In last Thursday’s column, we posed the question “Are there too many new country artists out right now?” With feedback from all sides, including radio programmers, label reps and artist managers, there was no clear answer to the question. But the topic definitely touched a nerve, based on the volume of reader mail it generated, including a thought provoking essay from Clear Channel’s Gregg Swedberg. Here’s a sampling of some of those letters. And if you missed the original column on this subject, you can read it right here.

• Gregg Swedberg (pictured), PD KEEY (K102) Minneapolis: “Bulletin to the folks who posit we have too many new artists: No, we have too many established artists failing to deliver real hits, and we have charts that move so slowly that we get new product from our biggest stars three times a year (mostly we get two). We still operate under the presumption that we can’t play two Brad Paisleys or Keith Urbans at the same time. How is top 40 doing playing multiple Lady Gaga songs? Oh, that’s right, they don’t have the same rules.

“Add to that the fact that we don’t always force ‘A’ level quality out of our stars. We dutifully play whatever superstar single comes, whether it’s a great song or not, where it occupies 20 weeks on our playlist. We also don’t ask ourselves if artists are really as relevant as we think they are. Most stations have lost [the ability to do] research and don’t have any idea that many of the artists they thought were superstars might still be liked, just not loved.

“Our top songs in a gold test are from Lady Antebellum and Zac Brown, and I guarantee nobody but their moms knew who they were five years ago. At some point we might want to check on the age of our format’s playlist. When the artist moves out of the demo, we might want to move too. If we spent our time getting excited about acts like Miranda [Lambert], Eric Church and Jason Aldean when the signs were obvious that they are driving passionate listenership, maybe we wouldn’t be worried that they’re ‘new.’

“Was Garth ‘new’ in 1992 when the format was blowing up? Newer than Jason Aldean is now. Was it wrong to play four new Garth songs then? (Of course, there were four good Garth songs to play.) Was it wrong to get four Brooks & Dunns? Obviously you have to draw the line somewhere, and part of our problem might have been we treated all new music equally when it wasn’t. But we move too slow.

“Then add in the new-age promotion model: Work one artist, work it to death, play 100 free shows, get your record to No. 20 where the slow chains come in and force it to 10, and it still isn’t a real hit with real passion. But hey, nice promotion job. Some songs that hit the top of the chart might not be real hits, but as a format, we do like to follow each other.

“The problem with new artists is we lack focus. There are probably 10-12 acts who have deep enough debut projects and enough talent RIGHT NOW to hit. There are tons of great acts with great songs that the audience will love. But we as a format can’t agree on which 10. What influences you doesn’t influence me. And if you do play those 10, which other 10 acts are you prepared to ignore?

“I might argue that we don’t have ENOUGH new blood in the format. I know we don’t do nearly enough to get excited about the new music we do play. I’ve heard a lot of other country radio recently, and a new artist gets nowhere near enough background, nowhere near enough excitement. If we’re not excited to present it, how is the audience supposed to get excited about hearing it?

“I don’t think we can go back to the days of ‘All-New Country,’ or basing a winning strategy on solely new music and artists. But for so many stations, it’s completely left out of the equation.

“Here’s the deal: Smart radio guys (you know who you are) knew ‘Red Light’ was a hit long before it peaked on the chart. Smart people knew ‘Love Like Crazy’ was a hit long before it’s gotten where it is now. Smart people knew Easton Corbin had a giant hit on his first single pretty early, and know he has another that might be bigger now. Smart people know Josh Thompson has a possible anthem on his hands. That’s four new artists right there and there are six more. But if your list is clogged up with songs that aren’t real hits, it takes forever to get these on. (And I’m guilty too. I wish I were maverick enough to completely jump in.) I am all over my air staff to sell these artists, because the songs sell themselves.”

• Lynn West, PD WXBM and WMEZ (Soft Rock 94.1) Pensacola, Fla.: “Yes, way too many [new artists]! It seems they sign anyone who walks in the front door, including the UPS and FedEx guys, have ’em all cut a record, service it to radio and see what happens. So we get a ton of one mid-chart wonders and they disappear.

