Jarrod,
A lot of people make the same mistake about Jamey Johnson. They think "he is doing this, why can't I?" They miss CONTEXT. With Jamey, yes he is doing well (depending on how you look at it) for himself. But he can do the more "traditional' (which are just stories but still about the same time frame), but started with HONKY TONK BEDONKADONK. That was the first big hit that he had, and that was on Trace Adkins, not himself. Then he followed that up with a HUGE song, IN COLOR. So yes, if you can write two songs that sell about ten million in product, you TOO can do whatever you want to do.
You see, you can do whatever it is you want to. The audience makes the decisions on what works and what doesn't. And if you don't make it applicable for the masses, no industry people, that you need to DISTRIBUTE IT to the masses, are going to take a chance on it.
People who want to take "chances" are always very loud and very verbose about being different. And generally THEY are not the ones spending millions of dollars to promote a song or artist. If you had to go to a bank, borrow millions of dollars against your home, your furniture, your repuation, your children's futures, your ability to pay for anything you want, cars, homes, women, etc. you would be MUCH less desiring to "take a risk." Because most of music is a moneytary loss. So you have to decide on how much "being different" means to you.
You see, it has never occurred to me to WANT to try to "be different." I always try to be inventive and interesting within the formats established. This is for a very easy reason. I don't enjoy BEING IGNORED. I don't like BEING TALKED OVER, WALKED OUT ON, LOOKED AT BY VENUE OWNERS, WAITRESSES, BARTENDERS, as the ENEMY because I ran customers out of the venue. I don't like being looked at by club owners or manages like I am so stupid that I don't know any better that without patrons, NOBODY MAKES MONEY AND THE DOORS DON'T STAY OPEN. I don't like being told "No thanks, we really don't need you here," or "Don't call us, we'll call you."
Because that is what happens with people who are really different. And there have been a lot of people who were really different. Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, John Belushi, Robin Williams, Andy Kaufman Amy Winehouse, Phillip Seymore Hoffman. They were all different. THEY ARE ALL VERY DEAD! Different leads to a different kind of frustration because it is rarely recognized or moneytized while they are alive. The people who are "different" also have strange behavior, personality, a lot of drug and alcohol problems.
There are people who are DIFFERENT but work within the confines of what has already been established, and take it the next step. Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Steve Jobs, Donald Trump, all are different too. But they expanded the market place to fit what they were doing.
In country I have seen some different people. Garth Brooks and Taylor Swift. Why did they work when so many else didn't? Garth did nothing musically that hadn't been done before. If you just went on music, he was very similar to many of the Oklahoma or Texas artists before him. He just added HUGE STAGE SHOWS AND BOUNDLESS ENERGY.
Taylor was different in that she wrote instinctive songs, that transended her age range. She appealed to people older than she was and avoided the "sophomoric" lyrics and sing songy things that most of her contemporaries always did.
And she was at the beginning of the "Twitter Universe" so she was able to take that message directly to her fans.
But as far as the structure, verse chorus, framework, musical patterns (three chords and the truth), they were pretty much EXACTLY the same as the people who came before and after them. They just added other parts of the entertainment business that fit their personalities and worked within their world.
So being different can be good. It can be nonsense. I will guarantee you this. The "next Big Thing" that comes along and grabs your attention and you think "hey, that is different..."I bet I can break it down for you and show you that it is not as different as you think it is.
There are still always going to be only 12 notes and a combination thereof. They aren't making anymore.
There are still going to be 5 senses. They aren't making anymore.
They're are still going to be about 6 emotions. They aren't making anymore.
Want to different? Go for it.
MAB