Brad Palsley

Country music has not had much to sing about lately. After an unprecedented boom in the '90s, Nashville has watched record sales steadily decline, media outlets disappear, labels close, radio stations dwindle and listeners flee. Country record sales virtually doubled in the early '90s, going from a 9.6% share of the overall music market in 1990 to 18.7% in 1993, according to the Recording Industry Assn. of America. Since that peak, though, country sales have sagged, dropping to a 10.

Country music has not had much to sing about lately. After an unprecedented boom in the '90s, Nashville has watched record sales steadily decline, media outlets disappear, labels close, radio stations dwindle and listeners flee. Country record sales virtually doubled in the early '90s, going from a 9.6% share of the overall music market in 1990 to 18.7% in 1993, according to the Recording Industry Assn. of America. Since that peak, though, country sales have sagged, dropping to a 10.