Just One Big High School

With the CMA voting getting close to the end and the Grammy nominations in the creation stage, who are these "voters" who determine who gets in and who doesn't. Same city, but a little different voters for these two awards.

The Grammy folks are strictly the people who work in the music business with very few outsiders. The CMAs include a lot of radio people who don't live in Nashville and may not play politics like the locals.

The voters involved in the publishing business have the most weight. Their influence runs deep. Both awards.

The artists' "in" crowd and the "out" crowd. Miranda and Carrie are popular ... Keith Urban is popular. Like in high school. Then there are the jocks ... Toby Keith would be one, though I never understood his fall from grace after his CMA EOY win. Jason Aldean is in that zone right now. It makes no sense. No nominations. That really does look bad. He will perform on the show, but this remains odd.

If the awards are about the work, then sales should help judge the popularity of the work. At The Grammys, sales are a factor but something else is in play there. The Beatles and Stones were never Grammy favorites. Elvis maybe once for gospel. The voters were never in sync with the popularity. A disconnect the elite often have with the "folks." Maybe that's what is going on now.

The "Bro" disconnect with CMA voters may be part music and part personal. The "Bro" music is on a sales fire. Half the top 20 single downloads are either Aldean or FG&L. They are huge! Jason deserved The Entertainer of the Year nomination based on sales if nothing else. Maybe even a win, but the CMA voters said no. I can't find any sense in the snub. Other than personal. And that is sad if that is the reason.

The rivalry is real. Competition is intense. These days, e-mails are flying to the voters. I was especially impressed with the one for Cole Swindell. This artist has accomplished more than most think when you lay out the facts. I knew he was doing well as Luke Bryan's wing man but he is doing really, really well.

The diversity in sound is good if you listen to the wide spectrum. The sales, though, are focused on a very few. Carrie, Luke, Jason, FGL, Blake ... then it gets a little thin. The passion for ownership in Country remains in the reach of just a few.

Politics is everywhere. It is that way in Grammy land ... CMA land ... Rock and Roll Hall of Fame selections. It is not often fair but it is the way it is. Look at all the folks NOT in the Rock Hall ... Dolly and Willie on the Country side ... Deep Purple and Chicago ... really! Bon Jovi, Whitney Houston, I could go on ... The Moody Blues,Grand Funk ... it's a stupid list ... Look at the ones going in now ... POLITICS!

So don't get too upset over the Jason Aldean snub. He is in good company!

Very good Billboard article on how much stars make on the road. They keep $30 of every $100 ... then pay taxm not the 30%...

Bad Journalism week: The facts of a story are real important ... duh! The writers of various publications trying to do a Willie Nelson pig tails selling at The Waylon auction in Arizona were all over the place ... San Antonio paper $25,000 ... Dallas Morning News $37,000 ... Arizona paper $31,250 ... pick a price ... I have no idea ... crazy ... Hope they cover Ebola with more accuracy! I think the Republic's Kaila White is the winner with $31,250.

Garth Brooks to North Carolina before Thanksgiving as the train keeps a-rollin'. Chesney to Columbus, Ohio for first announced stadium show of 2015 -- 6/21/15. Opening act Keith Urban ... tickets 10/14 10a, Ticketmaster $250 down to $40 ... Same folks who do the Bayou Superfest in Baton Rouge.

Flurry of tours now to wrap-up the year ... end runs for Paisley in Canada, Aldean in Texas, Luke wrapping Farm Tour in Macon, then West Coast and Hollywood Bowl.

Find the Glen Campbell story in NBC NEWS archive/website from this week. Can't talk, but can still play that Ovation. Amazing!