Ask any of the thousands of struggling musicians in Nashville and they’ll tell you: entertainment is a heartbreaking business. Most performers don’t ever get the chance to stand on a stage like the Ryman Auditorium or play late night television, or even sign a record deal.

So why keep doing it? Because some dreams refuse to die, in spite of all logical reasoning. Republic Nashville’s Eli Young Band seemingly remembers what determination feels like, because “Even If It Breaks Your Heart”–the CountryBreakout Chart’s new No. 1 song–is an anthem for the dreamers. Written by top-shelf singer/songwriters Will Hoge and Eric Paslay, “Even If It Breaks Your Heart” is a rallying cry in the vein of “Don’t Stop Believin’,” something that demands rolling down the windows and shouting at the top of one’s lungs. (Or, you know, so I’ve heard).

Eli Young Band has definitely made it through those days of struggle at this point. “Even If It Breaks Your Heart” follows up the group’s “Crazy Girl,” which became a smash No. 1 hit and won the ACM Award for Song of the Year. The group is also currently nominated for two CMT Music Awards, which will take place Wednesday, June 6.

The CMA has really taken the lead in fan research. The organization’s financial and manpower commitment is unmatched and this week there is new information that is valuable for anyone involved on any level with the Country Music consumer.

The survey was conducted online with over 1100 respondents over the age of 18. Usually the panel is made up of 18-64 year olds but in this study 4% of the people were over the age of 65. The average age was 43 years. A majority (56%) fell between 18-49 and 59% were 25-54.

The respondents come from the CMA Insider Fan Panel that the CMA has spent the last few years building. These are active Country Music fans but the results here are from a random sample of the Fans who agreed to participate in this specific study.

The overall panel skews female but this study was overwhelmingly female at 78%. The CMA likes to include education in their studies and I am sure that stations appreciate this answer because the question is asked, if only silently.

I am always surprised by the results though. In this study 71% of the people had some college, up to completing some post graduate work. (This is a more learned group than I usually hang out with, but that says more about me than them).

Okay, the table is set and I think you’re going to really like the meal. Particularly if you’re in Country Radio. The first course has 87% of the respondents saying that they are listening the same or more to their local Country Radio Station. The really tasty bite here is that 18-24 years olds are twice as likely to say that they are listening to a local Country Radio station.

The average Time Spent listening to Country Radio per day is 4 and one half hours. And the average time spent listening to Country Music from OTHER sources is 3 hours a day. (When do these folks have the time to do their post graduate studies? I am just asking).

The study found that 35% of the respondents do their listening to Country Music over the Internet. This includes streaming AM/FM radio.

There are many things that Country Radio can learn from this study, which by the way is available on line at CMAworld.com. You need to be a member of the CMA to access the entire study but if you are in Country Radio you ARE a member as they deputized everyone this year as a way of saying, “Hey, 2012 is the Year of Country Radio.”  (Thank yous go to Brandi Simms).

This comes up in every study and most stations ignore it, but again 80% of the listeners say that it is extremely important that stations identify the artist and song title. Most PDs “just say no” to this and I am one of those. I do think that stations should be required by law to do 4 minute reports on a performer every time they play a song by a new artist. (Just kidding).

Good news for disc jockeys, both of you. Forty-nine percent of the respondents identify the DJ as an important part of choosing a station. Note to Clear Channel executives: this does not mean that 51% think that voice-tracking DJs is acceptable.

I know that I struggle each month, here at West Virginia Radio Corp, with the streaming costs associated with music stations, but 28% of Country Music fans think that having their favorite Country Radio station available on-line is extremely important. Can we all agree that this number is going to go up? As are the streaming costs.

Arbitron has announced that it can begin to combine terrestrial and online numbers for ratings but there are still some things to work out before you can begin to sell this to advertisers.

We all know that loyalty is job No. 1 at radio. In fact, that is the bane and the boon for many programmers, depending on which side you’re on. Fully 75% of the listeners say their habits are influenced by listening to the same station for years.

Only 15% said that they were inclined to listen because they met a DJ in person. This is one case where we know why the other 85% don’t listen. They met a DJ in person.

Broadcast radio in the car is far and away the number one device for listening to music at 93% of the respondents pegging this as their choice. You know that Oprah said, “Don’t listen to your cell phone and drive.“ Or something like that.

Listening online in the car came in at only 4% despite the carmakers’ attempts to convince us that those pretty 20-somethings in their TV commercials are all too hip for the room (or regular radio).

Next week I will look at other ways to listen to Country Music like Pandora, Spotify and others.

Have a great week and enjoy Country Music…on the radio.

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

RPM Management President Scott Siman and Sr. VP April Rider have announced the launch of new “integrated music company” RPM Entertainment, which will be promoting flagship artist Maggie Rose. The new company will provide record label, publishing and management services.

