AMAZON MUSIC'S MICHELLE TIGARD KAMMERER

The DSP’s Head of Country Music, MTK (as she is known) is passionate about the genre and intensely dedicated to using the company’s considerable resources to expand the music’s audience. We asked about some of the tools in Amazon’s toolbox, and how country’s growth has changed the game.

Has the recent boom in country changed your gig? If so, how?

My job hasn’t changed per se, but we are very excited to see the success of country music bringing in new customers, cross-over artists, and fun multi-genre moments. We pride ourselves on meeting those customers and delivering unique, compelling and exclusive moments, like when Jelly Roll and T-Pain debuted their cover of Toby Keith’s “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” during our Stagecoach livestream last year.

As country becomes a bigger tent, we’re all going to have a front-row seat for some really interesting collaborations. Just last year we were able to bring country star William Beckmann together with the rising música Mexicana trio Los Aptos to record a collaborative Amazon Music Original. The end result was “Desde Ayer,” a track that exists at the intersection of the two genres and beautifully demonstrates their common threads.

Name a new artist or artists you’re particularly excited about in 2025.

So many great new artists it’s impossible to name just one, but Amazon Music did just name our 2025 Artists to Watch, which included incredible new artists like Zach Top, Waylon Wyatt, Vincent Mason, Noeline Hoffman, Graham Barham, Lanie Gardner and Adrien Nunez. They’re so good, and I look forward to our customers falling in love with them this year.

Are there artists you can think of who might not have fit into a country playlist a year or two ago but who, because of their sound or persona, have found an audience among fans of the genre?

We spend a lot of time thinking about how we can surface artists who don’t neatly fit into what’s traditionally considered country music. In fact, over the last couple years we’ve seen artists like Zach Bryan, Chris Stapleton, boygenius, Noah Kahan, Lizzy McAlpine and Kacey Musgraves pioneer a style of music that’s emotive, indie in aesthetic and undeniably inspired by country music. This style of music has become a significant driver of country music streaming, and that’s why Emily Cohen, our incredible country music programming lead, launched bonfire to serve these customers. Emily identified that customers were already seeking out this music, and created a central home for this music that’s only available on Amazon Music.

I’m a legacy artist. What can I do to reach young country fans on your platform?

One of my favorite things about music streaming is that artists at all stages of their careers have a direct line to their fans. We work with legacy artists every day to ensure that we’re connecting their fans with their music, whether it came out 30 minutes or 30 years ago. I’m incredibly proud of our [RE]DISCOVER playlists, which aim to introduce legends like Dolly Parton, Toby Keith, Loretta Lynn and Garth Brooks to new generations of country fans. Whether you’re just discovering country music or looking to brush up on the classics, Amazon Music is here to make that connection as easy and seamless as possible.

To the extent that you ever have what can be called a “typical” day, take us through it.

“No two days at Amazon Music are alike, but the one constant is that every day we’re focused on reaching country music fans and growing the genre. Some days we might be focused on high-profile livestreams like Jelly Roll’s landmark Amazon Music Live episode or Nate Smith’s album-release livestream. Other days we might be securing new Amazon Music Originals from artists like Lainey Wilson for our Country Music Month initiatives. But the throughline is that we’re focused on serving current and future country music fans with exclusive, engaging content they can’t get anywhere else.”