Sturgill Simpson Kills Music Row

https://m.facebook.com/sturgillsimpsonmusic/posts/1294328383933460:0
Well done.

 

I'm going to see him at the Ryman in October

 

More info:

He continues (in actual Simpson Facebook post:

Simpson (again) continues, about being blackballed by Nashville and still giving precisely zero ****s:

Of course, he's absolutely correct, in all regards.

A testament to their friendship (Simpson, Isbell and Chris Stapleton are close friends), Jason Isbell said this, in response:

Link: http://www.rollingstone.com/country...will-be-blackballed-from-the-industry-w436949
Link: http://tasteofcountry.com/sturgill-simpson-disgusted-with-acms-merle-haggard-award/

Not trying to hone in boys, but just thought it deserved its own thread.

 

Some of the photos for "Garden and Gun" magazine, that they scrapped, saying there weren't any shots good enough for a cover:

This one sucks.

Pure shit.


They're not even wearing skinny jeans for crissakes!


Not a damn dollop of tan spray or teeth whitener to be found. What is this?!

 

Simpson is the man.

 

Those pics are great, the 3rd especially

 

Sturgill gives no shits.

 

I think the 4th is the best of the lot. But to say they couldn't find a cover out of 2 hours of a shoot is stupid.

It won't be long, with the internet the way it is, that Music Row and all the big labels will go away, anyway. Sturgill has made a pretty good life for himself simply by YouTube and word of mouth.

EDIT:

Oh, and I am sure Merle and Johnny Cash are nodding their heads somewhere.

 

The guy just put on a red hat that said "Make Country Music Great Again." Then basically demanded that less popular artists and music be paid for by someone else because it was more in line with "how things were."

Country music is an example of the free market. The market wants the popular music. Embrace it, or don't. But don't go angry old white man.

 

Precisely how I feel.

If you want to take issue with the state of country music, go after the people listening to it, buying it or going to see it in person. The artists, including Sturgill Simpson (whom I love) are only giving their customers what they want.

 

I disagree. Was a time when music companies would take chances, expose a few more radical groups. But now, if you don't look like Adonis and can dance like Jackson, good luck.

Haggard, Paycheck, Cash, Nelson, Kristofferson, Dylan, etc might not even get a shot these days on the radio. But the monopoly is ending/has ended. I rarely listen to broadcast radio any longer and have a USB player in my car and SiriusXM. The internet is changing everything.

 

This is precisely why these companies don't take chances. There are other outlets for them to utilize. Typically, once these other outlets prove the group popular, the companies then offer label deals.

This is also how its been done for ever, its just that dive bars have been replaced by YouTube.

 

I felt like he was complaining more about the guys that were actively pushing Merle Haggard aside now trying to boost the reputation of their current pop acts by attaching Merle Haggard's name to their awards.

 

He's pissed off that people are using Merle Haggard's name to make money and sell something he didn't like or agree with when he was alive. I don't really see angry old white man there.

 

He just added the "**** Nashville, I'm moving" after that.

 

Except now you have guys turning down record labels and still selling the shit out of their stuff due to YouTube and itunes.

 

Is Lost Highway still around? They used to have some pretty solid artists.

 

And sans Haggard's estate saying you can't do that, there you have it. If Haggard's estate comes back and says they believe he was unjustly pushed aside, and they don't want his name attached to any awards or acts, it would have much more impact that angry white guy blog post.

And let's not pretend the backstory to why it wasn't liked or agreed with wasn't because of the pop style to the music.

 

Some do. Most would still rather have a label to help with promotion.

But yea, they aren't standing on corners selling CDs and cassettes and pocketing the cash, like they were at dive bars after shows. And then not reporting that income.

Now they have digitally tracked income to report.

 

They sell plenty of cds at their concerts too