ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses various musical genres, their relationship to the development of regional music, and the place of that music in the music industry at large. Radio played a key role, although it took several decades for Nashville to win out over several strong contenders as the home to country music. The Grand Ole Opry also hired back-up musicians to form a "house band" to accompany its singing stars, giving talented musicians a regular source of income. The acoustic music scene in Denver is extremely strong. The first acoustic music store in Denver was the Denver Folklore Center, which opened in 1962. It evolved into a series of storefronts that included a concert hall, a record store, a music school, and an instrument shop. For years Portland has been seen in the world of music, culture, and business as being the stepchild of Seattle. Ethnomusicology, the study of world music, helped to create an American audience for world music.
