Charlie Cook On Air: Merry Christmas

Can you believe that it is Christmas next week? Well of course you can, there are decorations all over the place, you’ve spent more time at the mall or on-line shopping and you’re winding down for the year.

I hope that you’re ready. I hope that you have wrapped up your shopping. Though I suspect with a three-day weekend going into Christmas on Tuesday you may have procrastinated like I have.

Because I am not done with my shopping I thought that I would make a list. I am not going to speak for all of Nashville, just for myself, with an eye to what some people might be hoping for under the tree.

1. More primary color CDs. Red was a huge seller. How about Blue and Green. And then in 2014 Cyan, Magenta and Yellow.
2. Two more record company jobs. There appears to be one more person than jobs. This is the living and breathing musical chairs but with two more jobs there would always be one open.
3. A solution to the performance rights battle. Maybe we put Bob Pittman and Kenny Chesney in a room and whoever comes out wins.
4. A new chart system where nothing is older than 2 weeks. That way it is always fresh and an artist can chart each cut on their CD in 6 months.
5. Reduced airfares between Nashville and Atlanta.
6. To even the ratings landscape in multiple country station markets, the leading station must play “Achy Breaky Heart” at least once per shift.
7. The very talented Trace Adkins has his sentence commuted so that he doesn’t have to host the ACAs next year.
8. More TV shows like Nashville. Maybe Branson. The same topics but with more of an accent. And an older cast for CBS TV.
9. More instances where the Grammys reach out to Nashville. Like awarding a country song the Grammy in the Country category.
10. Fifty-three number ones next year. We’ll work out the details.

Merry Christmas. May you get what you wish for.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of MusicRow.)