Uh huh. From the paper reference:

> The study was carried out amongst a demographically representative sample of the online population aged 16-64 in the following territories: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom and United States. The study was also conducted in China and India but results from these two countries are not included in “global” figures due to the size and nature of these markets. In total, 43,000 internet users were surveyed with higher numbers of respondents in larger markets.

They literally just surveyed first world users and made no effort to control for class or other confounding factors that influence musical taste. This pretty much only tells us what first-world city-dwellers like, not the world generally. We're no closer to knowing whether country music is truly the most commercially successful music genre worldwide, but neither are we any closer to disproving it.

I googled a bunch, the highest I've seen Country listed is 4th globally, usually much lower. It's obvious to me that betwixthewires just made up his stat because he wanted to make a dumb point about clueless city dwellers.

It's also interesting because there's 5 examples of American country songs in those videos. One sung by Johnny Cash in the 60's, one written and sung by Dolly Parton in the 70's, two sung by Kenny Rogers in the 70's, and one co-written by Bob Dylan and Old Crow Medicine Show (which I suppose is country-adjacent). At least three of those are just famous in general, and most people would recognize them whether or not they're country fans.

Just looking at the five songs the Twitter user gives as examples of American country music in Africa, it doesn't look like contemporary country music has much of an impact there.

Yea those are just all-time popular songs loved by everyone, even "city dwellers".

Most folks globally (and domestically, tbh) probably know Wagon Wheel not from OCMS but from Darius Rucker who sang a cover that made it to #1 on the country charts.

> Also, as a city dweller, why do people like you constantly attack us about everything? That feeling of persecution is destroying us.

I read it as an attack on people who "like everything but rap and country", which I associated with teenagers' Facebook profiles in the 2000s, not so much city dwellers.

There's definitely some cities associated with country-like music too.

There's no attack intended, at all. I'm just pointing out that Europeans and american city people are insulated from recognizing it and I'm pointing that out because they're overrepresented online.

I upvoted you because I'm also skeptical about the object-level claim, but this is a little dramatic:

> Also, as a city dweller, why do people like you constantly attack us about everything? That feeling of persecution is destroying us.

Rural people can easily levy the same accusation in return.

Why is my comment more dramatic than saying city dwellers "love to shit on it"?

"Shitting on" a music genre is strictly less dramatic than "destroying" a group of people.

Is it not true that urbanites shit on country music? I've heard it happen numerous times.

Most country music is pop music. Also I'm skeptical of the list you linked because 80's and 90's isn't a genre.

Alt country is a thing. Cannot wait to hate on the inevitable mashup of country and hyperpop.

Who's people like me?

People that blame everything bad in the world on their fellow americans that live in cities who they feel they are in a death struggle with.

You seem to feel like you're in a death struggle with someone, and it isn't me. I'm not destroying you.

It's common to hear "I like everything except country" from people who live in cities, it's common to hear derisions of southerners and flyover country and inbred bumpkins and the like. People from cities do shit on it, it's a trend that exists, all I did was say it out loud.

> People that blame everything bad in the world on their fellow americans that live in cities

Not even close to what the comment was saying?