XPost: alt.music.folk, rec.music.folk, rec.music.country.western   
   XPost: alt.music.country.classic   
   From: gcmccoury@yahoo.com   
      
   Amid Tough Times, It's Blue Skies for Bluegrass   
      
         Sun Oct 3, 9:15 PM ET   
      
   By Deborah Evans Price   
      
   NASHVILLE (Billboard) - At a time when much of the mainstream music business   
   is desperately trying to connect with consumers and sell albums, the   
   bluegrass music community has seen its fortunes rise.   
      
   Tapping traditional promotional avenues such as festivals that have served   
   the genre well for decades, and combining that exposure with more aggressive   
   marketing techniques, bluegrass labels have boosted awareness of the music   
   and its stars.   
      
      
   As the bluegrass community gathers in Lexington, Ky., for the 2004 World of   
   Bluegrass event Oct. 4-10, executives have good reason to be upbeat.   
      
      
   "We are not competing with mainstream country or pop music," notes Dan Hays,   
   executive director of the International Bluegrass Music Assn. "We are still   
   a niche genre, but the number of people who are getting into it and are   
   finding they have access to it has dramatically changed over the last   
   decade."   
      
      
   According to a spring 2003 report by Simmons Market Research, nearly 8   
   million U.S. adults had purchased bluegrass recordings in the previous 12   
   months. That's double the number reported in 2000.   
      
      
   O BROTHERLY LOVE   
      
      
   The growth of bluegrass music has coincided with the rising success of such   
   artists as Alison Krauss, Rhonda Vincent and Ricky Skaggs, the enduring   
   popularity of such veterans as Ralph Stanley and Earl Scruggs and the   
   massive breakthrough of the bluegrass soundtrack to the film "O Brother,   
   Where Art Thou?" Released in 2000 on Lost Highway/Mercury Records, it has   
   sold 6.8 million units, according to Nielsen SoundScan.   
      
      
   In general, Hays says, "those people buy more records than your average   
   consumer does. They are buying other music as well as bluegrass, but the   
   fact that that number has grown by that much speaks to their interest in the   
   music and the fact that it is a growing format."   
      
      
   According to the IBMA, bluegrass radio programing is also on the rise. The   
   association has 826 stations in its database that provide some bluegrass   
   programing, up from 700 outlets in 1996.   
      
      
   Even satellite radio has embraced bluegrass with programing on Sirius and   
   XM.   
      
      
   "Bluegrass not only represents a link to the past, but an incredible musical   
   art form that continues to evolve in immeasureable ways today," says Scott   
   Lindy, director of country programing for Sirius. "There are millions of   
   bluegrass fans in this country. Few have a full-time bluegrass station to   
   listen to, and most (stations) only budget a few hours of bluegrass a week   
   on the FM or AM dials."   
      
      
   SPIRIT OF COOPERATION   
      
      
   The IBMA attributes growth in bluegrass to three factors: the music itself,   
   its increased availability and a spirit of cooperation in the bluegrass   
   community.   
      
      
   "People in the industry are working together more today than they were maybe   
   a generation ago," Hays says. "Event producers are tuned in to what's going   
   on with radio programers, who are tuned in with what is happening at retail   
   and with record labels. (We) have that network that has been built."   
      
      
   The music has also become more physically accessible. "You can find it a   
   little easier today than you could 10 to 20 years ago," both in retail   
   stores and on the Internet, Hayes notes. "Twenty years ago you really had to   
   know where to look for it."   
      
      
   Artist accessibility is another positive factor contributing to the growth   
   of bluegrass. "The No. 1 marketing tool is the artist, the ability for those   
   acts to actually be out there touching fans," Hays says.   
      
      
   "If you go to a Rhonda Vincent show, I'd be surprised if you don't get to   
   hug Rhonda's neck or at least shake hands with her while you are there. You   
   don't get to do that at a Britney Spears show ... Bluegrass artists are   
   accessible and they are the ambassadors for the music."   
      
      
   The Down From the Mountain tour, featuring artists from the multiplatinum "O   
   Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack, enjoyed similar success, as did a live   
   recording of the tour. But the soundtrack and subsequent activity tapped   
   into an infrastructure of labels, artists, promoters and broadcasters "that   
   was in place before 'O Brother,"' Hays says.   
      
   BREAKING STEREOTYPES   
      
   Live performances have always been the driving force in bluegrass music.   
   Although multiartist tours have done a lot to boost careers, industry   
   observers feel those opportunities need to be further exploited.   
      
   Such tours "could do more than anything else to break down the false   
   stereotypes sometimes associated with the genre," says Brian Smith, VP of   
   store operations for Value Central Entertainment.   
      
   "I recently saw Mountain Heart packaged as the opener for George Jones," he   
   says. "They stole the show and generated significant interest in themselves   
   and today's bluegrass music as a result."   
      
   Smith also cites the Del McCoury Band's participation in the recent Bonnaroo   
   festival. "They did wonders for the format by appearing with such a diverse   
   mix of artists, both new and old," he says.   
      
   "We showcase just about every genre," says Jonathan Mayers, co-owner of   
   Superfly, the company that co-produces Bonnaroo with A.C. Entertainment. The   
   event drew more than 90,000 fans to Manchester, Tenn., in June.   
      
   "Bluegrass continues to be one of the most popular types of music we   
   present," Mayers says. "There is an ever-expanding audience for music that   
   is based on musicianship and songwriting, both of which (are) integral to   
   bluegrass music."   
      
   Reuters/Billboard   
      
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