CBS This Morning talked with one of the biggest names in Country Music History, Vince Gill. Current star Marren Morris and her singer-songwriter husband Ryan Hurd and somebody that should've been a bigger star, Rissi Palmer.
They all discussed the issues facing country music right. Most notably, the Morgan Wallen "incident". They also touched on why it's so hard for women and people of color to breakthrough in the genre. You can watch the segment below. I found it interesting and, of course, I have thoughts.
So the segment started out with Vince Gill, a legend and one of the nicest guys I've ever met. (Remember, I worked in country radio for a while.) Vince talks about country music being conservative. He says he's not sure if that's true. While the people making the music may not be, the audience sure is. Country radio wants to convince itself that it's a soccer mom format and to an extent that's true. Why do you think the songs are crafted the way they are? But down to its core country is a white man, conservative format. Working during the week drinking Friday and Saturday nights, and church on Sunday. Vince is correct about there being "a rub" between the artists and audience.
Anthony Mason from CBS brings up TJ Osborne who recently come out as gay making him the first gay man in country music on a major label. That's great! I love it! Good for him. The Brothers Osborne are 3 albums deep into their careers. Do you think a label would've signed them if they knew about TJ? The answer is no. You know it and I know it. Should it matter? Absolutely not. If you're talented, join the party! But that's not how it works.
In the story, it's brought up that 84% of artists that topped the charts were white men. Which is B.S. Do you realize how many talented women there in country music? Tons! But because of the way the industry is structured, it's more difficult for them to have a hit. Meanwhile, guys like Luke Bryan and Florida Georgia Line (I'm just them as an example, calm down) can basically release the same 15 songs over and over again because that formula works.
Marren Morris, as it says in the story is one of the few to breakthrough. But don't fool yourself, even with a couple of hits under her belt and a critically acclaimed album, Marren needed to crossover into POP music to get the recognition she deserved. Because of her crossover success, Marren has a seat at the table with the boys. Marren can speak up, sadly for many other women in the industry, they can't because they'll get "punished".
I applaud Vince and Marren and Ryan and Rissi and the countless others who are trying to make country music more inclusive and it should be. I like country music. But here's the issue, the audience. It's not everybody. But go read the Facebook comments on every single story about Morgan Wallen's "incident". THAT is the problem. When the people who consume the product don't see a problem with what Morgan Wallen said you're not going to see anything change.
