We are so thrilled and pleased to be a part of this year’s CRS (Country Radio Seminar) once again. This grand event really signals the start of the music year with not only respect to Country radio but other formats as well. Once again we are most likely holding court in the media room with interviews and getting a chance to meet many artists and bands in person for the first time.  It also gives us the chance to get together with artists we have met or worked with in the past and for that, it’s somewhat of a homecoming of sorts.

Not only is there a fair representation of recording artists and groups, there are always a good number of radio stations, record labels, music and program directors, not to mention the many industry professionals from publicists to promoters in attendance. Each year we try our best to block off a little time to spend with the many of you, so if you aren’t on our original list please know that we will try to get to all of you very soon.

We can remember year’s past meeting a very shy artist just signed to the Warner Brother label that we could hardly understand. His mullet and ten gallon hat only disguised an
up and coming artists we now know as superstar Blake Shelton. There were also glimpses into the very early start of a very young Taylor Swift with her glitter guitar in hand. Rascal Flatts gave us some great unplugged performances and that unknown band we now know as Florida Georgia Line also got it all started right here at a CRS event. We’ve captured a good many of these performances with our NMW cameras and they have served as a music history scrapbook that we look to each and every year.

Meeting and interviewing artists during CRS also helps to supply us with news and information about recording artists that we use for an entire year. It also provides a special calendar of what the record labels have in store for their up-coming release schedules. Artists and bands that are here in attendance are either being pushed to the forefront by their respective record labels or they have taken their own initiative to represent themselves to the music industry. Either way they all deserve some respect and attention here.

For some of you that may be reading New Music Weekly for the very first time, welcome to what we call our New Music Revolution. For a good many years we have been tracking and writing about artists and bands, not only from the major label level but also from the independent arena. Our music charts from Country to Mainstream represent the very best mix no matter how small or large and this gives us the ability to give you a better understanding about how artists are doing according on our panel of radio stations. With regards to our panel of stations, all are treated as equals regardless of market size.

We are currently getting ready to announce the winners for our 2015 New Music Awards. As of this writing it looks like those announcements will be made a week after CRS. Our music tracking systems provide the very best in keeping pace with both the majors and independents. With our printed and on-line distribution of the magazine we still provide the very best “tools of the trade” for any label or artist.  We are also involved in a number of showcase events and gatherings over the next few days and we hope to meet a good many of you in-person at one or the other happenings.

All of us at New Music Weekly understand the importance of CRS and all that it provides artists, bands and record labels. For those of you unable to attend, consider us your eyes and ears for this annual extravaganza. We all look forward to a very successful event here.