How country music became cool
Business Daily
BBC
4.4 • 816 Ratings
🗓️ 27 January 2026
⏱️ 17 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Country music is in the midst of a grand renaissance. The genre - whose popularity was previously confined to the American South - is now climbing the charts, grabbing the attention of Gen Z audiences, and changing the perception of what it means to be a country listener. Streaming of the genre in the US rose by nearly 110% in the five years to 2024. And it’s taking over markets all around the world. In the UK, the genre more than doubled its share of the singles market in two years. And Australia is now the third largest country music market globally. From ‘music city’ - Nashville, Tennessee - we speak to artists and industry leaders to better understand where the country music boom came from, and where it’s headed this year. How did country become so cool?
To get in touch with the team, our email address is businessdaily@bbc.co.uk
Presented and produced by Ellie House
(Picture: Neon lights spelling 'Music City Tonight' at Robert's Honky Tonk, Nashville. Credit: BBC)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, podcasts. |
| 0:08.8 | I'm in Nashville, Tennessee, on the biggest night of the year for country music. |
| 0:15.6 | It's the Country Music Association, or CMA, awards show. |
| 0:22.9 | Fans are gathered behind a fence as they watch their favourite stars walk down the red carpet. |
| 0:31.6 | They catch a glimpse of Zach Top, a 28-year-old newcomer who's made it big on TikTok and in the charts. |
| 0:41.4 | I'm Ellie House and welcome to Business Daily from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:48.3 | Country music is having a boom. |
| 0:51.4 | Spotify streaming of the genre in the US rose by nearly 110% in the five years to |
| 0:57.2 | 2024. I think the barrier of just admitting that you like it has come way down. This might be |
| 1:04.3 | the coolest time ever to love country music. And the country boom has gone global. In the UK, |
| 1:10.6 | the genre more than doubled its share of the singles market in the space of two years. |
| 1:14.9 | And Australia is now the third largest country music market in the world. |
| 1:21.9 | All over the world, country music has seen a new day rise. Even my teenagers back home in Sweden love country music has seen a new day rise. |
| 1:28.0 | Even my teenagers back home in Sweden love country music. |
| 1:31.7 | And it hasn't happened by chance. |
| 1:33.8 | Industry heads have been strategizing for years |
| 1:36.2 | to bring the all-American music genre to fans well beyond its borders. |
| 1:41.9 | I've been on this journey. |
| 1:43.6 | It's felt great the whole time. It's like, oh, this is doing better. Oh, now it's doing better. Oh, we're still growing. Oh, been on this journey. It's felt great the whole time. |
| 1:45.1 | It's like, oh, this is doing better. |
| 1:46.3 | Oh, now it's doing better. |
| 1:47.3 | Oh, we're still growing. |
... |
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