Country Radio is Actually Playing Kacey Musgraves (?!)
It’s hard to believe (oh no, that’s not a pun I swear), but somehow, Kacey Musgraves’ song about not getting laid received 24 adds at country radio since its release a few weeks ago. For a white dude singing about trucks or dadlife, that wouldn’t be a monumental number – we all know that country radio rewards those who play by the rules (and are men) with glorious bounty. But for Musgraves, who never agreed to any rules and was subsequently penalized for it, this is quite the accomplishment. It’s been thirteen years since “Follow Your Arrow,” the reigning CMA Song of the Year at the time, failed to even crack 40 on the charts because she dared to mention the idea that it’s actually OK to just kiss whoever you want – and eleven since the absolutely-should-have-been-hit “Biscuits” met a similar fate because…wait for it…she said the word “pissin.”
Of course, nothing is in a vacuum: Musgraves happened to be a woman who didn’t hide her beliefs or feel the need to smile and perform gratitude on camera or for program directors who talked about wanting to touch her legs on-air (yes, really, it's my book), so that didn’t help. But even when Golden Hour won Album of the Year at the Grammy’s, radio still didn’t push “Rainbow” past thirty – and that song, in my opinion, is a true classic that will span generations and beyond. Hell, I sing it to my daughter at bedtime (poorly). Program directors attributed their reluctance to playing it in part to what they perceived to be Musgraves’ inability to make them feel good about themselves and like they are friends with famous people. At CRS in 2019, one programmer claimed Musgraves “won’t do the promotional things radio expects especially a woman artist to do.”
Country radio adding “Dry Spell” at all shocked me. It’s a song about, yes, not getting laid and being horny. It has a music video where Musgraves is eyeing up some perky eggplant at the grocery store because it’s been too long y’all. And Musgraves has only gotten more vocal over the years: she gloriously dumped on Ted Cruz in 2021 (I own that shirt) and has been steadfast I her support of the queer and trans communities. It’s not like she’s dialed down what she shares with the world since her debut radio singles. And, though country music does have a grand tradition of horny songs, singing about sex (or anything pushing boundaries) hasn’t exactly been radio gold for women in country music. Still, some stations are playing the song. KXBL in Tulsa played the song 27 times last week. Either someone in Tulsa is finally get it...or not getting any, if you know what I mean.
What’s changed? For one, the climate: radio programmers are finally paying attention to what’s streaming well, and are not just trying to follow trends a few months later, paddling furiously to keep up – but actually responding in real time. “It streamed well right away,” says RJ Curtis, who heads up the trade organization Country Radio Seminar. “And those numbers are too big to ignore, for any platform. What I think I heard more of at CRS this year was radio and streaming understanding each other’s strengths better and paying attention to them. Maybe this is a small example.” A few years ago – see “Old Town Road,” etc. – streaming numbers weren’t enough to sway programmers. Even the TikTok success of Kaitlin Butts' "You Ain't Gotta Die (to Be Dead to Me)" wasn't enough to make that song a country radio hit, which is absolutely should have been, and numbers overall for women, especially women of color, are still pretty dismal.
But yes, women are finally getting some traction on country radio in meaningful – if not universal – ways. It’s hard to underestimate the importance of Ella Langley’s success, or Megan Maroney and Lainey Wilson’s. Doors for women are hopefully opening in their lead - they certainly are trying themselves (it's not their problem to fix, as I said here - though they are all doing a great job of bringing other women along for the ride). And who helped create a path for all of them, where they could sing freely about sex and love and agency as women in country music? Well, that would be Kacey Musgraves.
Few things in entertainment move slower than country radio. They've missed the boat on Musgraves - and dynamic songs by women - for years now. 24 adds isn't huge, but it's something (and, fun fact, it's more than Kid Rock got!). It's something Musgraves has been building, year after year: to shift the climate without ever compromising. And I'm alright with a slow burn.
