The Chicks’ lead singer Natalie Maines spoke out against the US president in 2003, infuriating conservative country music fans and broadcasters; within months, the Chicks’ music had virtually disappeared from country radio. While this made political sense, it made no economic sense because of the Chicks’ vast economic success. Why, then, target them? I argue the reaction was part of a broader regendering of the country music industry, catalyzed by legal challenges, technological changes, and the emergence of a new political conservatism. These changes ended women’s spotlighted place on country music stages where Shania Twain, The Chicks, and others had dominated in the 1980s and 1990s. This article thus begins a year earlier with the lawsuit the Dixie Chicks filed against Sony in April 2002. It is through this lawsuit – which challenged the company’s legal and economic authority over the Chicks – that this article examines the broader cultural, economic, and political shifts that characterized the substantial changes in country music performances and players.