The unadorned video suddenly surfaced on social media earlier this month: a young man with a bushy red beard and a guitar in the woods, dogs at his feet and insects buzzing in the background. In soulful tones, he sings a country ballad about selling his soul “working all day” and being replaced by inflation, high taxes, and the elite he holds responsible: “Richmond’s Rich man in the north.”
On Monday, barely a week after the song was released, the previously unknown songwriter and one-time factory worker who stars as Oliver Anthony Music topped the Billboard singles chart, beating out pop superstars like Taylor Swift and Olivia Made an unprecedented jump straight to No. 1. Rodrigo as well as established country crossover acts including Morgan Wallen and Luke Combs.
It was encouraged in the early stages by influential conservative pundits and media personalities such as jack posobiec And jason whitlock, Mr. Anthony’s “Rich Men North of Richmond” was praised for its simple sound and workable relatability. Matt Walsh, podcast host and columnist for the conservative Daily Wire, said, “The main reason this song resonates with so many people isn’t political.” wrote X, formerly known as Twitter. “Artificiality suffocates us.” On Instagram, mega-podcaster Joe Rogan said, “You can’t pretend to be authentic.”
The song’s populism leans distinctly to the right, resulting in an original track perfectly poised for a hyperpolarized moment when conservatives find themselves endangered and politics continually permeates every other aspect of culture, be it sports. Be it movies or pop music.
Talk-radio host and author of “American Playbook: A Guide to Winning Back the Country from the Democrats,” Clay Travis said, “People are outraged by what I will say is that the woke universe has taken up a lot of material. ” , “And I think what you’re seeing is a backlash and a rebellion.”
Mr Travis also cited conservative activism against Bud Light earlier this year, including a boycott after the beer brand’s promotional collaboration with Dylan Mulvaney, a transgender influencer, resulted in slumping sales and the dismissal of marketing executives. But went on. He added, “What we are seeing is that a lot of people are exercising their purchasing power.”
The investigation of the song’s origins, ideological intent and unflattering lyrics, which include references to welfare cheaters and pedophile politicians, sparked interest from all sides, pushing “Rich Men North of Richmond” to the center of the zeitgeist and the top of the charts.
It’s a pattern that has surfaced time and time again in popular culture this summer. In “Sound of Freedom”, a feature film about fighting child trafficking, Donald J. It was supported by conservative politicians, including Trump, while its star occasionally promoted QAnon conspiracy theories. Its domestic box office gross of nearly $180 million has already made it one of the most successful independent films in history.
Veteran country singer Jason Aldean rode a wave of controversy to commercial success with “Try That in a Small Town.” Following backlash against its lyrics, which critics said promoted racist vigilantism, and after Country Music Television pulled the song’s music video, which was filmed in a Tennessee courthouse that had once been the site of a lynching. , the dull track was pushed to no. .1 on Billboard.
But the astonishing success of Mr. Anthony, whose real name is Christopher Anthony Lunsford, testifies not only to the ability of confrontational acts to cater to audiences they believe are inept, but also to something else: promoters and A growing understanding of fans – including conservative ones – who have mastered digital platforms and guerrilla marketing tactics to dominate the same cultural industries they say have marginalized them.
Interest in “Rich Men North of Richmond”, which was streamed 17.5 million times on services such as Spotify and Apple Music in its first week of release, grew partly as a distinctively viral track, according to service Luminet, whose data Fuel’s Billboard charts.
The polarizing lyrics also fueled discussions. Mr Anthony has given voice to a long-standing conservative criticism of public assistance – he sings about “coarse milkmen’s welfare” and says, “Well, Lord, if you’re 5 foot 3 inches and you should be taxed £300/don’t pay for your fudge tour bag” – and links politicians to “minors on an island somewhere”.
Social media sparked conversations – “that’s a big reason Oliver Anthony went viral,” said The Daily Wire’s Mr Walsh – but there was also a more targeted digital sensibility at play. Most of the consumer activity that propelled the track to No. 1 came via digital downloads—99 percent from outlets like the iTunes Store—an older format that is declining in popularity faster than CDs.
