“Blew The Scene Up” – Tanner Usrey Praises “Genius” Taylor Sheridan For Showcasing Texas/Red Dirt Artists In ‘Yellowstone’ & ‘Landman’

We finally know how artists get their music in hit TV shows, and whether or not they have a say in how it’s used.

Tanner Usrey joined the Whiskey Riff Raff podcast to talk about how a car accident jumpstarted his country music career, his biggest musical influences, his new album These Days, how TikTok has changed the music industry, being a road dog and much more.

We also got to talking about how Tanner Usrey has had the privilege of having his music featured in hit TV shows like Yellowstone and Landman. It’s no secret that Taylor Sheridan has played an intricate role in the growth and popularity of country music.

Almost any series that he has his hands on puts country music front and center, and shows like Yellowstone and Landman are the only programs including songs from artists like Colter Wall, Charley Crockett and Whiskey Myers, who traditionally don’t get much mainstream attention.

There’s even a name for the phenomenon: it’s called the “Yellowstone effect.” When an artist has a song featured on the show, or any Sheridan show for that matter, it provides an incredible growth opportunity and the song typically shoots up to the top of the charts and sees a massive increase in streams once it’s been featured.

Tanner Usrey has experienced that first hand when his songs have been featured in Yellowstone, Landman and most recently Netflix’s The Waterfront. We asked him how it feels to be watching the show as a fan and hear your own song used within a scene, and he admitted it’s surreal:

“It’s pretty cool. I don’t know. It’s just a cool thing. Especially that ‘Landman’ scene with ‘Destiny’ was pretty good. It was a good scene.”

Landman fans likely remember that particular scene that used Usrey’s “Destiny” in the season finale.

As to how artist get their songs on hit shows, Usrey says the music director typically reaches out for permission, let’s artists know what song will be included, and that’s about it:

“They just tell you what scene. And you go, ‘Okay, cool.'”

But according to Tanner Usrey, the scene information is all that they get. Sometimes artists aren’t even told what episode their song will be featured in. That’s what happened when the country singer’s song “The Light” was a part of Yellowstone‘s Season 4 finale:

“Mine was like… they told me at the beginning of the season that it was going to be there. Then my song was in the final episode, and I didn’t know anything about it.”

@whiskeyriff What is it like having your music featured on ‘Yellowstone’ and ‘Landman’? @Tanner Usrey shares it all on the latest podcast available on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube. #whiskeyriff #whiskeyriffraff #tannerusreymusic ♬ original sound – Whiskey Riff

Though the music directors of hit shows tend to be fairly tight lipped about how songs will be used, Tanner Usrey is just happy to have his music forever ingrained with some of television’s biggest shows. And he’s definitely appreciative of all that Taylor Sheridan has done for him and the rest of country music:

“Taylor Sheridan is a genius. I did his “Ride for a Million’ party in Las Vegas a couple of years ago. He’s a super nice dude, but he’s also go-go-go… He definitely blew the (country and Red Dirt) scene up.”

To hear more from Tanner Usrey, download the podcast on Apple Podcasts by searching “Whiskey Riff Raff” or click here.

We’re also available on Spotify and wherever else you can listen to podcasts.

Cheers, y’all.

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