The ragtime genre thrived from 1896-1920. As ragtime’s influence transferred from the black community into mainstream media, the common means of music creation was different. Folk music and negro spirituals were documented through oral tradition, now ragtime music was now being documented on sheet music. Many white people transcribed the ragtime compositions from black musicians, consequently creating an industry that did embrace black ragtime musicians; ragtime’s documentation resulted in the whitewashing that is present amongst the genre.
The ragtime ‘translations’ of black created compositions on sheet music were in high demand by white middle/upper class piano players. As the compositions were readily available to learn, many white composers began producing rags and were immediately employed by publishing companies. This clearly illustrates how the white demographic greatly benefited from a black creation and proceed to leave the creator of their success in the dust by not hiring or crediting black composers.