Country music fans have been slow on the uptick in embracing music streaming, but a technocracy of big brands want to corral them and convert them to their online services.

Nielsen Music Canada reports that Audio On-Demand streaming in the Country genre is up by 78 percent this year, which is higher than genres such as Dance/Electronic and Alternative Rock; however, Country represents a pithy six percent of overall on-demand streams which is the lowest of all the major genres.

Looking at overall album sales in Canada on a year-to-date basis, all the main genres are down, but Country is down 17 percent compared to 32 percent declines in R&B and Rap, and a 26 percent drop in Alternative Rock.

Reade Pickert, writing for Bloomberg Technology, delves into what Amazon, Pandora and Spotify are doing to woo hat fans and it makes for a fascinating read.