So I have a question for my Country music peers. We cool with Morgan Wallen now? Is his never-quantified arbitrary punishment over? Are we allowed to play his music again? To promote his shows? Who decided when this was over and why did we not agree upon this timeline from the beginning?
If you are not aware, earlier this year Morgan Wallen, possibly the hottest new star in Country music with the biggest album in America, was caught on camera saying a racial slur. I don’t feel that I need to condemn this because what reasonable person could defend it? If you want me to make a statement, I’ll say that him saying that word in 2021 is just proof he’s never had his ass whipped. That’s that.
I will also say that my station never “banned” his music. I know other stations, particularly the large companies, did. Here’s why I didn’t. Because my audience didn’t want me to. I had more than a few calls and messages thanking us for continuing to play Morgan Wallen’s music. I’ll be honest, it was a tough choice, but what it came down to was this… It wasn’t that I was endorsing anything Morgan said – it was that I serve the Country music fan base. And there were a ton that were very much disturbed and very disappointed. Yeah, a few had some very shortsighted and obtuse perspectives on the situation, but like with most other issues, I don’t give them the attention they don’t deserve.
I think most reasonable people felt that his actions deserved public attention and that Morgan had/has some personal issues that he needed to work through. But none of that meant they didn’t need or want his songs to help them get through their day. And that’s what it’s about for me. The listener. Even the ones I fervently disagree with on a number of issues.
I do believe in accountability. Very much so. But to what extent? To the point where someone no longer gets to make a living or continue pursuing their dreams? I’m just not sure that’s the best policy or is the best path towards real change in our society.
The other issue was that I knew for a fact that we would end up playing his music again. After this never-discussed arbitrary probation period had ended. And at that point we would look like hypocrites. And we did. I mean, I didn’t. But as a format, Country radio now looks like a bunch of fools. Like we only cared about his actions when we thought it would affect the bottom line. Which turned out was the opposite. And then we had to wait a very non-exact amount of time to bring his music back, including a new single. Which in turn we are going to try and take credit for.
Or we could have used this opportunity to have conversations with our black communities about the issues Country music has had. Which are real and 100% valid. We didn’t do that. We didn’t address any issues. We simply made grand statements, publicly, we knew that after a certain amount of time we would retract privately. I think that’s what is most upsetting to me. I’m all for taking a stand. But stick to your guns.
And don’t get me started with the awards shows and the “banning” of Morgan Wallen from certain categories but not others. Gimme a break. The bottom line is this. Country music botched this situation all the way around. We won’t admit it, but we did. And although this situation is not exactly like the Dixie Chicks (they are partly responsible), the result may end up being worse long-term. Because we never actually made a decision. We just pretended to.
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-by Greg Almond
About the Author: Greg Almond is an on-air personality for Goober 95.1.
