Garth Brooks Partners With Amazon Music for First-Ever Streaming Deal
For the first time in his career, Garth Brooks' music is now available for streaming. The country superstar has partnered with Amazon Music for an exclusive streaming deal.
Beginning Wednesday (Oct. 19), Brooks' fans will be able to stream his music through Amazon Music Unlimited, an on-demand music streaming service. Currently available for streaming through Amazon Music Unlimited are Brooks' newest single, "Baby, Let's Lay Down and Dance," as well as his The Ultimate Hits collection and his Double Live album. More of Brooks' music will be added to Amazon Music Unlimited later this year, including his upcoming new albums, Gunslinger and Christmas Together, the latter of which is a holiday duets project with wife Trisha Yearwood.
"It is a joy to work with a company that is all about the customer when it comes to service and all about the music and its creators when it comes to the music,” Brooks says in a press release. “I applaud Amazon on their commitment to quality and thank them for this opportunity.”
In addition to having his music streaming on Amazon Music Unlimited, Brooks is also making his catalog available for purchase and digital download on Amazon Music exclusively.
“This is a landmark moment for both Amazon Music and Garth Brooks,” says Steve Boom, Amazon Music's vice president. “Garth Brooks is a legendary country music superstar who continues to shatter industry records and amaze fans three decades into his career. We are honored to make his music available for streaming for the first time ever, exclusively on Amazon Music.”
In 2014, Brooks began making his music available digitally for the first time; that September, he launched GhostTunes to fit his preferences for digital music. Brooks tells Billboard that, for now, the site is staying up "to make sure that all the things that they promised [including pre-existing bundles and delivery of the new single through a Fritos promotion], they fulfill."
"Whether GhostTunes goes away or not [in 2017], I don’t know," Brooks adds, "but I know Garth Brooks will go away from GhostTunes by then."
Amazon Music Unlimited subscriptions are available to Amazon Prime members at $7.99 per month or $79 per year. Non-Prime customers can purchase a subscription for $9.99 per month, and an Amazon Echo-only subscription is available for $3.99 per month. More information is available on Amazon.com.
Brooks is currently on the road for his World Tour. Christmas Together and Brooks' new box set, The Ultimate Collection, are set for release on Nov. 11. Gunslinger will be packaged as part of The Ultimate Collection and available as a standalone release on Nov. 25.
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