Garth Brooks sets free SXSW show, talks tech - Garth Brooks is making the most of his first visit to South By Southwest.
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| Garth Brooks sets free SXSW show, talks tech |
In addition to doing a keynote Friday afternoon, the reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year also announced a free outdoor show for Saturday at Lady Bird Lake. He also got to hear the premiere of his new single Ask Me How I Know played live on Austin's KASE-FM country radio station. Reported By
"It sounds a hell of a lot better on this system that in it does in my truck," he said in a press conference Friday morning here at the Austin Convention Center.
Brooks also hinted at a possible surprise show for later in the evening. "I'm not really sure what all is going on," he said. "I know I ate breakfast this morning so I'm ready to go however late we go."
Asked about his thoughts about the festival, Brooks said, "you hear the myth, the story, the legend and you come down and see this is ran very cool. Everything goes on time."
He noticed that "there’s a freshness on everybody’s face down here. And that freshness is all about is content. That's what I love. We’re going to talk technology but the truth is everything is based on content. So to get somewhere where content is king, that’s where I want to park and where I want live, right there."
"Between the gaming, the movies and the music (at the festival) this is the place to be if you want to know what’s happening and feel like you are 20 years old again," Brooks said.
Joined by Ryan Redington, the director of Amazon Music, Brooks discussed his decision in October 2016 to enter into an exclusive streaming deal with Amazon and its on-demand Amazon Music Unlimited subscription service ($7.99 monthly for Amazon Prime members, $9.99 for others)
While Brooks respected Spotify co-founder Daniel Ek ("He's a good guy that understands music.") and Apple Music's team ("I'm never going to change to fit their rules."), Amazon offered the full package: streaming, album downloads and physical CDs, Brooks said.
He expects special releases and archival music including demo tracks to be available eventually. "New, old, everything becomes possible with these guys," Brooks said.
When asked whether consumers deserve the right to buy individual album tracks, Brooks asked the reporter what his wedding song was. The answer Fools Rush In (Elvis Presley's version of the Johnny Mercer song). "That might be one of the greatest songs ever recorded," Brooks said. "Is it worth more than 99 cents? ... That song alone is worth 10 bucks."
Royalties from album tracks keep songwriters in business, he says.
Last summer, Brooks began doing a weekly Facebook Live "Inside Studio G" event to connect with his fans. "I am just talking about me so please don't associate this with anybody else that has been in the press lately that's tweeting their ass off," he said. "For me just throwing it out there and throwing it out there, I don't dig that. ... I want interaction, I want back and forth."
Technological upgrades coming to Facebook Live will make the dialogue "be like in this room," he said. "That's where we are headed."
Listening to your song on the radio for the first time NEVER gets old! #AskMeHowIKnow love, g
Watch: instagram.com/p/BRvyEZelXbT/ #SXSW
Follow USA TODAY reporter Mike Snider on Twitter: @MikeSnider.
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