More than 27,000 individuals have signed a petition asking for country radio stations to include Beyoncé's new songs in their playlists.
Beyoncé, a Grammy-winning artist, released two country singles in February. However, only eight out of 150 stations on Billboard's Country Airplay chart played the song “Texas Hold ‘Em” the day after it was released. None of the stations played “16 Carriages.”
The request for country stations to play Beyoncé's music has been attributed to racism, revisionist history, and gatekeeping by Jensine Gomez, the creator of the petition., created by Jensine Gomez, claims that the lack of airplay for Beyoncé's songs is due to “racism, revisionist history, and gatekeeping.”
The petition states that Apple Music initially categorized the songs as 'Pop music' despite their clear country sound. When fans requested the songs at local country stations, many of their requests were denied.
One station faced criticism after rejecting a fan’s request to play Beyoncé's music, stating, “We do not play Beyonce on KYKC as we are a country music station.” The station later explained that they had featured Beyoncé's music on sister stations KXFC and KADA-FM for 25 years, claiming they were unaware of the new country release until later in the day.
The station eventually released a statement, admitting that they didn't know about Beyoncé's new country release until 2pm, and expressing their appreciation for her music.
“We honestly did not know about this new country release,” the station said. “Finally about 2pm we got hold of it. We love it and we love Beyonce.”
The petition calls for a recognition of anti-Blackness within the country music industry.
Research at the University of Ottawa and SongData revealed that artists of color made up only 3 percent of airplay on country radio between 2002 and 2020. study An examination of over 11,000 songs played on country radio from 2002 to 2020 at the University of Ottawa and SongData showed that artists of color represented just 3 percent of airplay.
The petition also highlights the history of the banjo, a key instrument in country music that has African origins and was brought to the United States by enslaved African people.
The banjo, a central instrument in country music, originated in Africa and was introduced to the United States by enslaved people. However, it was later used in minstrel shows by white Americans in Blackface.
Gomez stated, “The country music industry must finally reckon with its own racism and anti-Blackness, acknowledge the roots of the country music genre in Black history, and honor Black artists reclaiming a genre they originated.”
