Fall has arrived although for those that live in California you would never know it. The weather is a bit strange and unusually unpredictable but the music so far has been quite surprising. Last time out we noted that many of the record labels were putting all of their bets on Summer music but now it appears that all is in full force for the fourth quarter and for good reason. Not a beat was missed when it came time for the seasonal transition with many recording artists and bands striking the right chord.

A lot of the final quarter changes have to do with the fact that we are coming closer to the biggest music sales event of the year, and that would be the Holiday season. Record labels and recording artists realize that after all the summer tours are over, it is now that time of year that they really make or break an artist. That is all about taking full advantage of this up and coming CD sales time of year. The airplay gathered right now during the fall will no doubt set the pace for the product that will move off the shelves the fastest or the ones that will eventually hit the on-lines sales mark with good strong numbers.

Some of the heat that we are already feeling is really coming across-the-board. It’s relevant when we see the likes of a Kenny Chesney or a Garth Brooks releasing new singles around this time. We’re seeing it at pop radio when a band like Maroon 5 jumps from a #1 single right into a solid replacement track. Also getting in on the action set for the holidays is Taylor Swift with her latest. Her biggest mistake however might be the fact that she dissed Country radio with her new album but that story will no doubt deserve a second go over.

Recording artists now off the road are all over a new plan for the Fall and that includes television. You have artists like Big and Rich and others hitting just about every show that they can get on and it seems to be working. You see the artist make the big blitz and then we see the spins for those artists start to increase. As we get even closer to the big holiday season you can expect a landslide of artists appearing on Christmas specials and even making a showing on shows like The Voice and others. They will no doubt even show up on some reality shows, anything and everything to take advantage of the new season.

There is still a lingering debate on this year’s favorite Summer song as we move into fall. There have even been some on-line poles and calls into various television shows to try to grasp what people thought. We had pointed towards the Calvin Harris “Summer” as one of them but surprisingly that had little impact. In pop radio most of the votes as we predicted went to Magic’s “Rude” with its reggae Summer feel, while in Country it moved towards Jake Owen’s “Beachin” which was also one of our picks.

This is also the time of year to prepare your release for Christmas. Again, there is not a better way for new artists to sneak in the back door than to release a cleaver song for the holidays. Radio programmers are always on the watch for new and interesting songs for this special time of year. If you can make the right single you may also find your song in a Holiday music library that many programmers set up and get airplay rolling your way every season. During this time many music and program directors care more about the sound and relevance of a smart and strong Christmas song than about the artists attached to it. Use this time to get your foot in the door if you are an emerging recording artists or band. That also becomes part of your music catalog and can reap big rewards year after year. Moving into a strong musical Fall season proves one thing very loud and clear and that is that there is truly life after Summer.