“How about instead of signing everyone, pick out two or three that you really think have potential and really take time to develop them into the future Jacksons and Straits instead of ‘Remember that guy that had a record out about a year ago about breakin’ up with his dog? … What was his name?’”

• Jess Wright, PD WFRE Frederick, Md.: “I don’t think there are too many new country artists at all. Just as we have to pay attention to where we came from in this format, we also need to pay attention to where we’re going. The best of the new artists will stand out and be the future of our format. Does that mean we should try to play every new artist that comes along? Of course not, but we should definitely be on the lookout for the ones who will be the next Garth, Alan and George, all of whom were new artists at some point.”

• Clint Marsh, GM, WRSW-FM, WAWC (Willie 103.5) and WRSW-AM (ESPN 1480), Warsaw, Ind.: “They’ve been asking this question since I got into country radio 27 years ago … The question is, are there too many so-so new country artists? Who is the next superstar?”

• Dale Turner, VP, radio marketing, Lyric Street Records: “Did you read the [new] report from NARM? In 2009, there were 97,751 albums released. Of those, 12 sold 1 million or more. That is a staggering statistic. Twelve albums (thank God one of those 12 was Rascal Flatts). It’s a wonder there are even any labels left to try to introduce a new artist to radio. To complain about it is counterproductive to so many of our livelihoods in the biz, plus, as Kevin Mason points out, it’s a debate that has been around since vinyl!”

• Joel Raab, Joel Raab Associates: “It’s about the best music more than it’s about the best star. No one held back on ‘Chicken Fried’ because it wasn’t an ‘A’ act.”

• Pam Shane, Shane Media: “There’s truth on both sides, or maybe all five sides of this argument. But as the ‘core’ or ‘image’ artists begin to sound like wallpaper because they have so many songs in the mix, it’s important to keep our minds open to new acts.

“‘New’ doesn’t mean simply ‘not out before,’ in my mind. It also—and more importantly—means offering a new perspective, a new sound, a new take on a country idea. I’d hate to miss Zac Brown Band or Kevin Fowler (although he’s only ‘new’ on the national scene).

“The biggest problem is that stations often don’t take the time to make a new song or a new artist meaningful to the listeners. That helps them get into what we offer, and it is our job to make our content relevant to our listeners.”

• Chuck Geiger, Managing Editor, Full Throttle Country: “Only the programmers and music directors who are immersed in music and media are cognizant of the new roster of artists. [At radio stations where I worked,] we would give away CDs from new artists that had hit songs at remotes and the winners would ask who they are and what do they sing? Usually [that] would lead into a conversation about all the new songs and [how] country doesn’t play the old songs any longer.

“Some new songs and artists will be hits and catch the listeners’ ears. ‘Lover, Lover’ and ‘Pray For You’ are examples of this. Find the best of the best and make sure they are in a profile rotation. We get all excited about new music and play it at 3 a.m. The new songs and artists never get enough frequency to make impressions with the listeners.”

• Tamara Saviano, Ellis Creative: “Your column about ‘too many new artists’ just shines a light on something my old radio boss and GM used to tell us when I worked in radio: Radio is not in the music business, it is in the advertising business.

“Music is art. There are never too many artists; that is an impossibility. The cream will rise to the top and people who love art will gravitate toward art that they love. Radio is trying to encourage an audience to listen to their stations, and then listen more, and listen more until they become P1s. It is a ratings game. They are not trying to introduce an audience to new music, but keep those listeners happy by giving them familiarity. Does radio break new artists? Sure, they do, but it’s not because the first priority is supporting the artist. If that were the case, they wouldn’t be battling the Performance Rights Act so vehemently.

“There is an art to giving good radio and I loved working in radio, but our Nashville artists are only one tool for the radio stations to use, and radio is only one tool for us to use. It is not radio’s job to break new artists and it’s not the artists’ job to cater to radio.”