Drew Baldridge made history on Monday when his self-released “She’s Somebody’s Daughter” topped the Country Aircheck/Mediabase chart and landed third on the Billboard Country Airplay chart.
The feat marks the first time in country music history an artist has self-funded a No. 1 hit.
“I’m overwhelmed and incredibly honored that ‘She’s Somebody’s Daughter’ has reached No. 1. on country radio,” Baldridge said in a statement. “I wrote this song six years ago. I always dreamed we would get to this point, it felt so far away.”
Baldridge said he knew the song was special in his heart. He just needed the right team of people to help him get country radio to play it. The singer called radio stations to ask them to test it out. They loved it, and radio programmers told him he would miss out on radio airplay if he didn’t bring it to them.
Baldridge decided to hire a radio promotion staff. He asked radio executives who their favorite promotion people were who were out of work. They gave him names, and he started calling potential team members.
Drew Baldridge Built His Own Promo Staff
“I created my own promo staff and just said, ‘Okay, well, I’m going to do this. I’m going to invest the money that I’m making off streaming,’” Baldridge told American Songwriter. “A lot of artists are making money off streaming right now. You can just sit back and collect it or try to build your business, build your artistry, and invest it back in yourself. That’s something that I really wanted to try to do.”
Baldridge gave himself one year to invest his streaming money in his future. He hired his team and staff, and they sent “She’s Somebody’s Daughter” to country radio on Aug. 23, 2023.
“I remember telling my wife, ‘Look, in 30 years, I don’t want to look back and say, “Why didn’t we try?”’” he said. “And it took me back to my moment of moving to Nashville when I was 19 and taking that risk of leaving my little town. And I remember saying the same thing, ‘Well, what if I don’t try? I’m just going to live on the farm?’”
Baldridge hopes other independent artists find hope and inspiration in his success.
“I want independent artists and independent songwriters to know that a lot of songwriters don’t want to write with independent artists that just stream because there’s no income really for them,” he said. “I’ve seen songwriters really rally behind this because it means independent artists can take songs to radio. If artists took more songs to the radio, songwriters could make an income off the radio from independent artists. That’s a big big deal.”
Drew Baldridge – She’s Somebody’s Daughter (The Wedding Version) (Official Music Video) (youtube.com)
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