Country music insider John Rich is warning of a growing divide between country music artists and the people behind the scenes in the industry.
During an interview with Breitbart News, John Rich said that as the left has become more emboldened over the past year, Democrats within the upper ranks of the country music industry have followed suit.
“What you’ve got is a really interesting scenario here where the industry of country music is…the majority is very liberal,” he said. “They’ve been that way for a long time and it’s interesting that the industry that puts out country music doesn’t really align with a lot of the audience.”
Rich, who is famous for his time in the country bands Lonestar and Big & Rich, and was behind country hits such as “Shuttin’ Down Detroit” and “Country Done Come to Town,” sent out a tweet about the controversy, which read:
“There are many conservative country music singers that just won’t say anything to push back against the ideologies that aim to erase what they care about. Why? You know why. I hope soon we see them start to speak up. The country music industry is out of touch with the audience.”
There are many conservative country music singers that just won't say anything to push back against the ideologies that aim to erase what they care about. Why? You know why. I hope soon we see them start to speak up. The country music industry is out of touch with the audience.
— John Rich🇺🇸 (@johnrich) June 10, 2021
Though the country music star did not provide any statistics about just how many Democrats held positions of power and influence within the industry, One America News found the facts.
According to the news outlet, “One of the largest labels in country music is Universal Music Group Nashville, which is a subsidiary of UMG run by Mike Dungan. In the last year, Dungan donated to the campaigns of Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff (D), Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison and Joe Biden. He has also made repeated donations to the Democrats’ virtual fundraising arm known as Act Blue.”
OAN also mentioned that the CEO of Warner Music Group Nashville, John Esposito, has donated money to the failed congressional campaign of a Kentucky Democrat, Act Blue, and the Senate Majority PAC, a group which works to elect Democrats in the Senate.
“Why don’t we see other country artists, who we assume are probably conservative, why don’t we see them speaking out?” John Rich asked during his Breitbart interview. “The answer is because they still want to get their records played.”
The country music star noted that the industry hasn’t always been this way, adding that the rise of censorship is a relatively new phenomenon.
“Over the years, the industry has never really come out really strongly about their liberal edge that they have until recently,” Rich said. “Maybe in the last six to 12 months.”
Rich also discussed how he believed that parents would have been able to stop the censorship, but he doesn’t see that happening right now. The country music star went on to warn parents that their children are looking to them as an example of how to act.
“If they hear mom and dad saying something around the dinner table, but then they zip their lips when it comes to say it out in the open and they won’t say it,” he explained. “What do you think the kids are going to do 15 to 20 years from now when they run into this situation.’