Radiowv Explained

Radiowv (sometimes styled radiowv[1] or RadioWV[2]) is an American YouTube and TikTok music channel founded in 2018 to promote artists from Appalachia and surroundings[3] that became more widely known in 2023 for videos by the country music artist Oliver Anthony. Radiowv features unsigned Americana and country musicians with videos of them playing unplugged in country settings,[4] and is credited with “jumpstarting” some of its musicians' careers with the assistance of a so-called "Oliver Anthony Effect”.[5]

Radiowv was mired in lawsuits for most of 2023.

History

Radiovw claimed foundation by "two broke college students," later unveiled as Draven Riffe and John Price, who began posting videos in 2019.[6] [7] Radiowv solicited Anthony to record the latter's first song ever to not be recorded on Anthony's mobile phone, "Rich Men North of Richmond", which Riffe of Radiowv recorded on Anthony's land.[8] Radiowv’s recording equipment was described as “very basic.”[9] Radiowv posted this first song in early August 2023 and in less than two weeks it had generated more than 24 million views.[10] Radiowv has published other Anthony material, and Riffe eventually became Oliver Anthony’s manager.

Radiowv was the subject of disputes between its owner and a former partner which began in earnest in April 2023, when, according to Radiowv, the former partner locked the owner out of the Radiowv social media accounts,[11] leading to a lawsuit by Radiowv ownership in May of that year and a settlement in June which dissolved the partnership, among other agreements. In October, Radiowv sued the former partner, alleging, among others, the poaching of music recordings of the artist Jake Kohn. The former partner countersued in November, alleging royalty disputes, among other issues.[12]

As of August 2023 Radiowv had also signed with Logan Halstead from West Virginia, Drayton Farley from Alabama, and Nolan Taylor from Ohio; by the end of the year, it had in addition posted videos by performers Charles Wesley Godwin, Cole Chaney, and Sydney Adams.[13] Radiowv is credited with helping drive millions of views to Halstead and Taylor, leading to them touring as performing artists,[14] and signing with recording labels.

In late 2023, Taylor said Radiowv had “put a spotlight” on Appalachian musicians generally, promoting their careers.[15] In 2024, Anthony indicated that the most-listened-to songs of his were those recorded by Radiowv.[16]

Critical reception

The Tennessean described Radiowv as "an independent country tastemaker" in August 2023.[17] Drew Magary wrote that generally "the channel has no discernible political bent". At the end of the same year, Radiowv was declared “obscure”, prior to its 2023 hits.[18]

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Benitez-Eves . Tina . August 15, 2023 . Jamey Johnson Joins Viral Singer Oliver Anthony for Surprise Rendition of "In Color" . . radiowv, a YouTube channel [...] asked him if he would record "Rich Men North Of Richmond" [...] Several days after releasing his now-viral hit, Anthony also shared a performance of his song "Virginia" on the radiowv channel.
  2. News: Conor . Friedersdorf . Conor Friedersdorf . The Misguided Debate Over "Rich Men North of Richmond" . 20 August 2023 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20230818155511/https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2023/08/the-misguided-debate-over-rich-men-north-of-richmond/675046/ . 18 August 2023 . en . Oliver Anthony / RadioWV [from photo caption].
  3. DAVID BROWNE . David Browne (journalist) . Oliver Anthony Became a Symbol of Populist Rage. The Truth Is More Complex . 16 May 2024 . . 17 November 2023 . RadioWV, a YouTube channel devoted to off-the-grid country and folk singers in and around Appalachia […] RadioWV alumni, like Nolan Taylor, who recently signed a deal with Atlantic Records.
  4. News: Scottie . Andrew . This little-known country song became a chart-topping anthem for conservatives almost overnight . 17 August 2023 . . en . RadioWV, which films and shares outdoor performances by musicians in Appalachia [...] RadioWV shared the video on its YouTube and TikTok accounts.

