W E E K L Y
The Year In Music & More
River House/Columbia’s Luke Combs is three-for-three, topping Country Aircheck/Mediabase data as the most-heard artist at Country radio, as he was in 2019 and 2020. Rounding out the top five are Luke Bryan, Thomas Rhett, Florida Georgia Line and Kane Brown. Miranda Lambert is the mostheard female artist ahead of Gabby Barrett, with FGL topping Duo/Group, followed by Dan + Shay. Niko Moon is the most-heard new artist, and Rhett’s “What’s Your Country Song” is the most-heard song. Now at 13 years running, Capitol/ Luke Combs Nashville is the No. 1 airplay label, followed by BMLG Records, Broken Bow, Columbia and Big Loud. The top 10 chart share labels, top performing artists and the Top 100 songs of the year are in the December print edition of Country Aircheck, out later this week. (Note all data for the 2021 chart year reflects airplay between Nov. 8, 2020 and Nov. 6, 2021.) Beyond the year Miranda Lambert in music, the issue’s Top Stories looks at the resumption of touring, changes at radio, ratings and market share for the format and genre, the future of awards shows and questions still facing Morgan Wallen. CMA winners discuss their big week in Nashville, and label promotion teams tout their 2022 music priorities. Finally, in The Interview, Academy of Country Music CEO Damon Whiteside Thomas Rhett takes readers inside his two-year-tenure, which has yet to find a predictable groove as it races toward the first major streaming-only awards show next year in Las Vegas. “Everything is a first,” he says. “We had to figure out how Lifting Lives was going to support people through the pandemic and raise money for that. (continued on page 10)
December 13, 2020 • Issue 736
Prose Over Bros: “Somebody Like That” songwriters Allison Veltz Cruz, Tenille Arts and Alex Kline celebrate country’s first No. 1 written, performed and produced exclusively by women at Nashville’s Hampton Social. Pictured (top, l-r) are Gator Michaels Consulting’s Gator Michaels, Noblevision’s Hal Oven, Porterfied Publishing’s Tom Porter, Hipgnosis’ Pete Robinson, Porterfied Publishing’s Derek Simon and BMI’s MaryAnn Keen; (bottom, l-r) Empire’s Heather Vassar, Hipnosis’ Emily Boardman, BMI’s Leslie Roberts, Cruz, Arts, Kline and SESAC’s Shannan Hatch and Lydia Schultz.
Radiothons: Country Radio Strong
Country radio showed just how impactful it can be this past week, as dozens of stations aired their annual radiothons, the vast majority benefitting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Across the 52 stations for which Country Aircheck collected data, more than $13 million dollars was raised for good causes. Radiothons are demanding and require long hours from staff. They can also be emotionally draining, but this list (next page) is proof positive that all the effort is worth it. Country Aircheck salutes all those involved in radiothon efforts for a job well done.
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