As long as I've played country music on the radio, now 42 years, there have always been "trends." Nashville is big on them, always has been. Someone has great success with something, and the rest of the town jumps on board with their version of the same trend. It's fascinating to watch. Sometimes those trends are really good to follow, sometimes not so much. And other times, they are benign, but it is fun to watch. The current trend is the latter.
The "Fade In" is the latest thing. About all of the current songs right now have this very quiet "fade in" for some reason. As someone on the air, sometimes you wonder if you're still on the air for a few seconds some of these are so quiet. I wish I could pinpoint the song that got this current ball rolling, but there are so many now for so long now, I can't.
Also "trending" now is the lack of "fade out" in country. Songs ending "cold" as we call it, with no fade out. Songs ending with the same lyric line out as the opening line of the song is in no way a new trend, as that has been going on for many decades. In fact, that is really old school. But there was a long while that country followed the "fade out" song trend, as Rock has used for a few generations. I am not bothered by this either, although, I think in many cases a strong fade out keeps the excitement and forward momentum of a really good song going and doesn't make a great song come to a screeching halt. As a famous star told me backstage a few years ago they fade songs, "Because they don't know how to end it." True? Probably not, but it made me laugh.
So the fade in is the new thing, OK. Even though like I said, it doesn't bother me, I do like a nice uptempo quick start a bit better. I think that lasso's you into the song quicker, and sounds better on the air. As far as the fade out is concerned, that is on a song by song basis. Each work on the right song.
Other "Trends" Over The Past Many, Many Years (No Order)
The Country Caribbean Trend - Many have recorded their version of an Island sounding song ala Chesney. Sometimes it worked, sometimes - not so much. But they are fun.
Bro Country - Wildly successful for many artists. This trend was an accelerator for us for a couple years as it was party time.
The Duet Trend - Man are we in this now. Duets with big time stars is nothing new for country, as it has been around for decades, many times with great success. And right now, it's dominating the charts.
The Country Duet With A Pop Star - There was a year not long ago, there was like 5 of these out about the exact same time.
The Country "Phone Sounding Echo" - Big right now and has been for a while. Tons of songs have it where a sung phrase is repeated and fades off into the distance that sounds like it's on the phone.
The Country Finger-Clicking Trend - Songs where the drummer gets the day off and a bunch of people click thier fingers as a percussion section.
The Country Remaking Of A Big Pop Hit Trend - This was really in vogue in the 80's, not so much now. Some were better than others. We don't really do this much anymore. (Excludes Tribute Projects)
The BIG Trend - A number of years ago, especially mid 80's, the bigger the better, with a huge string section. Piggybacked off of Urban Cowboy. Trying to be very poppy.
The "I Wish Bad Things On You" Trend - Still around from time to time, with mean sprited songs on occasion wishing the worst for you, OR how much better things are with you out of my life. (Not parody) A whole lot of artists have sold a whole lot of albums and tickets without ever recording one of these songs.
The Country Sam Hunt Sound-a-like Song - When he developed his style of sound, that worked incredibly well for HIM, not always for the others that gave it a go.
The List Song Trend - Been around for years, and still shows up from time to time. Songs that are a complete laundry list of sentences that tell us how country they are.
Not just in Country, but in all music genres, there are trends. We love them, and it's kinda fun to look back. If you think about each one, you'll smile when you realize there are lots of songs that fit many of these trends.
There are also "trends" in Nashville in fashion too, but that's another article for another day.
