John Rich, a country music star, went to the top of the charts with a song that criticized liberal “progress.” He did this by going around what he called the “machine” of the music industry. Rich began his career in Nashville at Opryland USA right after he graduated from high school many years ago. In 2002, he joined Big Kenny to form the country music duo Big & Rich.
Reporter John Solomon said that if the ground moved under Nashville, “it probably had something to do with country star John Rich, who is a bit of a rebel.” Rich is “unashamedly conservative and tired of woke record labels and group station owners,” so he “decided to bypass the traditional industry machinery” and release his song Progress on “two young free-speech social media platforms, Truth Social, which is owned by former President Donald Trump, and the Rumble video community.”
Within hours of Rich’s release, Progress shot to the top of the Apple iTunes song chart, beating out new releases by Billie Eilish, Lizzo, and Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill, which were all big hits. “Hello Patriots,” Rich wrote on Truth Social to let people know that they could download his new song. “This is my message to the dictators who are destroying our country: Put your progress where the sun doesn’t shine!”
The Washington Examiner says that the song’s lyrics directly challenge the views of liberals in a number of ways. “They say that putting the country back together better will make it great,” Rich sings. “If that’s the way things are going to be in the future, then you can put your progress where the sun doesn’t shine. Stay away from me and my big mess. We’d all be fine if you just left us alone.”
According to Just the News, Rich said that while most country fans and artists have stayed true to the roots of country music and its values, the marketing and distribution machines have become increasingly woke. So, he thought that traditional radio station groups, record labels, and social media sites like Twitter would ignore or “shadowban” his new song and its conservative-friendly message.
Rich said, “Here I am without a record label, publisher, or marketing deal.” “It goes right around the machine they built and goes straight to the people.” The country musician also said that the way he released his new album came down to trusting his own beliefs, which meant staying away from the “woke” platforms. The idea to try Truth Social and Rumble as an experiment came to mind at that time.
Rich talked about how he decided to put out his new work. Rich said, “When I say they are shutting down our voices, I’m talking about Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook.” “And I thought, ‘You know what? I’m going to reach out to Truth Social and Rumble because they still allow free speech there,'” he said. “Why would I put this song out on the platforms that I rant against in the lyrics?”
The rebellious singer hopes that this will show other artists, like himself, that it is possible to be successful and stay true to yourself. Rich said, “I have no doubt that it is a way forward.” “It goes around the machine they built and goes straight to the people. It means that if you bring the right content and have people like Truth and Rumble who can get that message to your core audience, you can beat the machine that has been set up to shut people like me down.