Dear Country Radio™,
Let’s get the easy part out of the way. As country music journalist and person you probably don’t like much, Marissa Moss, notes in her recent review of Beyoncé's “Texas Hold’em,” this song is country, and we know it is country by listening to it. Of course, Beyoncé isn’t a country music star, nor has she been the favorite of the establishment music industry for some time — never a good combination to find yourself on your air.
However, I must say I’m a bit surprised at your reluctance to play a song that includes several hallmarks of a wonderful pop-country bop. The lyrics follow fairly strict country music tropes like playing cards, dancing in dive bars and drinking whiskey. The melodies and hooks include several signatures of current radio hits with heys and hoes and repeated lines. The song even features the incredible Rhiannon Giddens on banjo throughout.
I mean, come on, Mr. DJ, she’s even talking about Texas. (And rhymes it with Lexus in the first few syllables of a line, which is difficult to do without distracting from the main end-of-phrase rhyme scheme, which I’m sure has a technical name, but I digress.)
While I’m really not shocked by this decision, I’m left wondering why Jelly Roll is still being played on your air if you won’t play Beyoncé’s country song. He’s a hip-hop artist dropping (sort of) country music tracks. What’s the difference?
Well, I hate to say it, but you don’t like playing songs by women. Dr. Jada Watson has the receipts — along with decades of data — to back this up. To save you from charts and spreadsheets, I’ll summarize simply: you don’t play women on your stations and almost never back-to-back.
Now, you’re also not going to like this one, and I’m sure you know where I’m going. I think you don’t want to play a song by a Black woman who hasn’t “paid her dues” in this section of the industry.
Moss painstakingly outlines the career trajectory of Mickey Guyton, who is a country music artist through and through, in her 2022 book “Her Country.” While all the women Moss discusses in the book had a hard time breaking through in this industry, Guyton’s two defining characteristics in the eyes of the industry (being Black and a woman) kept her on the outside and off the air even after playing your game for years.
We can also look back at your reluctance to play “Old Town Road” for a similar example of what is happening here. If you want to relive that interesting period of time, I’d suggest you read Chris Molanphy’s contribution to Duke Press’ “Singles Series” of the same name. He documents the incredible rise of this song and the confluence of events and mediums that pushed it onto the charts for a record-breaking 19 consecutive weeks.
Throughout this short book, Molanphy explained that you really didn’t want to play this song after the first few weeks of its meteoric climb to the top of pop culture. And mostly, you played it to say it wasn’t country — which gets me to my next point.
You don’t want to play a country song by one of the biggest musical acts in the history of recorded music because you don’t want someone else to define your genre.
This is problematic for several reasons.
First of all, it’s not yours.
Second and perhaps the most obvious is that your influence has drastically diminished over the past ten years. While some pundits want to believe and say Country Radio™ still matters, it does not pack the punch it once did.
The proliferation of streaming services and the growing importance of niche sub-genres have left you out of the genre-defining business. You aren’t the only game in town — and while millions tune in, even more tune out.
Gatekeeping of “real country” by those who play Jelly Roll, Florida Georgia Line, or any of the other countless hip-hop-infused artists who find time on your stations is kinda funny. I have to believe you think so, too.
And now for the Streisand Effect: I’d go so far as to say Beyoncé wanted you not to play her song. You play it — we see stories about the genre expanding as you welcome new audiences. She wins, and you enhance your reach a bit while potentially alienating some listeners who likely no longer tune in because you exclusively play saccharine pop country, tractor rap and girl-truck-dirt-road-beer songs.
You don’t play it — you see stories like this letter outlining your sexist and racist tendencies, and streaming numbers go through the roof. She wins while you lose.
So, Country Radio™, I’m sure you’ll play this song for a few days — you already are bending to the pressure so rightfully being applied to you. But Jelly Roll will keep getting spins for months. I have nothing against the guy, but he’s just a hip-hop artist making some country music. I wonder where this superior country song by a top-five talent of our generation (if not all time) will be found in late March?
Perhaps we can touch base then, and you can give me a quick update.
I appreciate your time.
Best,
Donnie
Red HOT, accurate, and honest take, Donnie. Well done. Loved the style of this one too.