Country Update BILLBOARD.COM/NEWSLETTERS JUNE 1, 2020 | PAGE 1 OF 19 INSIDE BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE [email protected] Bryan’s ‘Margarita’: With CMA Fest Quieted By COVID-19, ‘One’ In 10 >page 4 Music Row Looks To 2020 Fill-Ins, And To 2021 Nashville Joins Had things gone as planned, 80,000 country fans would shoulder event in the sweat of a Midsouth June would have been National Protests converge on downtown Nashville June 4-7 for 300 or more a logistical impossibility under social-distancing guidelines — >page 10 performances and the opportunity for autographs and selfies not to mention an utter disaster if it led to infections that visitors with country’s stars during CMA Fest. brought back to other states and numerous foreign territories. Thanks to COVID-19, Nissan Stadium will sit quiet, the “I hate it that one of the asterisks on my career achievements streets are likely to have minimal foot traffic, when I leave this job will be, you know, ‘She’s Strait Gets and the Country Music Association will mark the one who had to make the decision to COVID ‘Write’ the occasion with a June 4 online panel for postpone the Fest for the first time in 48 >page 11 organization members, CMA Fest Through years,’ ” says Trahern. “But going into this the Years, about the festival’s history. week, it’s so clear that we couldn’t do it. It’s “I’m going to moderate it,” says CMA CEO just such a big event.” Sarah Trahern. “I have a feeling that going Replacing it isn’t really possible. Even if a Ford Motors into that, it’s going to be quite sad.” fan can share a Zoom screen with an artist, To Drive-In Sad is a good word for it. So is depressing, it’s not quite the same as an in-person selfie >page 11 confusing or just plain weird. hug. Even though a Devin Dawson or Keith “It’s weird for the world,” says The Artist Urban performance can be viewed on an Management Group (AMG) CEO Rob Beck- iPad, it’s not the same as sharing the expe- Makin’ Tracks: ham (Brad Paisley, Chris Young). “It’s not rience with thousands of strangers. Osbornes Rockin’ just the world of entertainment. It’s not just “The world has tried to replicate every- ‘All Night’ music and country music. I think that as a thing in the entertainment space, but the >page 16 whole, the world just stopped for a minute.” Dawson performed at a only thing you can’t replicate is a concert,” The festival, a Nashville tradition since packed Riverfront Park in notes Beckham. “Even though you can have 1972, is a landmark on the country calendar, Nashville during the 2019 CMA a live [show], like what we did with Brad an early stop on the intense summer touring Music Festival. on that Bud Light event we had a couple Country Coda: schedule that represents a major chunk of an- of weeks ago, there’s still not an audience When Keith’s nual revenue for much of the music industry, particularly artists, there. There’s just no way to replicate that.” ‘Cowboy’ Reigned touring musicians, road crews and booking agencies. But with It is possible, however, to mark CMA Fest’s absence. In >page 19 over 100,000 Americans dead in about three months (according addition to the CMA member panel, the organization is expected to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) from a corona- to announce a two-part event in the next two weeks that will virus that is not yet completely understood, holding a shoulder-to- take place this summer — most likely in July — while several BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE JUNE 1, 2020 | PAGE 2 OF 19 artists are planning virtual fan club parties as a best-option alternative to events they had to cancel that would have taken place during the festival’s run. Among those acts are Carrie Underwood, Phil Vassar and Brothers Osborne. That kind of solution is a good way to serve the existing audience, but the development of new fans is a major loss from CMA Fest’s cancellation, particularly for new and developing acts who might have caught the ear of a passing attendee in previous years. Such artists as Travis Denning, LANCO and Ryan Kinder have watched crowds grow during their sets by attracting people who simply liked a few notes or a chorus and stopped to watch the end of a performance. “It’s unfortunate for the artists, especially newer artists that really use this as kind of a launching pad to be able to have so many fans from literally around the world,” says F2 Entertainment president Fletcher Foster (Runaway June, Jessie James Decker). “Those fans can take it back to their community.” The AMG had seen Payton Smith and Kameron Marlowe gain that kind of initial traction last year and was expecting to earn CMA Fest exposure for Essex County and Alexis Wilkins. Craig Morgan remotely performed “Soldier,” from his new album God, “We were really counting on those side stages — or the B stages, if you want Family, Country, on the May 25 edition of NBC’s Today. Sharing the to call it that — to be able to get fans to know who they are,” says Beckham. screen are Today co-hosts Hoda Kotb (left) and Jenna Bush Hager. The loss of those platforms “is hard. It’s very hard.” At the other end of the spectrum, some new members of the Country Music Hall of Fame had expected to deliver celebratory sets. In a typical year, the new class is announced sometime between February and April, then inducted during an October medallion ceremony. Thanks to the coronavirus, CMA has not yet announced the 2020 inductees. The reveal likely will happen in a month or so, notes Trahern. New Hall members will keep their status private until the announcement date, though holding the secret apparently has not been a problem for at least one new inductee. “Maybe they don’t all know,” says Trahern. Ultimately, it’s doubtful too many observers disagree with the decision to shut down the festival. Pandemic-related job losses prevented a large amount of fans from making the pilgrimage to Nashville, and playing to half-empty Dolly Parton joined Time CEO/editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal on venues would have been detrimental to the event. Only one-quarter of con- May 28 for the magazine’s Time 100 Talks virtual series. sumers have asked for a refund, says Trahern, while the other 75% are in line to attend next year’s festival, to be held June 10-13, 2021. In the meantime, CMA has used the unexpected down time to update some policies and procedures, finalize marketing materials and strategies that will carry over to the 2021 event and even start work on the 50th CMA Fest, which will take place in 2022. For now, Nissan Stadium stays quiet, lower Broadway alcohol sales will re- main low, and Music Row staff who usually end the week with sore feet and sleep deprivation may rediscover that absence makes the heart grow fonder as they miss a CMA Fest that never happened. The Desert City Ramblers played a Zoom concert for WCTY New “Next Sunday night, I think I’ll be really emotional, just thinking, ‘OK, now London, Conn., listeners on May 15. From left: group members I can put this year behind us, and we can just have a killer 2021 show,’ ” says Brian McComas and Bart Walker, and WCTY promotions director Trahern. “Let the planning begin.” Nichole Breau. LONDON NEW WCTY RAMBLERS: CITY DESERT TIME, PARTON: NBC, MORGAN: DECISIVE INTELLIGENCE. DELIVERED DIGITALLY. CLICK HERE FOR FREE DELIVERY DIGITAL NEWSLETTERS BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE APRILJUNE 1 3,1, 2020 | PAGE 4 OF 19 ON THETHE CHARTSCHARTS JIMJIM ASKERASKER [email protected] [email protected] SamH‘Oneunt Margarita’’s Southside AndRules A T 6-Packop Countr: y ALukelbums; Bryan Brett YAndoung Florida ‘Catch’-es Georgia Fifth Airplay Line Leader; TravisHoist Denning Latest MakesHits History SamLuke Hunt Bryan’s scoressecond his studio 30th full-length, top 10 on Billboardand first ’sin Countryover five Airplay years, Southside chart as salesFGL FLIES (up 21%) IN Florida in the tracking Georgia week. Line cracksOn Country open its Airplay, sixth top it hops 10 on 18-15 Top (11.9 Country mil- (MCA“One Margarita”Nashville/Universal (Row Crop/Capitol Music Group Nashville) Nashville), jumps debuts 16-10 at No. on 1 on the Billboard list dated’s lionAlbums audience as its new impressions, EP, 6-Pack up (Big 16%). Machine Label Group), debuts at No. 5. In the TopJune Country 6. 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