In 1991, country music duo Brooks and Dunn released their debut album, A brand new person. Country music has changed a lot in the more than three decades since then. In a recent exclusive interview with VICE, Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn talked about the state of country music today and explained that the impact technology has had in recent years has been a very “good thing” for them.
“I think that if anything it’s positive,” Don replied when he felt that something had been “lost or sacrificed” for the rise of digital and streaming. Brooks added that they think there is “nothing wrong with access.”
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“Especially as time went on and one thing led to another, it helped with our younger audience,” added Brooks, then name-dropped some modern artists—like Post Malone—who also helped keep their names and images in circulation. “Fortunately we got a lot of support Morgan [Wallen] And Luke Combs and Jelly Roll, and those who wear our hats and T-shirts.”
“A modern audience has access through technology,” Brooks recalls, “and you can’t turn technology off anyway, so you know, get on board and ride with it.”
Don noted that “it wasn’t that long ago that there was primarily only one outlet for music, either in person or live on the radio,” however, “that’s no longer the case so that’s the ticket to really opening up. Things are up.” Commenting on how things used to work, Dunn explained, “You’d do a song, it’d be a hit, [then] It’s gone.”
Now, though, Don sees artists “returning to the status they were in [at] When they were popular in other places.” He finally added, “So, yeah, bring it on. It’s good. It’s a good one
thing.”