Country Music Concert Dates

Google The Village Voice newspaper; there's a fascinating article on Chesney's show at Madison Square Garden. A different take on things, but pretty dead on. Just go to site and put Chesney in search box.

Add up the gross concert sales for Kenny, George, Tim & Faith, Toby and Martina ... that's a LOT of money. I bet close to $300-400 million. CD sales stink, but the concert business is very healthy for the first 10 or so acts in the country major leagues.

Rene Zellweger and Paul McCartney? The British tabloids were foaming at the mouth and may still be even after Sir Paul denied any relations. Just friends. Hmm...His divorce is STILL going on, by the way.

Carrie Underwood selling 71,000 digital download singles the first week broke a record. She is the golden girl of Music Row right now.

The Farm Aid folks just can't get a PR break. They set the show this weekend for New York City ... and MTV throws their big show LIVE from Vegas with naked Britney Spears opening. The NFL opens and Farm Aid may get a sentence on Monday. Bad PR people who I hope were NOT paid ANY money.

Keith Urban tour dates should be out for the fall. Kelly Clarkson, too. Shania back in North America this week to push her latest perfume. Has she waited too long to get in the game? Can a middle-aged mom get back in with Kellie, Carrie, Taylor and Miranda? "Dale," the movie, is breaking all records for audience on CMT. Reason: It was an excellent project about a Southern legend and hero. Put good stuff on and they will come!

Speaking of that, the bosses at TV and radio on the local level -- any level -- are quickly losing their minds. Panic has set in at newspapers, too, and knee-jerk reactions are everywhere. Promoting the Internet in every break ...and no call letters ... very different approaches. Right one? Time will tell.

Some things don't change. Management's total inability to be human in human resource issues...

This major-market DJ writes ( I cant give his name): "I was the first casualty, notified by cell phone. Could be worse; I could be Wolfman Jack. He's still got his gig at XM, but he's dead.

"Newly placed management team doesn't even have a shoestring budget. Other management problems include a zero priority forlisteners, complete lack of entertainment experience, a "format" being phoned in from an out of town, consultant and an arrogance that defies logic."

Or read this from a TV news site, but it relates to how things are being done all over broadcasting; this regards the canning of a major news anchor at Fox's KTTV-LA:

"John Beard's dismissal hit the KTTV newsroom particularly hard, causing at least one staffer to write: 'Television journalism is dead in L.A. [from] corporate ownership, worried about nothing but tying in news to entertainment programming, and duopolies diminishing all competition, and the downsizing of newsrooms. Internet live shots that no one watches or cares about, reporters that have never learned journalistic ethics. but have been overly trained in LIVE SHOTS and REPORTER INVOLVEMENT. John Beard was the last surviving journalist who fought to save TV news from all of these downfalls."

Sound like a familiar song? It's everywhere. It's in TV management, freaking out and firing anyone that doesn't fit a multicultural casting call. Experience out. Cheap kids out of school with little to no training are in.... It's very sad.

Is it all Internet? Pretty much that and a "rich get richer, poor get poorer" economy. HD radio? Sat radio? High-def TV, iPods at $79. It is a playing field where the current bosses don't seem to have the insight of a Bill Drake or a Bill Paley to handle. They are caretakers, not land-breakers.

I'm not sure how this story is going to end.