Fresh off the success of the groundbreaking country artist he discovered, Kane Brown, Polow Da Don is diving deep into Nashville with his latest venture, an innovative new radio station, WYCZ, dedicated to this youth country movement at 96.7 FM/1030 AM.
The station went live last month.
“Young Country” — or #YoCo in the social media world — will be a home for artists connected to this country’s tradition with a sense of a broader, genre-free world of music,” said Polow da Don.
“I’m trying to create a platform where artists can do their own thing,” says Polow Da Don, who has created No 1s on pop, rap and country charts and is known for his work with Fergie, Nicki Minaj and Usher.
“We want the kids to take it over and tell us what’s cool. They’ll be able to dictate what’s hot and I’ll be something of a curator. It’s a station to provide an outlet for all the artists who feel they don’t have a voice in country music,” Polow Da Don
Polow said he wants to create an energy and inclusive culture that breaks the standard thought process about country music and genres in general.
For starters, Young Country is not concerned with whether an artist is signed to a major label or has a single that is being worked to radio, country or otherwise. The artists he sees fitting the Young Country mold may have roots in country music or simply have grown up in the world of country via the streaming era, exposing them to genres from all over the world that they incorporate into their own unique sound.
Stylistic mash-ups that might not appeal to conventional country music gatekeepers are precisely what Polow hopes he’ll encounter when the station makes its playlists.
“There’s always been a melting pot for music and country has been a little late to the party. The music exists. I just feel like nobody else is taking the initiative to create a world that embraces this music.” – Polow Da Don
The first two months on air will be commercial free, powered by Litecoin cryptocurrency and YoCo will accept Litecoin as a form of payment for merchandise and events.
In addition to non-traditional forms of advertising and playlisting, the station’s team will not have conventional titles and will be operated by Polow da Don, Mia Welsh-Khabeer and Jeff Haddad. On-air talent and other ambassadors will be announced at a later date.
Polow da Don will be working from both Nashville and his native Atlanta where his Zone 4 label is based. He will continue to produce and write songs for established and up-and-coming artists. Among his most recent successes are producing Summerella and discovering and executive producing Kane Brown.
Making the leap into the Nashville scene is a no brainer for him.
“It’s natural for any creative person to look at things happening in the world and envision something different,” Polow Da Don explained. “A lot of times, it takes someone from the outside to make the biggest mark on an industry. The idea of Young Country had to come from somebody like me who’s not trapped by the thought of how things have been done in the past.”
