Are blackness and whiteness useful concepts in the study of popular music?

The concept of supposed "blackness" and "whiteness" in the field of popular music is a dated and ever-more archaic perspective, and the lines that divide them are growing more and more "grey", so to speak, by the second. The only usefulness that I personally can ascertain from their existence is within the area of marketing. Advertisers use the societal opinions of what constitutes "white music" and "black music" to their advantage, and very obviously and deliberately try to attract the desired audiences with advertising campaigns that they think will have the most effect, and will subsequently garner them the highest amount of profit. However, I strongly believe that our society, as a whole, has grown accustomed to such tricks and ploys, and I personally think we’ve adapted to this, and become intelligent enough to be able form our own opinions, free from criteria such as “blackness” and “whiteness”.