The genre expanded musically and geographically this year and a regime change happened at a major label<\/p>\n
By Melinda Newman | Billboard\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n The country music community lost two titans in 2022, leaving broken hearts in an otherwise upbeat year that saw a major regime change, venture capitalist-backed funds spending big bucks on country catalogs and the expansion of the genre to brings in millions of new listeners. Here are 10 big stories and trends that helped define the year in country music.<\/p>\n In June, Ben Kline and Cris Lacy\u00a0ascended<\/a>\u00a0to co-presidents of Warner Music Nashville, marking the first regime change at the top of a major country label since 2015. John \u201cEspo\u201d Esposito, who helmed WMN for 13 years, transitions to chairman emeritus in January. Among their first signings: Giovannie & The Hired Hands, Madeline Edwards and Chase Matthew.<\/p>\n Pioneering country artist Loretta Lynn died Oct. 4 at the age of 90. Renowned for tackling real life, often taboo, topics in her tunes such as \u201cThe Pill\u201d and \u201cYou Ain\u2019t Woman Enough (To Take My Man),\u201d as well as her signature song, \u201cCoal Miner\u2019s Daughter,\u201d streams of Lynn\u2019s catalog\u00a0surged 615%<\/a>\u00a0immediately following her death, according to Luminate.<\/p>\n Nashville labels and their coastal counterparts increasingly\u00a0linked together<\/a>\u00a0to co-sign artists and give the acts cross-genre exposure and the power of combined resources. Warner Music Nashville and Elektra paired for Bailey Zimmerman and Sony Music Nashville and Columbia for Megan Moroney. Additionally, Warner Music Nashville promoted Warner Records signee Zach Bryan to country radio as the streaming sensation began to take off.<\/p>\n In September, Morgan Wallen\u2019s\u00a0Dangerous: The Double Album<\/em>\u00a0broke the record<\/a>\u00a0for the most weeks in the top 10 on the Billboard 200 chart by a singular artist. Its 86 non-consecutive weeks surpassed Peter, Paul & Mary\u2019s self-titled debut album that notched 85 non-consecutive weeks between 1962 and 1964. The record holder remains the original cast album of\u00a0My Fair Lady<\/em>\u00a0at 173 weeks. Wallen,\u00a0Billboard<\/em>\u2019s top country artist of 2022, ended the year setting another record: He became the first artist to rank at Nos. 1, 2 and 3 simultaneously on\u00a0Billboard<\/em>\u2018s streaming-, airplay- and sales-based Hot Country Songs chart (dated Dec. 17), since the survey began as an all-encompassing genre ranking in 1958.<\/p>\n Naomi Judd died by suicide on\u00a0April 30 at age 76<\/a>, just weeks after she and her daughter Wynonna appeared on the CMT Music Awards for the The Judds\u2019 first awards show performance in two decades and the day before they were to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Interest in the act\u2019s music soared \u2014 The Judds\u2019 All-Time Greatest Hits, issued in 2017, returned to\u00a0Billboard<\/em>\u2019s Top Country Albums chart at No. 11, a 30-year high for The Judds. Wynonna proceeded with a planned sold-out tour under The Judds banner that will continue into 2023.<\/p>\n The biggest successful infusion of new talent since 1989, six rock-based country artists\u00a0invaded the top 35<\/a>\u00a0of\u00a0Billboard<\/em>\u2019s Country Airplay chart with their first singles to country radio. \u201cCountry had started to feel very safe, not dangerous,\u201d Core Entertainment co-founder\u00a0Kevin \u201cChief\u201d Zaruk<\/strong>\u00a0told\u00a0Billboard<\/em>. \u201cNow you\u2019re seeing [rock] influences come in that you normally wouldn\u2019t see. It\u2019s not the typical dirt roads and tailgates.\u201d It\u2019s too soon to know who \u2014 if any \u2014 among Bailey Zimmerman, Jelly Roll, Jackson Dean, Nate Smith, Corey Kent and Zach Bryan will become the superstars that Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Clint Black and Travis Tritt became 33 years ago, but Audacy\u2019s country format vp\/brand manager\u00a0Tim Roberts<\/strong>\u00a0called it \u201ca paradigm shift.\u201d Along with airplay came streaming wins, with Bryan already earning more than 2.45 billion on-demand U.S. streams, according to Luminate.<\/p>\n Kenny Chesney\u2019s Here and Now tour was the\u00a0top outing among country artists<\/a>\u00a0in 2022. He led all country artists with a Billboard Boxscore gross of $135, 046,047 from 41 shows. The tally was high enough to land him at No. 9 on the all-genre Billboard Boxscore year-end tally and\u00a0topped his last major tour<\/a>, 2018\u2019s Trip Around the Sun outing, by more than $20 million. \u201cWe found ourselves adding seats in so many markets,\u201d his manager\u00a0Clint Higham<\/strong>\u00a0said.<\/p>\n Three of country music\u2019s biggest superstars, Kenny Chesney, Blake Shelton and Keith Urban, sold their master recorded music royalties in 2022 for undisclosed sums: In January, Hipgnosis Song Management\u00a0acquired 80%<\/a>\u00a0of Chesney\u2019s recorded music catalog spanning from 1994-2017. In October, Shelton\u00a0sold ownership<\/a>\u00a0of his master recordings released from 2001-2019 to Influence Media Partners, though the deal includes a joint venture whereby the singer will earn a share of the profit generated by his catalog going forward. Finally, on Dec. 13 it was announced that Urban\u00a0sold his master recordings<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 including 10 studio albums \u2014 to Litmus Music in that company\u2019s first deal since forming earlier in the year.<\/p>\n In March, the 57th Academy of Country Music Awards became the first major awards show to move from broadcast to\u00a0live streaming<\/a>\u00a0when it aired via Amazon\u2019s Prime Video from Las Vegas. Prime Video did not release viewership numbers but upped the deal for the 2023 ACM Awards.<\/p>\n Country artists staked their claim in Las Vegas with\u00a0Carrie Underwood<\/a>,\u00a0Luke Bryan<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Miranda Lambert<\/a>\u00a0all kicking off residencies in Sin City in 2022 (to be precise, Underwood\u2019s run began in December 2021).\u00a0Keith Urban<\/a>, who started a residency in 2019 at Caesars, moves to Planet Hollywood for a new stint in 2023, while\u00a0Garth Brooks<\/a>\u00a0will return to Las Vegas next year for his first residency since 2014.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The genre expanded musically and geographically this year and a regime change happened at a major label By Melinda Newman | Billboard\u00a0 The country music community lost two titans in 2022, leaving broken hearts in an otherwise upbeat year that … Continue reading Changing of the Guard at WMN<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Losing the First Lady of Country<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Cross-Country Signings<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Wallen Breaks a 58-Year Record and Sets a New One<\/strong><\/h3>\n
A Tragic End<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Dirt Road Less Traveled<\/strong><\/h3>\n
No Shoes Nation Showed Up<\/strong><\/h3>\n
A Trifecta of A-List Masters<\/strong><\/h3>\n
ACM Awards Primed for Change<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Vegas Loves Nashville<\/strong><\/h3>\n