  5. "countless artists featured on the channel […] massive leaps in the view counts on their respective videos, streaming pages and more in what's affectionately been dubbed the "Oliver Anthony Effect" […] has netted over 7 million views helping to jumpstart the young artist's career"

  6. " RadioWV, a video platform launched by Draven Riffe and John Price"

  7. News: Drew . Magary . Drew Magary . Was 'Rich Men North of Richmond' planted by conservative media? Probably not. . 20 August 2023 . . 16 August 2023 . en . radiowv, a music channel on YouTube that was, according to its bio, "created by two broke college students [...] Radiowv has been posting videos since 2019, and virtually all of the people they’ve showcased are similar to Anthony: talented young artists playing unplugged in a rustic setting [...] most every other song featured on the channel has no discernible political bent.
  8. News: Alex . Blair . Overnight sensation Oliver Anthony reveals why he turned down $12.5 million deal . 20 August 2023 . . 18 August 2023 . en . Draven from RadioWv and I filmed these tunes on my land.
  9. Melinda Newman . Oliver Anthony Music on 2024 World Tour, If He's Endorsing a Presidential Candidate & Why He's 'Never Going to be in Nashville Co-Writing' . 16 May 2024 . . 14 November 2023 . “the radiowv videos used very basic equipment, so I had never had anything recorded with studio-quality equipment".
  10. Jessica . Nicholson . Melinda . Newman . Oliver Anthony's Manager on the Viral Success of 'Rich Men North of Richmond' and Bigger Mission: 'God has Chosen to Speak Through Oliver': Exclusive . 20 August 2023 . . 20 August 2023 . en.
  11. News: Amber Baker . "Rich Men" singer Oliver Anthony's success a key factor in West Virginia civil lawsuit . 16 May 2024 . WTRF-TV (ABC-7) . 24 November 2023 . […] Riffe says that Price changed the passwords to radiowv’s social media accounts and email and removed his account credentials […].
  12. News: Chris Dickerson . Defendant files counterclaim in 'Rich Men North of Richmond' case . 16 May 2024 . . 13 December 2023 . In 2018, he says he began an online sponsorship-marketing effort to create video for West Virginia musicians. He decided to create YouTube, Instagram and Facebook pages for this project he called radiowv […] a contract on June 6, 2023, to resolve their prior dispute that included granting Riffe exclusive right, title and ownership of RadioWV […].

  13. "RadioWV has posted dozens of videos that include performances by everyone from Charles Wesley Godwin to Drayton Farley, Cole Chaney, Sydney Adams and Logan Halstead"

  14. "Halstead told Wide Open Country […] "I was a nobody until that video popped off […] I left my house and began traveling around playing music […] Nolan Taylor […] Another artist grateful for the exposure provided by Radiowv is Southwest Ohio's Nolan Taylor […] 3 million views […] The Grand Ole Opry, where he made his debut on Nov. 25"

  15. ""RadioWV has put such a spotlight on our region in a way that hasn't been spotlighted before," says Taylor. "A lot of artists are coming out of Appalachia right now"

  16. News: Chris Willman . Oliver Anthony to Release Dave Cobb-Produced Debut Album on Easter Sunday . 16 May 2024 . . 29 March 2024 . en . nearly all the songs that my fans listen to outside of the RadioWv session from August of 2023” — i.e., the outdoor “Rich Men” session seen on video — “are those Android recordings I recorded.
  17. News: Marcus K. . Dowling . 21 August 2023 . Inside Oliver Anthony's 'Rich Men North of Richmond' and its path to Billboard's Hot 100 chart . en . . 21 August 2023 . Radio WV YouTube channel has become an independent country tastemaker in recent months, co-signing the work of Charleston, West Virginia's Logan Halstead, Alabama native Drayton Farley and Cincinnati, Ohio's Nolan Taylor . MSN.
  18. News: Michael Schwarz . Video: Oliver Anthony Shares Powerful Bible Verse Before Grand Ole Opry Debut . 16 May 2024 . . 21 December 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240516021857/https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/video-oliver-anthony-shares-powerful-bible-verse-before-grand-ole-opry-debut/ar-AA1lS23e . 16 May 2024 . appeared on the obscure radiowv YouTube channel on Aug. 8. Within days, it became a mega-hit.

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