How Morgan Wallen's Music Is Slowly Returning to Country Radio
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2021 March 8 CountryInsider.com | Sign Up For Daily Email Here How Morgan Wallen’s Music Is Slowly Returning To Country Radio. One month after most U.S. country stations quit playing Morgan Wallen’s music following the emergence of video showing him using a racial epithet, about a dozen Mediabase reporting stations are giving his music substantial spins. A handful never stopped playing the singer; a few more seem to be adding him back to their playlists each week. They’re led by Sinclair Communications “US 106.1” WUSH Norfolk, VA, which played five Wallen titles 54 times between Saturday, Feb. 27, and Friday, March 5. Other stations playing Wallen’s songs at least 14 times during that seven-day period include... (Continued on page 3) COUNTRY INSIDER TOP 5: As COVID Restrictions Ease, How Soon Might Full-Scale Live Music Events Return? Scott Huskey Addresses The Unspoken Question Personalities Always Have To Answer. Kenny Chesney’s “Knowing You” Video Will Premiere Friday On Times Square Video Billboard. New South Radiothon Raises $444K For Jackson, MS, Children’s Hospital. Niko Moon To Perform On ABC-TV’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” Tuesday. CountryInsider.com MARCH 8, 2021 | 1 Lisa Manning Justin Henriksen Middays Morning Show Host/OM/PD 5 Favorite Sad Songs: Nash Icon 95.5/WSM-FM Top 5 Country 104.1 KXDD Nashville, TN Yakima, WA 1. He Stopped Loving Her Today – Bands Of All Time: George Jones 2. Whiskey Lullaby – 1. The Highwaymen Brad Paisley & Alison Krauss 2. Alabama 3. Go Rest High on That Mountain – 3. Bill Monroe & Vince Gill His Blue Grass Boys 4. Where Were You 4. Brooks & Dunn (When the World Stopped 5. Zac Brown Band Turning) – Alan Jackson 5. The House That Built Me – Miranda Lambert Kenny Chesney Teases Friday’s “Knowing You” “Cinematic” Video Premiere. Kenny Chesney has begun releasing teaser trailers for his “Knowing You” video, which will premiere Friday on CMT and other ViacomCBS properties, including its billboard in New York’s Times Square. “Not everything is meant to last,” Chesney says in the fog-filled, 45-second clip posted today. “You don’t think about that when it’s perfect. And when it’s over, there’s a huge hole, but there’s also a pair of wings. Knowing you, wherever you are, I know you’re happy, you’re flying and free. And I’m here, still grateful – grateful for knowing you.” The video was directed by Shaun Silva and shot in Gloucester, MA, and St. Croix in the Virgin Islands. “Knowing You” goes for impact Monday, March 15. New South Radiothon Raises $444K For Jackson Children’s Hospital. New South Radio, Inc. raised $443,928 for Children’s of Mississippi hospital last week with its 20th Annual Mississippi Miracles Radiothon. The radiothon took place across all New South’s Jackson, MS, stations, including “Your Country US 96” WUSJ. This year’s radiothon, which took place March 3-5, pushed the stations past the $7 million mark in total funds raised for the Jackson-based children’s hospital. Miranda Lambert’s Casa Rosa Will Open In Nashville This Summer. Miranda Lambert’s Casa Rosa, which opens this summer in downtown Nashville, will include a rooftop bar and a “Pink House” displaying Lambert’s career milestones and memorabilia. Located at 308 Broadway, the four-level entertainment complex features three floors of live music and nightlife. It’s Broadway’s first bar and restaurant tied to a female country artist’s brand. “Casa Rosa will be a little taste of Texas in Tennessee,” Lambert said in a release. “Tacos, tequila and tufted pink booths — what else can a girl ask for?” Niko Moon Taking His “GOOD TIME” To “Jimmy Kimmel Live” Tuesday. Niko Moon, who sees his debut single top the Mediabase country chart this week, will sing “GOOD TIME” Tuesday on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (11:35pm ET, ABC). “GOOD TIME” picked up 1,125 spins last week to leapfrog Parmalee + Blanco Brown’s “Just the Way” and succeed Luke Bryan’s “Down to One” at No. 1 on the Mediabase chart. Moon is also scheduled to appear Saturday on the Grand Ole Opry. 2 | MARCH 8, 2021 CountryInsider.com Morgan Wallen’s Return To Radio. (Continued from page 1) Renda Broadcasting “Gator Country 101.9” WWGR Absolutely not. But we’re definitely more of the adage, Ft. Myers, FL, and sister “99.9 Gator Country” WGNE ‘You hate the sin, not the sinner.’” Jacksonville, FL; Tyler Media “93.3 Jake FM” Oklahoma City; Midwest Communications “Y100” WNCY Appleton, “93.3 Jake FM” polled its listeners on Facebook before WI; Dick