Country Music Research Paper

Country music is a genre that was inspired by folk style church music from the British Isles, and it came to the United States in the 1700’s. It grew in the Appalachian Mountain region where it was finally established in Bristol, Tennessee, which is now considered to be the birthplace of country music (Birthplace of Country Music). In the 1900’s, country music started to become more popular with the rise of the recording industry, however as this time, artists had to travel to New York to record their music. Tradition country music utilizes acoustic guitars, mandolin, autoharp, fiddle, as well as the banjo to achieve its distinctive sound. What people considered to be hillbilly music also encompasses these instruments which lead to this genre

Country music gives people the comfort of knowing they are not alone in their struggles. The lyrics are about real life experiences that anyone can relate to, and this is what makes country music so popular. The music industry also has a large impact on the genre. It is now very popular for an artist to be sponsored by a large company and that is why it is possible for country artists to sell out large stadiums that seat over 10,000 people. Also, there are a few recording labels now that hold the majority of the genre, on the other hand, recording oneself is also gaining popularity. Another way that you see country music responding to society is by the amount of crossovers that they are recording now versus 20 years ago. The genre is realizing that not all of their fans are exclusively country fans, and the majority of their audience enjoys some other type of music as well. There have been crossovers with country with pop, rock, and metal artists. It is increasing their grasp on the music industry and causing them to gain popularity at an exponential