At the Dark End of The Row
Lessons from the podcast Murder on Music Row
I just finished listening to the 8-part serial investigative podcast Murder on Music Row, produced by The Tennessean by journalist Keith Sharon. This isn’t a review per se, but I do recommend it for anyone interested in the culture of the music business and the history of Music Row, in addition to anyone who enjoys a well-made investigative True Crime podcast.
The podcast takes a deep dive into the investigation of the 1989 murder of 23-year-old Kevin Hughes, a recent Belmont graduate employed by Cashbox, a trade publication known in the industry for selling chart positions regardless of sales or airplay. I won’t unpack the complex plot or cast of characters; suffice to say Hughes was murdered for having integrity and attempting to clean up the process Cashbox used to compile country music charts.
I’ve been essentially “On The Row” for more than a decade, and I’ve heard about the famous murder many times. In fact, a friend of mine is interviewed on the podcast because he heard the shots and arrived at the crime scene just after the police. I’ve heard that the murder occurred because of corruption, but I never knew the details. It’s a sordid story that focuses on predatory promoters who prey on the less-talented would-be country stars looking for their Big Break.
I’m interested in Music Row history as a history buff; but I’m especially interested in what light the history can shine on the present moment. I’m going to focus on two themes in the podcast that I believe remain relevant today. The first is the song itself, which turns the phrase “Murder on Music Row” to refer to the systematic elimination of traditional sounds in mainstream country. The second is the seedy underbelly of the music industry. The final episode of the podcast concludes that the ilk of lowlife scammers who executed Kevin Hughes for having integrity are still operating in the business. What does that look like?
The Song
The saying in Nashville is “it all begins with a song.” In this case, however, it began with a murder. The podcast includes a separate narrative thread about the song that took its title from the headlines, which began a ten-year journey from inception to the CMA Song of the Year in 1999. Songwriters Larry Cordle and Larry Shell wrote it for Cordle and Lonesome Standard Time’s 1998 bluegrass album, Murder on Music Row. It’s inspired by, not about, the Hughes murder. The “murder” in the song is a turn of phrase referencing the absence of traditional sounds in mainstream country. The lyrics in the chorus are not subtle:
For the steel guitars no longer cry, and fiddles rarely play
But drums and rock n’ roll guitars are mixed up in your face
Old Hank wouldn’t have had a chance on today’s radio
Since they committed murder down on music row
It was a message best delivered by George Strait and Alan Jackson, the standard-bearers of the day for traditional country. Since winning Song of the Year on the 1999 CMAs, it’s been covered by Dierks Bentley and George Jones, who declined an opportunity to cut the song prior to Strait and Jackson’s version. The lyrics are not subtle.
The almighty dollar and the lust for worldwide fame
Slowly killed tradition, and for that someone should hang
It’s fascinating that this song has had such a long life. Country music has long had this tension between those who seek to grow the audience and those who believe country music is defined by traditional sounds and themes. When I first moved to Nashville, I found myself arguing with executives over whether or not Sturgill Simpson’s solo debut High Top Mountain was country music, while nobody seemed to question whether Taylor Swift’s Red fit the definition. On The Row, a decade ago, “country” was defined by a radio format, not by traditional elements like storytelling and acoustic instruments. Drums and rock n’ roll guitars, giving way to snap beats and featured rappers. But the further it goes into the pop realm, at least historically, the more certain it will snap back to traditional sounds.
Nobody in the mainstream wanted to invest in Sturgill back then, but the market for traditional country he helped identify and create has grown into the mainstream. Mainstream country is a lot twangier these days, because thanks in part to independent artists gaining popularity, there’s clearly a market for twang. It’s a change anyone who follows the genre would expect, but in my view it’s happened despite the forces on The Row chasing the almighty dollar and worldwide fame. More trad country successes are happening outside of the Nashville business, whether independently or on coastal major labels. The lesson is, if the market wants traditional sounds, the gatekeepers can’t suppress it anymore. If music can find its audience, it can thrive. Whether or not country will remain true to its traditional roots will be up to the audience, not the executives. To me, that’s progress.
