8/ “The Forgotten 15 million”. What happened when the radio industry realized it could make money out of African Americans and their music (1950s-1970s)
Diacronie. Studi di Storia Contemporanea, N. 53, 1|2023
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| ABSTRACT | TESTO INTEGRALE | L’AUTORE | REFERENZE | LICENZE |
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«Listener loyalty: KYOK has more by far », Houston, Texas, 1965 SC 89. Special collection, George Nelson Collection, Archives of African American Music and Culture. ((C) L’immagine appartiene ai rispettivi proprietari / Property of its respective owners)
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Italiano
L’articolo si propone di rivisitare la storia della “radio nera” negli Stati Uniti. Dopo la Seconda guerra mondiale, gli afroamericani emersero gradualmente come consumatori significativi agli occhi degli imprenditori bianchi alla ricerca di nuove opportunità di mercato. È stato quindi creato un intero settore di radio black-oriented per attirare il pubblico afroamericano con quella che veniva identificata come la loro musica (blues, rhythm’n’blues, gospel, ecc.). Tuttavia, queste strategie economiche alimentarono un’opportunità per i disc-jockey afroamericani, che sfruttarono la loro posizione di mediatori nei confronti del mercato per riorientare lo scopo delle radio black-appeal dalla finalità meramente economica all’organizzazione della comunità.
Parole chiave: lavoro, musica, politica, radio, razza.
English
The article aims to revisit the history of « black radio » in the United States. After World War II, African Americans gradually emerged as meaningful consumers in the eyes of white entrepreneurs looking for new market opportunities. The entire subfield of black-oriented radios was then created to attract black customers with what was identified as their music (blues, rhythm’n’blues, gospel, etc.). However, these economic strategies fueled an opportunity for African American disc-jockeys who used their position as a gateway to the market to redirect the purpose of black-appeal radios from money-making to community-organizing.
Keywords: Labor, Music, Politics, Race, Radio.
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Tristan Le Bras is Ph.D candidate in history at l’Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS). His dissertation deals with the history of disc-jockeys from the late 1940s to the late 1970s, looking at the social and political consequences of the development of black-oriented radios in that period, particularly in regard to the redefinition of race relations. His research explores how the expertise on black-identified music was used by individuals to secure positions and advance social agendas.
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LE BRAS, Tristan, «“The Forgotten 15 million”. What happened when the radio industry realized it could make money out of African Americans and their music (1950s-1970s)», Diacronie. Studi di Storia Contemporanea, N. 53, 1|2023
URL: <http://www.studistorici.com/2023/03/29/le-bras_numero_53/>
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«“The Forgotten 15 million”. What happened when the radio industry realized it could make money out of African Americans and their music (1950s-1970s)» by Tristan Le Bras / Diacronie. Studi di Storia Contemporanea is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribuzione – Condividi allo stesso modo 4.0 Unported.
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