Good Old George!

Leave it to the king to remove some of the stink and sting of poor retail CD sales. King George should send 160,000-170,000 through the bar code readers and debut #1 Country and Pop ... even beating R.E.M.

No one is surprised. (Even George is down in sales, though; his last CD did 242,000 first week).

See where iTunes is now the #1 music retailer? The artists and others are not that happy about that ... but you better deal with it; they are not going away. The MySpace music thing will be a non-starter, too...

That credit card thing one label brought out hasn't taken off really, either. Congrats for trying anything. It seems the labels along Music Row are almost paralyzed.

The system is a bit out of control. On one end it's turned into a singles sales industry again. On the other end, see where Tim made $70 million last year and Faith $49 million? Keith Urban $35 million? I'm proud of them, but how in the world did that happen? Think about it. The top five or so Country folks made more than almost any actor/actress you can name. It is amazing. And more so when you see how little by comparison the acts before them made.

A million a night? It's all relative with inflation, etc. but still. You won't be hiring a country act for your garden party most likely!

Taylor Swift playing a Coke event at the Final Four on Sunday, She is FIRE! Big & Rich playing for the NASCAR faithful in Fort Worth.

Willie doing his picnic in Selma, Texas this year -- 4th of July in Texas, where it belongs. Jo Dee Messina hosting a big show for CBS this week. 10pm ET/PT on Tuesday the 8th. "Secret Talents of the Stars" ... Mr Sulu from Star Trek is singing country and Clint Black doing stand-up. Hmm...

The stars are involved in the clothes business...perfumes, etc. Big money in them there jeans and hats! Reba has all kinds of clothes at Dillards. Kenny Chesney in the blue jean biz now and Mr. Strait has been pushing hats and Wranglers for a long time! Smart managers at work.

Trace Adkins making a movie with Kelsey Grammer. A David Zucker film. It's a Scrooge remake and trace is an Angel!

"America Idol" rolling along ... lots of stars this week as they do their charity show. Any Country stars in this bunch? David Cook is the winner at this point ... must beat little David and the tattooed women...all three NON-country...Kristy Lee Cook of Oregon is not impressing, but she may still get a good look by the label gang -- maybe. I love Brooke White; she's not an "Idol" winner ... MAY make the Top 5, but who cares.. She's sweet and lovable and good, too. Don't wait; buy her now!

Just learned about "Country Goes Huntin'" ... Dothan Wednesday night ... wish I could go ... sounds real cool ... check their website. Google: Country Goes Huntin '(no G)

iTunes is controversial, but it is what it is ... You Tube equally so ... if you can't beat them, join them. I have a huge site on You Tube - 170-plus videos; .go to www.youtube.com, then search: askjimmycarter, then click the link to channels...I have my reasons...lots of interviews; more country ones coming...