Nashville is full of songwriters, the creative and honest individuals whom put their hearts (and themselves) on the line, baring their inner thoughts and observances for the world to judge. They are the foundation of music, and country music has always celebrated and honored the achievements of those whom create relatable and catchy lyrics to music. Those songs then become the song tracks to our lives, evoking memories and emotions. We identify with them, we love them, we celebrate them.
And let’s face it, it’s hard to get a song cut, let alone it become a single. And when they do find themselves garnering attention and impacting an artist’s career, they essentially become just another mile-marker. Most songs ‘retire’ or are spun sporadically after they have reached a peak, many artists and radio stations moving on to the next best thing. But some songs have staying power and on August 30, Toby Keith and members of the Broadcast Music, Inc. team celebrated an unprecedented milestone – MILLIONS of Airplay spins for seven of Keith’s singles as a songwriter.
With accessibility to music as easy as a touch away, million doesn’t seem like such a big number anymore – YouTube videos get millions of hits in mere hours, but we have to consider one thing – it’s different ballgame at radio. There are thousands of songs grabbing for a rotation on stations all over the country. Even at their peak, there is a routine on how often a song can get played (even if you feel like you JUST heard that song). It takes years of continuous airplay to amass the numbers Keith has been presented with (list below), and he’s receiving that credit as a songwriter, not as an artist.
“Songwriting was the most important part of my life,” Keith says during the celebration at the historic Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge at Nashville’s lower Broadway. “People would ask me ‘What do you have left to accomplish?’ and I would say ‘Going into the Songwriters Hall of Fame’ in New York City, probably the pentacle reward that I could ever be given. And BMI has always been great to the songwriters, great to me – I’ve been with them since day one. And the first time I came to Nashville, the first thing I did was get affiliated with BMI. And they’ve been great with the songwriters and always supported me and I’ve always supported them. Keep on writing songs out there, songwriters, because it’s the lifeblood of this industry and this is what happens. Dreams can come true.”
Songs Celebrated:
“God Love Her” – Two million performances
“You Shouldn’t Kiss Me Like This” – Three million performances
“American Soldier” – Three million performances
“Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue” – Three million performances
“Beer For My Horses” – Four million performances
“You Ain’t Much Fun” – Four million performances
“How Do You Like Me Now” – Five million performances
Congratulations to Toby Keith and the staff at Broadcast Music for an incredible milestone.