Despite streaming’s share of overall music consumption now exceeding 80 percent, paid downloads are heavily weighted on the charts, a feat routinely exploited by dedicated pop superfans for acts such as Ms. Swift or South Korean group BTS. is done. Often in coordinated efforts, they use downloads to show support and earn chart milestones that are celebrated like victories in sports or political elections.
Musician and cultural commentator, Jaime Brooks, said that since most listeners spend around $10 a month for unlimited access to everything on services like Spotify, those who buy downloads are intentionally overpaying.
“You do it because of an emotional attachment to the old way of listening, or because you’re getting something out of it,” Ms Brooks said. One such thing, he added, could be “representation of their favorite artists on the charts, which means something to them.” And now you have these people with a clear interest in using charts to give the impression that their specific beliefs or ideas are popular.
“Rich Men North of Richmond” sold 147,000 downloads in its first week, which is 10 times the sales of Mr. Combs’ “Fast Car”, the No. 2 song on the overall singles chart. According to Luminet, Mr. Aldeen’s “Try That in a Small Town” enjoyed a similar boost last month, with just 822 downloads a week before its music video became a culture battleground. Following the response, the track sold 228,000 copies.
Mr. Anthony, who did not respond to requests for comment, has tried to rise above the political battle. In an introductory video posted to YouTube earlier this month, he said, “I sit absolutely quietly at the center of politics and always have been.”
He described himself as “just some nerd and his guitar”, a high-school dropout who struggled with depression and alcohol abuse. But he said he recently found religion and a passion for telling about the “atrocities” of human trafficking and child abuse, which he said are “becoming normal.”
He wrote on Facebook last week, “Just like those who once wandered in the desert, we have strayed from God and false idols have distracted and divided us.”
The growing reach of low-barrier platforms such as social media and podcasts has enabled both “Sound of Freedom” and “Rich Men North of Richmond” to communicate directly with their target audiences in a way that was unimaginable just a short time ago, Neil Harmon Said. Co-founder of Angel Studios, the film’s distributor.
“Wrote a great song, and the audience loved it,” Mr. Harmon said of Mr. Anthony. “The key moment is that people can stand up and do it themselves instead of having to answer to people who traditionally formally say what should succeed or what should fail.”
Writer and musician Winston Marshall, formerly a member of the chart-topping group Mumford & Sons, said that Mister Anthony and “Sound of Freedom” succeeded “without the institutional support of the creative industry”.
This underdog mentality among conservatives in creative fields has long been a buzzword and consumer motivator in book publishing, where right-wing titles like Mark Levin and Dinesh D’Souza regularly climb the sales lists.
According to Eric Nelson, editorial director of the conservative imprint Broadside, such books harness the power of a specific but deep appeal over propaganda focused on one television channel — Fox News — and sales across the ideological spectrum. (Broadside and Fox News are both owned by companies headed by Rupert Murdoch.)
Mr. Nelson said, “The less something is in the mainstream media, the better it is for the best-seller list.”
Similarly—and like pop-music proponents active across the ideological spectrum—many of those pushing “Rich Men North of Richmond,” “Try That in a Small Town” and “Sound of Freedom” encourage self-awareness. Financial support is part of being a good fan of a cultural artifact. “Sound of Freedom” also encouraged fans to buy tickets for other movie viewings.
“This whole thing came out of resentment towards the music industry,” said Canadian rap provocateur Tom MacDonald, who cited digital download campaigns for songs such as “Fake Woke” and “American Flags” as evidence of their appeal and relationship to listeners. formed an important part. ,
Mr McDonald said that achieving chart success with sensible grassroots support was the ultimate rejection of mainstream gatekeepers. He said, “I feel like we’re standing in a room right now that we shouldn’t be standing in, so let’s go.” “It has turned into a culture of its own.”