Garth Brooks is one of the few artists whose music isn't on the most popular streaming sites. His exclusivity has isolated him from younger fans, and will ultimately impact his legacy.
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In 2016, Garth Brooks signed an exclusivity deal with Amazon Music Unlimited. Ironically, this has limited the country legend's music to only two streaming services. Amazon Music and Apple Music. Although both of these music streaming services are pretty big, they require payment and aren't that popular.
I think, as do many Garth Brooks fans, that his music being so inaccessible will only harm him in the long run, and will diminish his legacy.
The grand majority of artists (basically all of them) publish their music on sites such as Spotify and YouTube. Not only are these the most popular sites for accessing their respective content, they're also both free to access.
Considering how many young users resort to these two sites, they will be exploring country music and engaging with new and old songs without Garth Brooks. The act of having to make another account and pay even more money for just one artist's songs is an outlandish thought.
Garth Brooks Is A Country Legend, But His Music Is Nowhere To Be Heard
While Garth Brooks is alive, he'll continue to be a staple name in the genre. However, fans have expressed that they simply don't really listen to him anymore. He's on none of their go-to streaming sites, and access to CDs is shrinking by the minute.
If his own fans are struggling to listen to him, then what hope do new fans have?
Garth Brooks (ideally) still has a few decades left on this Earth. That's a long time. As Spotify and YouTube continue to dominate their spaces, the next generations of fans will grow up only hearing about Brooks. Not listening to his music.
We'll enjoy him while he's here. But after that? When all that's left of him is his locked-away music?
Although I don't think he'll ever get forgotten, his legacy will be impaired big time. Without the ability to easily get more new fans, he's doomed to shrink away into the darkness. His name will be an echo. Something to remember. But not something to care that much about.
