Here is the revised text:
The petition, created by Jensine Gomez, highlights what many see as racial bias in the country music industry. It points out that despite Beyoncé releasing two country singles in February, only a handful of the 150 stations that report to Billboard’s Country Airplay chart played her songs. The petition alleges that this lack of airplay is due to “racism, revisionist history, and gatekeeping” in the industry.
One station faced backlash after responding to a fan’s request for Beyoncé’s music by stating, “We do not play Beyoncé on KYKC as we are a country music station.” However, the station later clarified that they had played Beyoncé for 25 years on their sister stations KXFC and KADA-FM, and had simply not been aware of her new country releases.
The petition calls on the country music industry to confront its “anti-Blackness” and acknowledge the genre’s roots in Black history. It cites a University of Ottawa and SongData study showing that artists of color represented only 3 percent of airplay on country radio from 2002 to 2020. The petition also mentions the history of the banjo, a key instrument in country music with African origins, which was later appropriated in minstrel shows.
Gomez emphasized the importance of correctly categorizing and honoring Beyoncé’s music as country, viewing it as a step toward recognizing and supporting Black artists in the genre.
