Taylor Swift's Fifteen not hitting our playlist.

[blondey82]

So I've seen the video and heard the song for fifteen by Taylor Swift. Is it just me or did she have a good thing going with her country crossover. Thought it was something new and something she'd work on. This latest "Fifteen" falls short of her last song but still carries that same "I'm a young girl that's been hurt" attitude. Sorry Swift, this one isn't coming anywhere near my station anytime soon.
Oh, and I'm sorry you were dumped when you were younger. I think we all were at some point. The question is, when will you get over it... geez

[vegasgrl]

Hahaha.. agreed keep the country where it belongs.

[gemini8400]

So I've seen the video and heard the song for fifteen by Taylor Swift. Is it just me or did she have a good thing going with her country crossover. Thought it was something new and something she'd work on. This latest "Fifteen" falls short of her last song but still carries that same "I'm a young girl that's been hurt" attitude. Sorry Swift, this one isn't coming anywhere near my station anytime soon.
Oh, and I'm sorry you were dumped when you were younger. I think we all were at some point. The question is, when will you get over it... geez

You're missing the point. It's not about what YOU think. Does she relate to your audience? Yes.

[blondey82]

I understand its not what I think, but I do feel that format does make a difference here. If I start adding country songs to my playlist I will lose listeners.

[jetdavis]

I understand its not what I think, but I do feel that format does make a difference here. If I start adding country songs to my playlist I will lose listeners.

Blondey-- If anyone reading this board considers Taylor Swift a Country artist, they should have their head examined. She's the pure definition of Pop music; Mass appeal in every way and one hell of a songwriter on any level in any format. As it was stated before, you have to stop putting your personal tastes in the way of playing hit records. That's the same thing I said a few years ago to a PD who was on the fence about Mercy Me "I Can Only Imagine," to this day that record tests like a power for him. Or what about the station who added Taylor Swift's first single to ONE batch of callout and it came back with triple digit scores across the board, it almost went right in to power from Day 1, it was even strong with Urban P1s. Wish I could tell you what station that was (company policy) but what I can say is that it was a Mainstream CHR in Florida (all FL Mainstream CHR's have a slight Rhythm lean) whos market is around 17% ethnic...certainly if it can work for them, it can work for you.

Based on your quote, you still have ALOT to learn about your audience, but you do have one thing going for you: You want to protect them and somtimes protecting them means stepping out on a record that has mass appeal but miiiight not fit the format just perfectly (see my Mercy Me example above) not giving another station fighting for the same demo the opportunity to "own" it, in this case you're just shooting at the wrong target.