Why Chris Stapleton Probably Won’t Change Country Radio Much

I grew up in the '80s, a time when Ronnie Milsap, Eddie Rabbit, Juice Newton and Alabama ruled the country music landscape and the thought of traditional country was in the rear view mirror as artists like Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennnings and Merle Haggard saw their radio hits waning.

At the time, a lot of folks where unhappy with the rise of country pop and the pendulum swung as country radio tried to find the next wave of traditional country. The next class exploded on the scene with Randy Travis, Alan Jackson, Clint Black and Garth Brooks being branded the "new" traditionalists and country music was saved again.

Now flash forward to 2015. 

The current crop of hit makers find themselves migrating toward pop side of things with beat mixing, rap and less steel guitar. Just listen the newest hits from Sam Hunt, Florida Georgia Line, The Band Perry and Luke Bryan.

And then came last night's 2015 CMA awards, where traditional country artist Chris Stapleton swept the awards by capturing Male Vocalist Of The Year, Best New Artist Of The Year and Record Of The Year.

Before the night was over, social media was ablaze with disenchanted country fans lamenting that country isn't country anymore and insisting that we need to return to the days of Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson and George Strait.

This all sounds familiar to those of us who've been in country radio a long time. After being a radio broadcaster for the past 28 years, here are my observations about what is country and what isn't country music:

Times change and musical tastes change, and every generation embraces their "stars." Today's top music makers are there because a mass amount of people are buying the music. As a radio programmer, I play what the majority of people are asking for on a daily basis. Radio stations are trying to cast a wide net to catch the most listeners, and we always get blamed when something changes with the tastes of consumers. Radio stations would be out of business if we still programmed stations like we did in the '80s, '90s and even 2000s.

It is good for the industry as a whole when a new breed of artists arrive, as we get a renewed love and passion for the genre of country music. We should be excited and embrace the fact that these artists are choosing to be country music artists.

So where will fresh artists like Chris Stapleton take country? Will stars like him herald a new era of traditional country music?

Could be. But I think some listeners might not realize that we are already playing great new traditional country artists -- Easton Corbin, Brad Paisley, Randy Houser and Lee Brice, for example.

Country music will be around for a long time on radio as listeners' tastes change.We'll continue to embrace both sides of our musical heritage, it just might not be with your favorite artists. The next wave of country music cycle is uncharted, and that is what makes the future exciting for you, the listener.