Regional Music Market

Building a Regional Music Market - The Texas Model
By Pat Watters

For those of you who have been living under a rock, there’s something brewing down in Texas. Actually, it has been for quite some time. It started when Willie grew his hair, rolled his own, moved back to Austin, and brought Waylon with him. It’s a revolution- its artists who turn their back on the establishment, and succeed not in spite of it, but because of it. It’s a regional country music market where unsigned bands place a higher premium on their music and fans than they do on their money and the size of your heart matters more than the size of your home. And the coolest thing of all- these guys are making a living doing what they love, on their own terms. Fast forward a few decades and the legacy of the men who started it all is being carried on through guys like Pat Green, Jack Ingram, Cory Morrow, Jason Boland, Reckless Kelly, and Cross Canadian Ragweed (although from Oklahoma, it’s the Texas market they’re working).

When I look at Texas, and all that’s happening there, only one question crosses my mind- why Texas? Not just why Texas, but why not Wisconsin, Missouri, Arizona, Maine, Delaware, Nebraska, and the list goes on? Country music is a whole lot bigger than the south. There are rednecks and hillbillies all over the place. So what does Texas have that we don’t? I think it comes down to relationships- three very important relationships.

Artist/Artist Relationships
The first thing that makes the Texas music market successful is the good old fashioned principle of teamwork. What is good for one is good for all. Often times, in a regional market, there is 1-3 lead horses. And damn, don’t they feel good? They are the band that the radio stations call when they need an opener. They are the band that headlines every county fair, rodeo, pig roast, corn broil, and keg party in the state. Then there’s everybody else. They play shows here and there, and book what they can, wherever they can. If we as local musicians recognized our opportunities and learned to work together, we could do so much more together than we can as individuals. The artists in Texas look out for each other. Imagine the power that a union of 5-10 bands could hold. They could do so much. They could host their own independent musical festivals. They could pool their resources to bring national acts to the area, and they could all have an opening gig. They could fund an indy label and recording studio where they all have the opportunity to affordably produce and market their music. They could develop a referral network and help each other find jobs.