The Scam
The scam at the heart of the podcast, the one they murdered Kevin Hughes to protect, was a scam on the hopelessly untalented. The music business has had problems with corruption since its inception, which is well documented. Historically, people coming to Nashville to make it in music were vulnerable to the vultures who hung around places like Shoney’s on Music Row, eavesdropping on conversations, searching for a sucker. In the days before SoundScan and access to sophisticated data to compile sales, consumption, and airplay charts, there was enough margin of error to give a corrupt trade publication like Cashbox cover to falsify charts. This scam created a business model lucrative enough for someone to commit murder to keep the money flowing.
I’m sure - in fact I know - that there are businesses and individuals that prey on hayseeds coming to town to make it in country music. Some of the scammers from the 80s and 90s are still here, still working scams! It’s less pervasive than it once was on and around The Row because the scammers have migrated online and on social media, where the real suckers hang out. I see it occasionally, but the artists I work with - ones who have real fans and businesses - do not make good targets for online scammers because they tend to be sophisticated. That is not to say there aren’t semi-legitimate businesses who push garbage deals with empty promises - that is constant. Their targets, however, are the same targets that major labels chase: legitimately talented, ambitious musicians who have built a foundation of fans and consumption online.
The sad fact is that it will always be the truly hopeless who fall prey to music industry scams while looking for the mythical Big Break. Social media platforms are littered with fly-by-night services that will help musicians pump up their numbers on consumption platforms using bots and other illegitimate techniques. There’s an entire industry built on creating vanity metrics that actually make it far less likely for an artist’s music to go viral or even reach actual human listeners. Please be careful hiring services that boost numbers using any technique other than reaching actual human listeners. Our research algorithms can tell the difference - nobody is going to sign your band just because you have half a million Instagram followers or a million monthly listeners on Spotify. We’ll dig just a little deeper and discover that it’s bogus, and that your bogus social accounts are toxic. There are legitimate online resources that can help to build your audience, but it always depends on the music being good and interesting enough to hold anyone’s attention.
We’re in a Wild West moment with music and social media right now, and as I’ve discussed in a recent post, when anyone shows up in your DMs, expect everyone to show up in your DMs. Find someone with real insight to help you sort of what’s real from what’s scammy or bogus. Always have an attorney review a contract with respect to your music rights and obligations (unless it’s a one-off performance with clear terms that is blessed by your agent). If an opportunity seems interesting and potentially worth pursuing, insist on an in-person or Zoom meeting and ask lots of questions. Ask around. Ask me! Just do some research and ask a lot of questions.
If a musician’s account has few followers and little consumption data, then assume anyone reaching out is engaging in some sort of scam. Technology changes the circumstances, but certain things never really change. The scam at the center of Murder on Music Row victimized the talentless, clueless, and irrationally hopeful. Assume that most scams are looking for the online equivalent of the suckers at the Shoney’s on Demonbreun Street back in the day. Think about the people on early American Idol seasons who were truly shocked to learn with the cameras rolling that they can’t sing a note. It’s heartbreaking, but so many people striving for a career in music are hopeless and delusional. That makes them an easy mark. If nobody is telling you that your music is excellent and then suddenly somebody shows up claiming to have the ability to make you a star and there’s a price tag attached to their services, assume it’s a scam.
For anyone who strives to be a true artist advocate, it’s necessary to identify scams and share information. If you can’t tell if it’s a scam, it’s probably a scam. If your music is ready for the big time and you’ve built an audience, legitimate (or quasi-legitimate) people will show up in big numbers. If someone slides into your DMs telling you they can make you a star by gaming the algorithms, know that they are lying to you to make a quick buck. You’re in the virtual Shoney’s off The Row back in the 80s, talking loudly about searching for your big break, making yourself a mark. There are no shortcuts, and there’s no workaround for having talent and putting in the work.