Broadcasting WRNS Greenville, NC (95.1); re-adding “More Than My Hometown,” “Whiskey Marker Broadcasting “Big 106” KPLM Palm Springs, CA; Glasses” and “Chasin’ You.” “There was Steel City Media “Q104” KBEQ Kansas City; and Empire an overwhelming demand to play his Broadcasting KRTY San Jose, CA (95.3). In the past week, music,” says MD and afternoon host SummitMedia increased spins for Wallen on its six Carly Rae. “We want our playlist to country stations, including “Q103.1” WQNU Louisville, reflect what our audience wants to KY, and WZZK Birmingham, AL (104.7). hear, so we made the decision to add his music back. We have had nothing “US 106.1” paused Wallen’s music for one day and but positive feedback since reintroducing his music, with immediately heard from listeners threatening to many listeners tagging us on social media and thanking abandon the station if his music us for playing his music.” didn’t return, PD Dave Parker tells Country Insider. “That’s also known Two weeks ago, KRTY quietly re- as ‘feedback from the customer,’” inserted the four Wallen songs it had he says. “We made the decision to been playing into its recurrent rotation. start playing him immediately. Since “We never intended to leave it out that time, we have received almost forever,” GM Nate Deaton says. “We exclusively — with the exception of didn’t make a big deal about it. We two people — positive feedback and thanks for playing didn’t do a listener poll. We never really his music.” got complaints in the first place.” Dick Broadcasting WRNS Greenville (95.1) is among the Few stations have called attention to Wallen’s presence. reporters, including Renda’s two Florida stations, that Only when “US 106.1” found that listeners were never pulled Wallen’s music. confusing them with competitor Max Media “97.3 The Eagle” WGH and calling to complain did the station’s “We program for our listeners,” approach change. “Now we have imaging going into WRNS PD Crystal Legends says. “It almost every Morgan Wallen song that says if you’re was evident our listeners wanted hearing this song on country radio in Hampton Roads, to hear his music. Does that mean you can only be listening to US 106.1,” Parker says. we approve of what happened? (Continued on page 7) CountryInsider.com MARCH 8, 2021 | 3 As COVID Restrictions Ease, How Soon Might Live Music Events Return? As this month marks the year anniversary of the United Talent Agency agent Curt Motley says he feels nation’s lockdown, live entertainment experts are a forward lean in progress. “The last quarter of 2021 hopeful that shows will be able to resume the last half and the first quarter of 2022, we will of 2021. probably have the largest density of concerts that we’ve seen in a long “Our booking agent is telling us that time, maybe ever,” he says. “From it looks like we will able to do things the concerts that we have performed in mid- to late July onward, which and put on sale during COVID, we is fantastic,” says Scott Stem, who know there is a lot of fan interest and manages Scotty McCreery. “We are anticipation in seeing live shows. actively looking for shows. “A lot of the arena/amphitheater-level artists are in a “We want everything to be safe for the fans, the artists, holding pattern because you have to have close-to-full band, crew, promoters and venues.” capacity for it to make sense. Artists who might be a While there is newfound optimism, it still feels like little more nimble might be able to cobble together show planners take one step forward dates as early as the summer. Big and two steps back each week. For shows will have a tougher time. You instance, last week President Joe don’t want to miss the window when Biden said there should be enough it opens.” vaccines for all Americans by May. Billy Bob’s Texas in Fort Worth, TX, Then the Country Music Association which has a 6,000-person capacity, canceled June’s CMA Fest, citing has been operating at a 40 percent safety, capacity and international capacity and this week goes to 50 percent, or 3,000. travel concerns. “We chose to be at 40 percent and will slowly creep “I have a festival in July and we are cautiously optimistic up,” says general manager Marty Travis, noting that the that we can have it here in Chicago,” club recently did 21 shows in 31 days. “We will wait and says Ed Warm, managing partner of watch the world and see where it goes.” Joe’s Pub in Chicago. “It’s all based on Billy Bob’s will have attendance capacity of 3,000 this what our local and state government week for shows with Kip Moore, Aaron Lewis, and will allow us to do. Koe Wetzel & HARDY, even though Gov.