We are now moving well into the final quarter and that’s a strong signal that the year is fast coming to an end. It seems to happen in the blink of an eye that we are already into the Fall season and that before we know it the holidays will be upon us. Here at New Music Weekly we can feel the heat as labels both major and independent are releasing songs as fast as they can just to get a piece of the holiday buying season. The mixed bag of product is quite something and it showcases more than ever that crossover is the name of the game. Artists look to get better coverage by making their music available to multi-formats.

No picture is better to underscore this than the recent pairing of recording artists Dan + Shay & Justin Bieber. The new “10,000 Hours” (Warner Music Nashville) is breaking from mainstream to Country and the numbers are off the charts. Also getting things going under the wire are numerous artists from the American Idol franchise. You have former Idol star Gabby Barrett breaking things wide open with her new and powerful “I Hope” (WMN) that appears to be well it’s way. Lauren Alaina, who is also getting a boost of popularity during her stint on “Dancing With The Stars”, is breaking fast with “Getting Good” (19 Recordings/Mercury Nashville). It’s also good to see that Maddie Poppe is getting some love at radio for her new “Not Losing You” (Hollywood). All of this is happening just as a new season of American Idol gets underway.

Last minute entries into the radio world also include Niall Horan who is breaking at pop radio with “Nice To Meet Ya” to Sam Hunt back at the Country format in a very big way with his strong “Kinfolks” (MCA Nashville) offering. New Indie artists also abound with the likes of Benny Marsella with his heartfelt “A Special Kind Of Love” (Scheherazade), rising star Joe Taylor who makes his debut with “I Can’t Make You Love” to new pop rocker  Wax with “Diamond In The Rough” (Independent) just to name a few. All you have to do is look at our charts in this issue to see all of the new song entries to are exploding at radio.

In addition to the rush to get songs out there from pop to Country, it’s also the time that when our radio stations, music and program directors begin to get their Christmas music plans in order. Holiday music is still one of the best ways to gain attention whether you are a major or an independent music artist. One of the many benefits of getting jump on new and original holiday music is that for many programmers, they have a library of such music that they take out each and every year. Getting a good song out there for the season could mean having your music part of that library and that could be of a huge benefit to any new or established recording artist. Radio is always on the hunt for new holiday music.

It’s also that time of year when the music awards come into play.  All of us here are getting the early prep for our annual New Music Awards. Over the next month we will be polling many of our music and program directors to get a feel for the artists, bands & songs that have had the biggest impact for 2019. It’s quite a task but necessary for us to get their input on music that has been important to their music programming. Again this year we will also be offering an open ballot designed to let music fans and our subscribers have a helping hand in not only choosing our nominees but also our final winners as well. This  allows for a wider range of opportunity to all artist that deserve some attention.

As we have mentioned many times before, New Music Weekly continues to offer some of the best “tools of the trade” when it comes to breaking music & artists at radio. From the very beginning for us it’s always been about leveling the playing field and giving independent artists as much of a voice at major label artists. Many of you may have noticed the new improvement in our music charts and of the STS tracking system that helps to fuel those charts. From our advertising opportunities to our annual New Music Awards, we continue to blaze a trail for both the major and the independent artist. Our next issue will be the Best of 2019 where artists and bands will have a final award nomination shot.