Politics and Music: Class Meetings

Professor Courtney Brown

Meeting #10: Country Music II: Political Content for Niche Markets
LECTURE NOTES
SELECTIONS played in class:
Videos:
Campaign commercial for Ronald Reagan's 1984 reelection campaign featuring Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the U.S.A."

Music Only:
Johnny Cash (from the Bitter Tears album) - (i) "As Long As The Grass Shall Grow," (ii) "The Vanishing Race," (iii) "Apache Tears"
David Allan Coe (various selections)

QUESTIONS and DISCUSSION: How is niche music different from mainstream music? Do you see how niche music can have a very select audience, and that most people outside of the niche are unaware of the music directed toward that niche? Most people are not aware of Johnny Cash's altruistic Native American songs even though they may be very aware of his more popular country hits. Most people probably do not even know that Johnny Cash is part Cherokee. But there is nonetheless a narrow and committed niche market for his Native American music. Can you clearly see the political content of these songs? What is the purpose of his Native American music? Is he promoting their political cause, or singing eulogies addressed to the tragedies in their history? The answer to this may not be clear.

With regard to David Allan Coe, most Southerners know only of his more mainstream and popular hits. The public's exposure to Mr. Coe's racist, homophobic, and other objectionable songs is much more limited, and most Southerners would find his choice of lyrics highly offensive. But there is nonetheless a very narrow niche market of listeners for this music. He apparently wrote the music when he was associated with a motorcycle gang in the late 1970's and early 1980's. Today, he rarely performs these objectionable songs, but he does sell a CD with the material on his web site and perhaps at concerts, leaving an uncertain impression with regard to his current views. He also refuses to put his name on the CD that he sells. The point is not to characterize Mr. Coe in any particular way, but to note that a very narrow niche market for this highly politicized music still exists. A good source for introductory information regarding Mr. Coe is The New York Times article on 4 September 2000, page B1(N).

We will discuss numerous niche markets in a variety of genres in this class. Most niche music dies out, and of course one would hope this to be the fate of Mr. Coe's objectionable songs. But remember that it is from some small niche markets that future mainstream music gets much of its direction. One has to be able to identify niche markets before one can even try to predict which ones will die and which ones will survive. In this course, we are primarily concerned with the nature of the political content that is "fed" to these niche markets through music, not predictions as to the longterm survivability of the market.

Can you also see that the political content and country theme of the Reagan commercial indicate that the country motif is now completely mainstream? Remember that country music was once called "hillbilly music" and that it occupied a very narrow niche market.

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