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By Maxim Mower
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Garth Brooks fans thought the moment they'd been dreaming of since he cut that exclusive deal with Amazon Music in 2016 had finally arrived, with the country megastar's beloved sophomore album, No Fences, briefly being made available on Spotify.
The internet became rife with speculation as to whether Garth Brooks had revised his deal with Amazon Music, and was now beginning to upload his catalogue to other platforms.
Alas, this fleeting appearance of 1990's No Fences on Spotify appears to have been a mistake, with some suggesting it might be the result of the latest wave of streaming fraud.
Whoever it was that uploaded No Fences, it seems, did not have the approval of Brooks’ team, with one track - ‘New Way to Fly’ - being a live recording, and three other songs that feature on the original album, ‘Unanswered Prayers’, ‘Same Old Story’ and ‘Wolves’, nowhere to be seen on the since-deleted Spotify tracklist.
Garth Brooks has had a deal to make his discography exclusively available on Amazon Music for almost a decade now, with the only album you can stream on Spotify Live in Germany 1995.
Although you certainly can't blame Brooks for selling his catalogue to the highest bidder, his move has meant that younger generations of country fans often don't realise just how influential the ‘Friends in Low Places’ hitmaker has been on the genre, as his music is generally absent from the likes of Spotify, YouTube and Apple Music.
Earlier in the week, Garth Brooks took to Instagram to offer a heartfelt tribute to former president Jimmy Carter, following Carter's death on December 29th, 2024, “President Carter, the legacy you and Rosalynn have left us is as beautiful as the life you lived. Thank you for your lifetime of service to our country and the world. You inspired us not just by what you said, but by what you built. We love you”.
If it had been legitimate, the timing of this mysterious No Fences upload would have been strange, given Garth Brooks is currently facing charges of rape, sexual assault and battery as part of a California lawsuit. Brooks has dismissed the accusations, sharing, “I do not fear the truth, and I am not the man they have painted me to be”.
After a packed month of shows as part of his Caesars Palace Plus ONE Las Vegas residency, Garth Brooks is preparing for the final run of that stint in Sin City, with performances lined up at The Colosseum Theater throughout February and March.
For more on Garth Brooks, see below: