For the country writers:

[matthoggard]

Howdy ya'll.I have recently been pondering the country music business and the direction it seems to be going.It is evident that the rock sound is really big right now. Ive seen this coming for a while now.Some of the songs are really great. Being a rock/country guy all my life I can really appreciate the solid rock guitar riffs and power chords that are popular in mainstream country today.What are your thoughts on where the industry might head next?I know that what we hear today was written at least a year ago.I still hear alot of traditional writing in the new stuff but it seems that the old craft is getting left further behind. There are a few artists that are holding on to it but I notice that they get way less airplay on the mainstream stations.If we are trying to stay current, and the songs we are writing today would be at least a year either on hold or in the studio is it possible to really impact the market?I recently noticed a listing a'la James Otto that we are going to try a specific write for. IF this is for mr. Otto, why would an established and well known artist/writer be looking outside of Nashville for music?Also, how many of the a'la listings we see are actually for the referenced artists?Ive read alot on how it is in Nashville, how hard it is for "outsiders" to break in. If the circles of writers and artists and publishers are so tight how can anyone possibly get a demo heard?I know your answers are going to be, "have to write a high bar song" etc. But my question is, even if you have a great song, who in Nashville will really give an outsider a chance?All the mediocre songs on the radio cant be just artist's choice and well known producers picks. I know an established artist can do pretty much what they want but there are alot of new artists recording sub-par (IMO) material. Oh well, just had to vent a little. Been listening to too much mainstream radio i guess.M~