashville/UMGN)
MAKE ME WANNA
THOMAS RHETT ( Valory/BMLG)
JUST GETTIN’ STARTED
JASON ALDEAN ( Broken Bow/BBMG)
AIN’T WORTH THE WHISKEY
COLE SWINDELL ( Warner Bros./WMN)
GOD MADE GIRLS
RAELYNN (Valory/BMLG)
GIRL CRUSH
LITTLE BIG TOWN (Capitol Nashville/UMGN)
MEAN TO ME
BRETT ELDREDGE ( Atlantic/WMN)
LONELY EYES
CHRIS YOUNG ( RCA Nashville/SMN)
PERFECT STORM
BRAD PAISLEY ( Arista Nashville/SMN)
A GUY WALKS INTO A BAR
TYLER FARR ( Columbia Nashville/SMN)
BURNIN’ IT DOWN
JASON ALDEAN ( Broken Bow/BBMG)
LEAVE THE NIGHT ON
SAM HUNT ( MCA Nashville/UMGN)
SAY YOU DO
DIERKS BENTLEY ( Capitol Nashville/UMGN)
GIRL IN A COUNTRY SONG
MADDIE & TAE (Dot/BMLG)
HOMEGROWN HONEY
DARIUS RUCKER ( Capitol Nashville/UMGN)
WHAT WE AIN’T GOT
JAKE OWEN ( RCA Nashville/SMN)
SOMEWHERE IN MY CAR
KEITH URBAN ( Hit Red/Capitol Nashville/UMGN)
WKS ON
CHART
TITLE
LAST
WEEK
WKS ON
CHART
LAST
WEEK
THIS
WEEK
PEAK
POSITION
1
Old Boots, New Dirt
BROKEN BOW 7105/BBMG
4
l
10
CERT.
WEEKS
ON CHT
2 WEEKS
AGO
LAST
WEEK
THIS
WEEK
1
Title
IMPRINT & NUMBER / DISTRIBUTING LABEL
THIS
WEEK
COUNTRY
DIGITAL SONGS
TOP COUNTRY ALBUMS
ARTIST
SALES, AIRPLAY &
STREAMING DATA
COMPILED BY
TITLE
ARTIST (IMPRINT/LABEL)
TIL IT’S GONE
26 34 5 K ENNY CHESNEY ( Blue Chair/Columbia Nashville/SMN)
LIKE A COWBOY
27 26 20 RANDY HOUSER ( Stoney Creek/BBMG)
SHE DON’T LOVE YOU
28 32 6 ERIC PASLAY ( EMI Nashville/UMGN)
l
l
l
29 35
l
30 33
l
31
32
33
34
35
l
36
37
38
l
39
l
40
l
41
42
43
44
45
l
46
47
l
48
49
l
50
l
NEON LIGHT
23 B
LAKE SHELTON ( Warner Bros./WMN)
LOVE YOU LIKE THAT
13 CANAAN SMITH ( Mercury/UMGN)
DIRT
28 28 FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE (Republic Nashville/BMLG)
THIS IS HOW WE ROLL
27 61 FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE FEAT. LUKE BRYAN ( Republic Nashville/BMLG)
PLAY IT AGAIN
31 61 LUKE BRYAN ( Capitol Nashville/UMGN)
AMERICAN KIDS
30 32 KENNY CHESNEY ( Blue Chair/Columbia Nashville/SMN)
BREAK UP IN A SMALL TOWN
40 22 SAM HUNT ( MCA Nashville/UMGN)
BARTENDER
29 36 LADY ANTEBELLUM ( Capitol Nashville/UMGN)
CRUISE
38 133 FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE (Republic Nashville/BMLG)
LAY LOW
47 3 JOSH TURNER ( MCA Nashville/UMGN)
TRAILER HITCH
41 2 KRISTIAN BUSH ( Streamsound)
MAKE YOU MISS ME
RE-ENTRY
AM HUNT ( MCA Nashville/UMGN)
S
I DON’T DANCE
37 47 LEE BRICE ( Curb)
DRUNK ON A PLANE
36 39 DIERKS BENTLEY ( Capitol Nashville/UMGN)
SUNSHINE & WHISKEY
44 35 FRANKIE BALLARD ( Warner Bros./WMN)
TAKE IT ON BACK
43 2 CHASE BRYANT ( Red Bow/BBMG)
LITTLE RED WAGON
RE-ENTRY
MIRANDA LAMBERT ( RCA Nashville/SMN)
SOMETHIN’ BAD
46 33 MIRANDA LAMBERT DUET WITH CARRIE UNDERWOOD ( RCA Nashville/SMN)
WAGON WHEEL
RE-ENTRY
DARIUS RUCKER ( Capitol Nashville/UMGN)
DAY DRINKING
48 34 LITTLE BIG TOWN (Capitol Nashville/UMGN)
ROLLER COASTER
RE-ENTRY
LUKE BRYAN ( Capitol Nashville/UMGN)
BOYS ‘ROUND HERE
RE-ENTRY
BLAKE SHELTON FEAT. PISTOL ANNIES & FRIENDS (Warner Bros./WMN)
Top-selling paid download country songs compiled from sales reports collected and provided by Nielsen
Music. Charts update weekly on Thurdays at www.Billboard.Biz/charts. Copyright 2015, Prometheus
Global Media, LLC and Nielsen Music, Inc. All rights reserved.
BUILDING AIRPLAY GAINERS
TITLE LabelArtist
HOMEGROWN V
arvatos/Republic/Southern Ground/BMLG
GAIN
Z
ac Brown Band
+402
TITLE
RAISE ‘EM UP H
it Red/Capitol Nashville
Keith Urban Feat. Eric Church
+260
SUN DAZE
F LORIDA GEORGIA LINE
YOU BELONG WITH ME
TAYLOR SWIFT
GOD MADE GIRLS
RAELYNN
SHOTGUN RIDER
TIM MCGRAW
DRINKING CLASS
LEE BRICE
THAT’S MY KIND OF NIGHT
LUKE BRYAN
ROLLER COASTER
LUKE BRYAN
GIRL IN A COUNTRY SONG
MADDIE & TAE
MAKE ME WANNA
THOMAS RHETT
LONELY TONIGHT W
arner Bros./WMN
Blake Shelton Feat. Ashley Monroe
+259
MAKE ME WANNA V
alory
Thomas Rhett
+247
AIN’T WORTH THE WHISKEY Warner Bros./WMN
Cole Swindell
+243
JUST GETTIN’ STARTED B
roken Bow
Jason Aldean
+241
Dierks Bentley
+193
A
Thousand Horses
+170
Randy Houser
+168
T im McGraw W/Catherine Dunn
+160
ARTIST
64 WE ARE NEVER EVER GETTING BACK TOGETHER
T AYLOR SWIFT
Country Streaming Songs -The week’s top Country streamed radio songs, on-demand songs and videos
on leading online music services. Charts update weekly on Thurdays at www.Billboard.Biz/charts. Copyright
2015, Prometheus Global Media, LLC and Nielsen Music, Inc. All rights reserved.
SAY YOU DO C
apitol Nashville
SMOKE R
epublic Nashville
LIKE A COWBOY S
toney Creek
DIAMOND RINGS AND OLD BARSTOOLS M
cGraw/Big Machine
Building Gainers reflects titles with the top increases in plays from Monday through 5pm ET Wednesday, as
compared to the same period in the previous week, according to Nielsen Music.