Country Music Lights Up Texas!

Not enough is said about one of if not THE largest showcase for Country every year, RodeoHouston.

Keith Urban played to 72,564 paid ticket buyers on Thursday March 15th. Keith was just one of nearly a dozen acts playing to a stadium full of fans ... Garth played to 75,000-ish twice!

Then there's Cody Johnson. He got the biggest audience for an independent label act ever: 74,177. One local manager was asked about him and said, "Never heard of him."

Cody Johnson is one of those Texas phenoms like Pat Green, but who knows what will happen if he falls under the control of Nashville? George Strait pulled it off, but many more have failed.

Luke Bryan, Dustin Lynch down under as American Country acts play to enthusiastic Aussie crowds. The economics of going there still seems to weigh on the career date, not a money date. But Luke and family are there on what seems like a paid, working vacation. He played the arena across the street from an Ed Sheeran show with 100,000.

And who knows what to think about the two largest radio companies now in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection? iHeartMedia filed in Houston this week. The company bosses told the employees in an e-mail and on a phone conference all is well. No firings, no station sales, everybody getting paid. They ended the calls with a congratulations.

Radio still makes money, still is the most influential music conduit. Yes, there is huge competition, but radio's biggest enemy is the franchise style it adopted years ago. The sameness, voicetracked, lack-of-immediacy sound that makes it nothing more than a jukebox. The Spotifys, etc. are better jukeboxes. They have no commercials.

Radio is a wonderful medium. Be it talk, sports or music, when done well there is nothing better.

Hopefully, this iHeart restructuring will make them better. Paying a billion in interest every year puts a whipping on any company.

The ACMs are around the corner. Who knows how they will be received this year? Idol vs The Voice was never a real competition. I like both ... I'm watching Idol as they try so hard to pump new life into it. I'm still trying to understand why Katy Perry was worth $25 million.

The tabloids are hitting on Country again on a regular basis. Carrie stories, Blake and Gwen, Miranda stories and Keith and Nicole stories. All fabrications. The price of fame!

Several stories going out in the consumer press about record sales. They are in the toilet. Timberlake and others selling a fraction of what they were doing the last project. Toys R Us going out of business, record sales crashing, Cumulus and iHeart in Chapter 11 ... these are difficult times for media companies.

Will Amazon, Google and Apple just take over the world? And is Music Row on top of all this or simply trying to figure out how to get into the game?

Live music is still making money. The Strawberry Festival near Tampa had great luck with Reba, Brad Paisley and Casting Crowns. The fan surprise was Jerry Lee Lewis. He played two hours. Two hours of strong singing and piano pounding. Had to be helped on and off stage ... But still there were "Great Balls of Fire!" He is 82!