Remain Calm ... All is Well!!!

Really? With the Country Seminar packing its tent for another year, it sure sounded like things are great and life is good. That's fantastic! Well maybe a few problems on the label side and the radio ownership side, but hey, nothing is perfect!

A research presentation showed the convention ... 61 % of the listeners have an alarm clock! That is heart-warming. I have an alarm clock! A real nice Bose clock radio. The alarm function hasn't been used since iPhone 3G in 2008, but I do have an alarm clock.

The fact that 52% have a smartphone by the bed that has no radio ability seems a little low actually ... I bet the below-30 side of the study would show much higher smartphone wakeup numbers. Radio has a HUGE hardware problem ... Lifestyles change and consolidation and cutbacks forced the listeners to change, too..

The Edison Research people revealed their survey about morning radio listener habits and Houston, there IS a problem.

Just look into your own home or neighbors during the last 10 years for sure ... and has Country radio changed ? You be the judge.

Morning TV has boomed in the last 10 years. It's become the profit center for the TV station ... 5-7a ... 4-7a for some stations ... and for the Fox stations with no network show, 5-9a. TV stations give the former radio listeners the information that radio does not do or do well anymore.

A smartphone wakes them up ... the TV goes on to check out the world. Where is radio? Not sure ... the local factor on many stations is gone. Network radio shows with some local breaks, but people needed storm coverage, as we needed this week, and they went to local TV!

Now the cord-cutter people with no digital TV ... who knows what they are doing, but I bet they are not doing it with an alarm clock!

The survey also said people stay in bed 30 minutes after they wake up. Really? On a weekday? Maybe ... one of my millennial daughters starts out slow. One thing for sure: Radio still has the commute ... the first and best chance for radio to stay in the game and maybe get back into the game, with 86% in a car traveling alone. I know those people don't want to sit and listen to a bunch of commercials ... too many stopsets and not enough content. DEAF PROGRAMMERS, LISTEN! LISTENERS WANT NEWS 88% ... Information 88% ... 81% want water-cooler topics ... GOOD CONTENT... if they want music, they can stream or go to sat radio ... they want their days enlightened ... commercials every seven minutes is not going to compete with streaming and all music alternatives. I hope someone actually reads the Edison survey!

The sheer number of new artists at CRS had to be overwhelming. Time will tell who breaks out. Garth got the headlines ... Dierks got a good bit of coverage. The Sony boat ride with this year's surprise, Cheap Trick, is always a favorite. Breakout artists? Not sure yet.

European tours underway this week for Luke and FGL ...37 and mist in Stockholm as I write ... feels like 15 in Nashville ... That's crazy!

Wynonna had a bus catch fire this week ... Sam Hunt getting more and more attention in media ... Zac Brown playing SNL March 7th ... Former Country star Taylor Swift winning at London's Brit Awards ... The Kardashians getting $100 million for three more years of TV shows. Live Nation doing a 150-show deal with The Backstreet Boys ... This is an interesting world!