Country Radio’s Reach Remains, but Its Playlist Looks Out of Sync with the Genre

The useful part

As pretty much everyone knows by now, however, country radio has taken what can only be described as a nose-dive in quality over the years. Gone are the days when you can fire up your local station and hear some stone-cold country songs, complete with some fiddle and steel, or even some hidden gems that a local DJ caught wind of early. Of course, that ended when major corporations such as iHeartRadio bought out the majority of radio stations around the country.

How it works

• Following the decline of the Bro-Country era, many would argue that mainstream country music has been WAY better in the past 5 years or so, and in many ways, it truly has.
• You still always hear about how bad country radio is… so the question that remains is just how bad is it?
• and Canada) and their rolling chart, however, it looks bleak to put it lightly.
• Zach Bryan,, has scored a staggering 115 million streams on his biggest hit of 2026, "Plastic Cigarette," which was released on January 9th.
• However, that's exactly what the issue is with country radio at this stage in its life.

What to take from it

From a pure numbers perspective, would the average person want to listen to "Kid Myself" or "Plastic Cigarette?" I think you can answer that question for yourself. Nowadays, you admittedly have to actively seek out the best country music has to offer, whether it's here at Whiskey Riff, on streaming services or online on various different social media platforms. I've said on multiple occasions that country music, at large, is at one of its healthiest and most exciting periods we've ever seen.

Example or evidence

• Of course, female artists are still few and far between on country radio… Keep in mind, this comes at a time when a track like Whiskey Myers' "Broken Window Serenade" is becoming a staple in the genre and...
• It's simply a vehicle for labels to score #1s and arguably meaningless accolades while the general public fails to build a meaningful connection with their respective artists, something the likes of Eric...
• Taking a deeper dive into the current Top 50, there are some true head-scratchers present here.
• Additionally, you can find the likes of Flatland Cavalry with "Never Comin' Back," (#37) Kacey Musgraves with "Dry Spell" (#38) and Charles Wesley Godwin with "Better That Way" (#50) way down on the list.

Details worth keeping

Despite country radio clearly losing the decades-long stranglehold it has had on consumers for the better part of the past five or so years, there's no denying that it's still a major player in terms of introducing casual listeners to music as it has throughout history. However, you won't even see them appear much here. As it stands today, September 1st, the Top 10 consists of the likes of Taylor Swift, Stella Lefkofsky (aka Stella Lefty), Luke Combs, Kenny Chesney, Kane Brown, John Morgan, Morgan Wallen, Bailey Zimmerman, Luke Bryan and finally the biggest artist in the country right now, Ella Langley.

Related coverage

• Ajournalofmusicalthings: [This was my weekly column for Globalnews.ca. – AC] I spend a couple of hours each morning scouring online sources for the latest music news and recommendations. Some of what I find gets
• Ajournalofmusicalthings: Let's be clear: Terrestrial radio is still popular, powerful, and profitable.
• Newstalkkit: I don't know, but it seems to me country is going to be America's dominant music genre.
• Whiskeyriff: Country music has officially become overwhelming… it's a good problem to have.