Why The Iconic Texas Music Chart Is Closing

The long-time chart of Texas-based musicians, which ran for more than a decade, published its last listing on Feb. 1.

By Hady MawajdehFebruary 2, 2016 5:06 pm,

It’s the end of an era. The Texas Music Chart is no more. Now, some of you may be asking yourself, “What the heck is the Texas Music Chart?”

For the better part of the past two decades, the Texas Music Chart has been tracking the success of local artists on regional radio and helping to keep the flow of local talent working throughout the state, a beacon for Texas music lovers throughout the state.

Pioneered by the late Ed Shane, his wife Pam Shane and a team of dedicated music lovers have kept the chart alive until this month. The final chart was released on Monday February 1.

Houston-based music analyst Pam Shane says the reason the chart is ending is both complicated and simple.

“Ed died last year,” she says. “We are down to two-and-a-half employees.”

Ed Shane was the chart’s primary seller, Pam Shane says, and now advertising support has dropped considerably.

“The Texas Music Chart is free to everyone to use, but it’s not free to produce,” she says.

What you’ll hear in this segment:

– Why Pam Shane says she can’t continue offering the show for free

– What happened to their primary ad clients, like Budweiser, and individual artists’ support of the chart

– How much the chart costs to produce a month and what the chart’s close says of the Texas music industry at large