Country music has become a staple of American culture since its humble start in the rural areas of the American South 100 years ago. It takes much of its influence from the people living there.
The culture and lifestyle of a blue collar America led to work songs that formed the roots for country music today. This makes much of the messaging in these songs primarily relate towards Americans. Due to the focus on Americentrism in this genre, country music has had a majority of its consumer demographic relegated to the United States.
Recent trends have expanded the reach of country music as it has been appealing to a larger audience in the global market. In 2019, The British Country Music Festival (TBCMF) was established. This allowed people in the UK to gather and enjoy country music from artists in their country. France has the largest annual country music festival in Europe called Country Rendez-Vous. There are more than 20,000 people gathered in the small Haute-Loire village, whose residential population is only 2,000, to view live performances from European country artists.
This global stage has allowed country music artists and their works to explode to wider audiences. Despite country music only accounting for 9 percent of music consumption in the United States and 6 percent of total consumption globally, it made up 14.7 percent of market share for total music sales in 2020.
Senior Robert Curtis expresses his longtime love for country music with how it can relate to certain types of people. “I feel like country music has grown a lot as an industry as it connects primarily to more down-to-earth people who are very hands on and hardworking. This makes country music’s messaging very universal as there are people who are like that in any country. Tiktok and other platforms also have helped spread country music to a larger audience outside of the United States,” Curtis said.
American genres of music gaining mass attraction is not a new occurrence. The rising popularity of country music mimics the reigns of both jazz and ‘rock n roll’ music during their prominent eras.
Jazz found its largest presence during the 1920’s in which living conditions soared as a result of a postwar economy. This caused an influx of entertainment and party culture as the roaring twenties began. Jazz music found its place perfectly in this new environment as it matched the energy of that decade’s craze.
Rock ‘n’ roll found its start right after the jazz era with the introduction of its poster boy, Elvis Presley. His energetic style of music played to the hearts of young people around the world and propelled himself and rock music to new heights of recognition.
Both jazz and rock ‘n’ roll have become global successes established with different international cultures. Countries outside the United States have adapted their own versions of these music genres by their own artists and bands like Carlos Santana, Roy Fukui and Queen.
Band director Marc Gaskin comments his thoughts on the progression of American music on the global market with his knowledge in the music field as a music studies teacher. “I think the impact of American music spreading is caused more by corporations than anything else. If people see room for a market in another demographic, they will take that opportunity to introduce it themselves,” Gaskin said. He additionally states the ability for American music to spread as successfully as it has is due to its stylistic malleability. “I think one of the things that makes American music appealing to international artists is how well it can mix with other genres of music to form their own unique twist.”
America has always been a center point of cultural representation and global connection. Country music has showcased its international influence similar to how jazz and rock ‘n’ roll have had and its growth will continue strongly for the future. It has the potential to be the next big spread of American culture for people outside of the states to be seen, adapted and appreciated.
