Taylor Swift by Beth Garrabrant | Promo Image courtesy of Republic Records
Update: Republic and MCA Nashville have set an August 17 country radio impact date for Taylor Swift’s “betty.”
The song will be Taylor Swift’s first official country radio single since “New Year’s Day,” which only received a blink-and-you-missed-it push at the format. The last Swift song to make a meaningful chart impact at country radio was the 2013 single “Red” (off the 2012 album of the same name).
“betty” will launch at country radio as “cardigan” hits mainstream radio and “exile (featuring Bon Iver)” goes for adds at the Triple A format.
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As “cardigan” heads to mainstream radio and “exile” hits the Triple A format, Taylor Swift’s “folklore” may have official representation at country radio.
In a Wednesday evening Tweet, an iHeartRadio executive said “betty” is being released to country radio as an official single.
“‘Betty'” is the single coming to country radio,” wrote iHeart Milwaukee SVP Kerry Wolfe in reply to a complimentary Tweet from Blake Shelton. “It’s been a minute since she sent one to us.”
Minnesota radio personality responded to the Tweet, noting, “I think it’s going to amazing on air!”
“Betty” has already been receiving some early airplay at the format. According to Mediabase, Tulsa’s K95.5 had played the song 7 times by the end of Tuesday, July 28. Nashville’s The Big 98 had offered 4 spins, and New York’s 94.7 had contributed 3 spins. A few other stations played it twice.
The airplay is not necessarily confirmation in its own right. “Betty,” like most “folkore” tracks, has also received some pop radio exposure as stations celebrate the high-profile new album.
There is, however, another clue regarding its potential status as a country single. The Mediabase/AllAccess entry for “betty” jointly identifies Republic and the country-focused MCA Nashville as the supporting labels; the other “folklore” tracks only list Republic. Between that detail and the Tweets from noteworthy radio personalities, there is good reason to believe “betty” will be an official country radio offering.
After rising to fame at the country format, Swift formally transitioned to pop with her 2014 album “1989.” She did, however, release her 2017 single “New Year’s Day” as a country radio single.