Musical Chairs

Photo by Neil Brake

MCA Records President Tony Brown was guest lecturer in the "Country Music in Social Context" class Dec. 4. Brown addressed the 14-student seminar on the current state of country music and its place in the future of the music industry. Course instructor Richard A. Peterson, professor of sociology, said the class examines how country music maintained its authenticity as it rose to a popular music mainstay from rural tradition. Brown attributed the genre's declining popularity -- as evidenced by a downturn in album sales -- to the rise of Internet music sharing and the lack of a breakthrough star in recent years.

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