Itunes, Billboard, and the marginalization of black music and black audiences in America

This can't be life.

(Wild Colonials reference.)

Only 16 of the r&b eoy top 100 made the Hot 100 eoy chart.

In 2002, there was a 48-song overlap, exactly 3x as many.

9-song overlap with eoy Rock chart (way up from i think 3 last year), and 14-song overlap with country

Via Danyel Smith/Andy Kellman:

http://madamenoire.com/247266/arbitron-sale-to-nielsen-could-be-good-news-for-urban-radio/

Songs with most weeks at number one on Billboard's R&B chart:

18. "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie - Louis Jordan
15. "Be Without You" - Mary J. Blige
14. "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here" - Deborah Cox
14. "We Belong Together" - Mariah Carey
14. "Blame It" - Jamie Foxx Feat. T-Pain
14. "Pretty Wings" - Maxwell
13. "Can't Be Friends" - Trey Songz
12. "Diamonds " - Rihanna
12. "Un-Thinkable (I'm Ready)" - Alicia Keys
12. "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" - Beyoncé
11. "Climax" - Usher

if the chart hadn't been changed in October, Miguel's "Adorn" would be on its 16th week at #1 (as it stands it only had 4 weeks). I'm pretty sure Rihanna will be dethroned in the next week or two...by Macklemore.

...........

I know this should have its own thread but man these changes have turned the rock chart into a dire melange of Of Lumineers And Mumfords

xp are you trying to imply this guy isn't keeping the block hot?

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wdNofQxrfrk/UEAcCPiLXnI/AAAAAAAAC5w/qg00qrcI9Ho/s1600/Macklemore.jpg

I just listened to Macklemore & Ryan Lewis for the first time. Why did I think that was a good idea?

tbf the rock airplay charts are also a dire melange of Lumumfordeers, it's the Ed Sheerans and Phillip Phillipses that the download-dominated charts are bringing in

what the fuck is a lumineers anyway

The light that illumines the path for hipsterati

the whole "guitars are back on the charts! but only acoustic ones" thing is pretty surreal

I Like Lumineers and Mumfords

the whole "guitars are back on the charts! but only acoustic ones" thing is pretty surreal

fuck yes time to get paid

dude if you think you could troll the world by writing the next "Ho Hey" Top 40 folk pop blockbuster you should really go for it

TROLL BITCHES, GET MONEY

I'd be much more willing to give it a shot now than I would have been before there were baby clothes to buy but I'm long in the tooth. Gotta get me some Rob n Fab gone rustic stand-ins for my big-dollars Mumford heel turn

For real dogg if you sold that song abt the cubs to the right set of dickheads in hobo hats you could make bank

pull a semisonic

has "thrift shop" entered the r&b/hip-hop airplay chart? the billboard website seems to suggest not. it would be kind of funny/sad if it topped the overall chart w/o reaching the airplay chart at all

yeah, only airplay charts it's been on are rock, alternative and pop

it's funny because "Gangnam Style" is STILL at the top of the Rap Songs chart, but for some reason that was never allowed on the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, where "Thrift Shop" is despite having pretty similar airplay demographics. the top 3 on Rap Songs is all stuff that has zero urban radio airplay (PSY/Macklemore/Flo Rida).

how do we know psy has no urban radio airplay? like what's the go-to reference on that?

for me it's just anecdata in two major cities (philly and nyc)

I have not heard him on DC urban radio (some dude listens more to DC and Baltimore radio than I do; he could give a more full response I bet)

I don't think I've even heard any of the DJs or radio personalities even mention him or the fad

maybe gangnam style will appear in a kanye verse on a remix 5 years from now, tho

the slowed-down olsen twins reference already feels 5 years old, i'd give him maybe two months

I don't think I've even heard any of the DJs or radio personalities even mention him or the fad

I mostly listen to urban radio these days, so I didn't know about the song until months after the masses (I had to YouTube it after reading that it was a defining song of 2012). That song is so far removed from rap radio interests that I'd be surprised if any rap station anywhere in the country ever played it even once.

the slowed-down olsen twins reference already feels 5 years old, i'd give him maybe two months

have you heard the diamonds remix?

Seattle's pop-ass Flo Rida-playing, Macklemore-playing rap station hasn't even touched Gangnam Style

#1 rap song in the country folx

I am sure Bill Werde at Billboard will continue to defend this (and sound annoyed in his tweets that anyone would ever question anything Billboard does)

yeah, that guy is the worst on twitter

how do we know psy has no urban radio airplay? like what's the go-to reference on that?

i don't know about the specific data in psy's case b/c i rarely look at radio numbers, but if you are wondering about that kinda thing, a lot of ppl look at mediabase data to get numbers for what certain formats are playing. for example here and here are some recent data on what mainstream/rhythmic radio and urban/urban adult contemporary radio are playing (and music video plays on tv, which are hilariously low)

yeah i wasn't saying no urban station has ever played "Gangnam Style" once. but it never got enough spins to chart on R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, so whatever play it got was negligible (relative to tons of spins on pop radio).

ok so macklemore is #1 now (w/ zero entries ever on the r&b/hip-hop airplay chart) and probably will be for the next 10+ weeks since that is the pace the pop charts are going now. at what point is an actual r&b/hip-hop radio hit going to top this chart? never?

Well yeah. That would be bad for business if that happened.

when Drake drops his lead single is prob the correct answer

only songs that were in the top 20 of both Pop Songs and Hip-Hop/R&B Airplay at any point in 2012: J. Cole's "Work Out," T-Pain's "5 O'Clock" and Rihanna's "Diamonds"

artists that were in the top 20 of both charts but never with the same song: Nicki Minaj, Rihanna, Usher, Chris Brown, Drake, Wiz Khalifa, Big Sean, Ne-Yo)

2 thoughts:

1. I don't understand the point of this thread, but I hate seeing the term "black music" used in place of "industry manufactured pop music"

2. I would not worry about the marginalization of black audiences. All of the black people I know (all over 30 years old) seem to have no problems finding all the music that they need, none of which seems to be Nicki Minaj, Rihanna, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Drake, Rick Ross, Wiz Khalifa, 2 Chainz, Ne-Yo, or Chris Brown.

I apologize if I am way off the make. I respect the fact that so many here care about music and culture, and I tried to understand the point of the thread. There just seems to be some stereotyping going on here.

Regarding item 2, the point was/is that Billboard was not giving respect to widely popular black music. Your reference to people you know not having problems finding the music they need is not analogous.

what do you mean by "widely popular black music?"

a. widely popular music performed/produced by black artists
b. a style/genre called "black music" that is widely popular
c. music that is widely popular among black audiences

what are you trying to accomplish, nicky lo-fi?

learn something, maybe. why do you assume agenda?

just weird to see someone think that their sample of 'black people over the age of 30 who I personally know' is representative of black audiences of all ages all across America, is all.

sorry, I in no way meant to imply that anything is "representative" of anything. I only brought up age because maybe it's a youth culture thing, of which I'm pretty ignorant.

I was wondering how Billboard was marginalizing black audiences (from the title of the thread)

I don't know anyone, of any race, who is so influenced by Billboard charts as far as their taste is concerned.

maybe it is. I don't know. can you explain?

nicky lo-fi, are you a rockist?