'Tomato Gate' Still Causing Country Radio Introspection

Kacey Musgraces' Grammy-winning record “Golden Hour” (which also won album of the year at both major country award shows) has sold more than 200,000 copies; she tours the world and headlines sold-out amphitheaters; her reach extends far beyond country music. Still, reports The Washington Post, her absence from country radio has confused fans and is causing some introspection in the industry.

“The fact that country radio ignored what was album of the year, that’s embarrassing,” said Larry Rosin, president of Edison Research. “But I doubt very many people in country radio are sitting around embarrassed about it.”

Industry insiders offered several possible reasons for “Rainbow’s” stall on the charts. It didn’t test well when stations did audience research. It’s a slow song that doesn’t resonate going into the summer season, when listeners crave upbeat hits. Others pointed out that the Grammy voters who lauded “Golden Hour” are a very different demographic from the radio programmers who construct playlists.



Then, one reason only brought up in the most hushed tones: Some country radio programmers claim that Musgraves hasn’t been very friendly to them and didn’t seem to care much about airplay — and although they insist their priority is playing the best songs, personal bias can seep into decision-making. This triggered a debate at the annual Country Radio Seminar conference in Nashville in February, where a few programmers admitted that they can’t help but want to support singers who seem more enthusiastic about radio.

Musgraves declined to comment. But she has been more openly critical of the industry’s habits than most artists, who fear alienating programmers. “MASSIVE expectance on us to be extra accommodating, accessible, sexy, and kiss ass-y,” she tweeted last year in reference to a Rolling Stone article about sexual harassment in the country radio world. “Maybe it’s why you hardly ever hear me on the radio.”

Nashville is now nearly four years into a debate over the bleak situation for female artists — which exploded into the open in 2015 when a ratings consultant advised stations to make women no more than 15 percent of their playlists. University of Ottawa professor Jada Watson recently scoured country radio data from 2000 through 2018 and found that Kenny Chesney, the most-played male artist, had more than 6 million spins on his songs — nearly double the amount given to Carrie Underwood, the most-played female artist.