Just like Hendrix

Both numerically and symbolically, rock music has a white audience, edging out non-whites from participating. Music genres often reflect ethno-racial groups, but why this is so and how this works has remained largely unstudied. Professional and consumer reviewing practices are a prime location for the formation of rock music’s symbolic boundaries. Hence, based on a quantitative and qualitative analysis of 385 rock album reviews, this article investigates (i) to what extent ethno-racial boundaries are (re)produced or contested in the critical reception of rock music in the United States between 2003 and 2013, and (ii) to what extent (semi-)professional reviewers and consumer-reviewers differ from each other regarding ethno-racial classifications in their reception of rock music. I find that albums by non-white artists receive lower evaluations than those by white artists, particularly when reviewed by lay critics. Although both types of reviewers often ignore talking about race – echoing a color-blind ideology – (semi-)professional critics are more explicit and color-conscious regarding non-white participation in rock music. Furthermore, five different mechanisms are used by reviewers as a part of ethno-racial boundary work: (i) ethno-racial comparisons, (ii) inter-genre comparisons, (iii) positive ethno-racial marking, (iv) negative ethno-racial marking and (v) minimization.