Billboard Hot 100: 03/16/2024

[Rose "Payola" Nylund]

I think placing the onus directly on country radio to play Black artists is simplifying the issue and misdirecting responsibility. That's not to say there isn't racism at play, judging by what we know about how sexist country radio is (it's not a stretch by any means). But if we consider that country radio has a pool of artists to choose from, artists who are established enough to get the support needed for country radio to get on board, we have to look beyond just country radio.

We have to look the labels, promoters, concert venues, and other areas where country artists work to build their names up. Are labels signing Black artists? Are promoters and venues adding them to their bills? Are other artists supporting them? Are they being developed? Are journalists and influencers talking about them?

My guess is, many of those in the above list are probably saying a lot of the same things people here are. "Clearly we're not racist. We've supported Kane Brown and Darius Rucker." It's the unsaid "that's enough" that speaks volumes in that regard. Citing Kane Brown as the artist of the current #1 country song on radio doesn't really mean much.

[jenglisbe]

Mar 12, 2024 14:26:44 GMT -5 Rose "Payola" Nylund said:

I think placing the onus directly on country radio to play Black artists is simplifying the issue and misdirecting responsibility. That's not to say there isn't racism at play, judging by what we know about how sexist country radio is (it's not a stretch by any means). But if we consider that country radio has a pool of artists to choose from, artists who are established enough to get the support needed for country radio to get on board, we have to look beyond just country radio.

We have to look the labels, promoters, concert venues, and other areas where country artists work to build their names up. Are labels signing Black artists? Are promoters and venues adding them to their bills? Are other artists supporting them? Are they being developed? Are journalists and influencers talking about them?

My guess is, many of those in the above list are probably saying a lot of the same things people here are. "Clearly we're not racist. We've supported Kane Brown and Darius Rucker." It's the unsaid "that's enough" that speaks volumes in that regard. Citing Kane Brown as the artist of the current #1 country song on radio doesn't really mean much.

All of this!!

And to your question, no labels are not signing Black artists. There are very few Black artists signed to major labels (and to my knowledge none of them are women). Radio isn't likely to play artists who aren't being promoted by a major label. At the same time, as you note, the "That's enough" speaks volumes.

Mar 12, 2024 5:40:11 GMT -5 mms82 said:

Also, show any proof for your racism claims? Kane Brown has been killing it on airplay with mid music for years

An exception doesn't prove a rule.

[thebops]

Last post from me on the topic:

85la / Nylund / jenglisbe - Interesting points, especially regarding radio not playing songs unless the labels push them; largely true. And yes, finding one or two examples of black artists that have been played on country radio doesn't prove that racism doesn't exist, I agree as well. But your comment regarding the unspoken "that's enough"... how much is enough and how does that get measured? Who decides what "enough" is? If black people are roughly 14% of the U.S. population then should exactly 14% of all country songs be by black artists? Even if only 1% of all artists trying to make it big in Country are black? It gets pretty dicey when you start talking details. I think we all agree that in the ideal world, the best artists that make the best music regardless of skin color, gender, sexual orientation, etc should be the ones that get promoted. How close we are to that reality and the reasons why we aren't are where we probably disagree.

Finally, regarding this comment: "I highly doubt the claim itself though, that "not that many black people are interested in country music." The genre itself has a long history of African American roots and contributions." That's fine that the roots of Country music are at least partially steeped in African American roots but how many POC are really fans of the genre today, in 2024? Country is my personal favorite and has been for over 30 years. Here in Michigan, I just went to a concert this past weekend to see BlackHawk (had 7-10 decent sized hits in the mid-90s). Very small venue, maybe 500 people were there. I probably saw maybe 200 of those people up close, enough to the point where I could tell their ethnicity. Out of those 200 or so people, how many were black? I saw exactly zero. Everyone was white except for one or two people who worked for the theatre. This concert was in downtown Lansing, a city of about 112,000. Just over half of the residents of Lansing are white, the rest African American, hispanic, asian, etc. But at the concert, zero POC. I have seen black people at other country concerts, but I'd say not even 1% of the audience. Maybe the situation is a bit different outside of the American midwest but this is where I get my statement "not many black people are interested in country music". It comes from my personal experiences.

[85la]

thebops, thank you for respectfully sharing your points of view. It does provide more insight, even if I still largely disagree with them. I will try to be more respectful and constructive in sharing my points of view as well, and Gary to you too.

[Baby Yoda Hot100Fan]

[sayhey]

Mar 12, 2024 13:08:44 GMT -5 suburbandreams said:

Mar 12, 2024 13:03:16 GMT -5 sayhey said:

Radio programmers enjoy creating new #1s.

WCBF is projected to hit #1 this week and looks like it will be  a multi week one. So it might prevent Benson from ever hitting one. But in the end , longevity matters more than  peaks

Exactly, it's all about longevity. As for Ariana, glad to see WCBF is projected to top the charts, really hope it does!