Music Streamers Chase an Overlooked Audience: Country Music Fans
- Online retailer, rivals staff up in Nashville in star search
- Country fans aren’t far behind rock ’n’ rollers in online use
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Kelly Rich, who worked at Taylor Swift’s label for 10 years, jumped to Amazon Music a few months back to help bridge a gap between the tech giant and a segment of the listening public that’s been slow to change.
After snagging exclusive streaming rights to country music legend Garth Brooks last October, Amazon.com Inc. began moving to expand its country music fan base. The Seattle-based company recruited Rich from Big Machine Label Group to manage label relations at its Nashville, Tennessee, office and backed Brooks’s live tour.