Kenny Chesney Not On Spotify

Hasn't he got enough money?

Then again, maybe he's not only exclusive to Apple, maybe you can hear his new album "Cosmic Hallelujah" via Amazon, but I doubt it and researching it is too hard, these acts don't realize Apple and Amazon's streaming services are narrow silos whose contents are invisible to those who do not pay, it's like putting on a show where most people can't go and there are no reviews, what's the point of that?

Kenny's been working it. There's press everywhere, he did a town hall on No Shoes Radio, his SiriusXM station, but you can't stream the album on Spotify... Talk about noise Kenny, by time your LP arrives on the green service there'll be something new, you've got to strike when the iron is hot, while the looky-loos still care, and Kenny you need them to fill your stadium gigs.

Furthermore, you know when the LP goes wide Spotify's gonna bury it, no matter what they say. Steve Jobs was the king of retaliation, it's in the DNA of his company, you expect Spotify to play nice? I don't think so.

And Troy Carter said at the "Wall Street Journal"'s D Conference last week that Spotify would never get rid of its free tier, because some people will never pay. There you have it. Spotify's the new radio, and people listened to the radio and bought concert tickets and merch from time immemorial.

But the dirty little secret is right now streaming is anemic for country acts. Just like with CDs, sales plummeted in country last. So even if you're on Spotify it's not really hurting you. And does it hurt you anyway?

What game is Kenny Chesney playing here? We're already off Lady Gaga, she's in the rearview mirror. Imagine if her new album weren't on Spotify, when she came to the service no one would listen!

But Kenny thinks country will never change, that it will still be radio driven, that he'll whip out his tracks one by one, they'll run them to number one and there will be partying in the streets.

No.

That game is on its way to extinction. Just look at pop. Where the tracks break on streaming services first and radio picks up the crumbs. Actually, we saw this movie once before, thirty years ago, with MTV. Suddenly, the tail was wagging the dog, radio had to play what MTV did, and when it did not, the station's ratings took a nosedive.

Funny how Kenny will take a stand on this but not anything else. His vaunted single "Noise"... Come on Kenny, who are you for, Hillary or the Donald, you can tell us, but you won't, you're too much of a wimp. Imagine the classic rock acts refusing to say. They had backbones, they cared, you don't.

What does Kenny Chesney stand for?

Relaxing on the beach. That's where we are these days folks. Escapism is everything. And you wonder why music no longer drives the culture.

I just can't understand how acts can be so fan unfriendly. They pay fealty to those footing the bill again and again and then screw them. Not only with exclusives on streaming, but ticketing too.

It's a rip-off culture. Ready to be disrupted. Just like food. McDonald's cruised along for years, then fast casual came along and it turned out people would rather pay a few bucks extra for something really good.

When the revolution comes, and it will, acts like Kenny Chesney will be buried by those speaking the truth.

Someone's gonna come along and lay their heart bare and turn country music upside down. Do you really think this bro thing is forever?

What kind of bizarre world do we live in where the distributor is hipper than the artist? That's right, Spotify is more forward thinking than Kenny Chesney and more beloved. Records come and go, Spotify remains. Remember that, no act is bigger than the streaming service, it lived for years without the Beatles and grew quite nicely. Distribution is bigger than your act, how come Kenny Chesney doesn't know that?

In movies and TV they want you to buy multiple streaming services. Think of a movie and you can't see it, not unless you pay someone you're not already subscribing to, and chances are they don't have it either.

But in music we fought that war. Everything's in one place for one low price, sorta.

As for those rearguard people still hating on Spotify... I guess you hate Uber too. You're still using a typewriter instead of a computer. When I look at the "Billboard" chart I laugh, how inaccurate can you be? Sales are a de minimis part of the picture and the fact that streaming one damn song enough counts as an album is insane, kinda like saying if I masturbated a hundred times it's equivalent to sexual intercourse. Because that's what the "Billboard" chart is, masturbation. A scoreboard for an industry so out of touch it can't handle the truth.

The truth is streaming already won. And you're competing with the history of recorded music. It's tough out there, to gain attention, to be streamed. You don't want to fight with one hand tied behind your back.

Total streams is the only metric that matters. When "Billboard" wakes up and says this god knows.

So, Kenny gets more press when his record goes number one.

But that's only for a week. Then what? What's gonna drive people to stream after the publicity dies down?

Kenny Chesney thinks he's setting the world on fire, but the truth is he's in his basement with a can of Sterno, roasting weenies that no one can eat.

That's the road to success?

Shame on you, you're furthering country's stance as the most ignorant format.

Be a leader. Use your pulpit for good. Shame other country acts to embrace streaming.

But no, you'd rather get an award on a TV show and be all shucks about it.

Makes me vomit.


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