“It’s been my desire for a long time to combine label services with management and publishing,” said Siman. “Unlike most other companies trying to do deals where they participate in all areas but lack in depth expertise,  we have staff with huge track records in all these areas.”

Former Stoney Creek Records VP/GM Rider joined Siman earlier in February 2012 and serves as Sr. VP for the new company. Email her here. Joining the team for promotion efforts are Jack Christopher and Rocco Cosco, who both previously served with Bigger Picture. Christopher will take on the role of VP Promotion, and can be reached here. Cosco, who also spent time with Curb Records and Mercury Records will be RPM’s new Director of National Promotion. Reach him here. Former R&J Records staffers Jon Conlon and Kelsey Lantrip also join the promo staff, with Conlon handling West Coast promotion duties and Lantrip as Promotion Coordinator/Executive Assistant. Email Conlon here and Lantrip here.

RPM made the announcement through a video parodying DirecTV’s memorable “bad decisions” ad campaign.

Maggie Rose, who was formerly known as Margaret Durante is shipping her new single “I Ain’t Your Momma” to country radio on May 30. She is also on the road with the Country Throwdown Tour this summer.

People will talk. If you’ve been the jerk in a relationship, someone’s going to find out and word will spread. And if you’re really a creep, you might have a cautionary song written about you.

Thus Carrie Underwood’s “Good Girl,” which is the new No. 1 song on MusicRow’s CountryBreakout Chart. Carrie casts herself in the role of jilted ex-lover trying to warn an innocent girl about this no good dude and how badly he will mess her up if she sticks around. In the song’s video, Carrie plays both roles for a Black Swan/White Swan effect. Carrie co-wrote “Good Girl” with Chris DeStefano and Ashley Gorley.

From its release in late February, “Good Girl” has been an event. The lead single from Carrie’s fourth album Blown Away, the song has already been certified Gold for downloads exceeding 500,00 units. Blown Away was released May 1 and debuted at No. 1 with more than 267,000 units sold. Carrie and her husband Mike Fisher (of the Nashville Predators) also recently sat down with Oprah Winfrey for the couple’s first TV interview together. See videos from the appearance here.

I was not going to write anything about Rusty Walker’s death this week. There will be many words written, Facebook posts, emotions expressed and hugs exchanged that will be more eloquent than anything I can say. That is still true but this is a small fraternity and I want to thank Rusty for being who he was.

This is all about recollections and it is going to come from my perspective. I read some things this week that kind of disappointed me. Not anything about Rusty but about others making it about them. Then when I sat down to jot some notes for this column I realized that writing from “my” perspective is the only way you can do it. So excuse me. This is not a eulogy.

Like so many of us in the industry, I have known Rusty for 20-plus years. I never worked with Rusty at a radio station but I have worked with him on CMA projects as committee members and I saw why he was so successful at his radio stations. He was focused. He could see through a problem and he saw all angles of the issue.

When the committee assignments come out at the beginning of the CMA term I know that everyone looks for their name. But honestly I look for others on the committee just as quickly. I was always excited to be paired with Rusty. I knew that the committee was going to get things done.

Last summer, while in Chicago for a CMA Board meeting, Rusty, Lon Helton, Jaye Albright and I had dinner at Lon’s favorite Italian restaurant. Lon paid. Rusty was Rusty. He knew the history of everyone he ever worked with, and maybe ever met. It was great to hear his stories. It was great to learn about how he moved people around and built more careers than Monster.com.

I know because as I try to staff radio stations for West Virginia Radio Corp. and consulting client stations I see Rusty’s name as a reference time after time. People were proud to include his name on their resume because they knew potential employers were aware that they got first class training and coaching as part of their work life.

In fact, while chatting about Rusty with Lon this week, I mentioned that what is lost, along with the obvious, is that history. Lost is a chronicle of Country Radio in the southeast United States over the last quarter century. Nothing can ever replace this.

Rusty had his hands on almost every move over that period of time. There is an army of Rusty protégés that will keep him alive at radio and we are fortunate for that influence.

Luckily for me I was seated next to Rusty at the CMA Awards show for the last three years. We sat together for three hours commenting on performances and artists. We would discuss the strength of a record as a recurrent or oldie at client stations. Think about that for a second. Carrie Underwood would blow away the crowd with an amazing performance and we’re discussing whether the song should be a Power Recurrent or just a Recurrent.

We would notice if an artist thanked Country Radio during their acceptance speech. That was filed away by both of us. We would discuss the business for three hours, most likely being pests to those around us but Rusty saw everything as it impacts radio listeners.

I can tell you that Country Radio got better in heaven on Monday. Let’s see how Rusty incorporates the required harp music into the playlist.

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