Arista Nashville is an American

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the pr ...

that serves as a wholly owned division of

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainmen ...

, operated under the

Sony Music Nashville Sony Music Nashville is the country music branch of the Sony Music Group. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Sony Music Nashville includes its three country recording labels Arista Nashville, Columbia Nashville, and RCA Nashville, as well as ...

division. Founded in 1989, the label specializes in

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

artists, including

Alan Jackson Alan Eugene Jackson (born October 17, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for blending traditional honky-tonk and mainstream country pop sounds (for a style widely regarded as "neotraditional country"), as well as penning many ...

, Brooks & Dunn, Brad Paisley, and

Carrie Underwood Carrie Marie Underwood (born March 10, 1983) is an American singer. She rose to prominence after winning the fourth season of ''American Idol'' in 2005. Her single " Inside Your Heaven" made her the only country artist to debut atop the ''Bil ...

,. The label used to operate three sister labels: Career Records, Arista Austin, and Arista Latin. It is a subsidiary of

Arista Records Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertain ...

since Arista's relaunch in 2018, but during the dissolution, Arista Nashville was not affected and it remains a Sony Music label.

History

Prior to the formation of its Nashville branch, parent company

released recordings by

Tanya Tucker Tanya Denise Tucker (born October 10, 1958) is an American country music singer and songwriter who had her first hit, " Delta Dawn", in 1972 at the age of 13. Over the succeeding decades, Tucker became one of the few child performers to mature in ...

and Jennifer Warnes in the country music market during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Plans for a Nashville branch of Arista were considered by label founder

Clive Davis Clive Jay Davis (born April 4, 1932) is an American record producer, A&R executive, record executive, and lawyer. He has won five Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer, in 2000. From 1967 to 19 ...

as early as 1980, but an industry slump at the time caused its delay. In 1989, Davis teamed with songwriter

Tim DuBois James Timothy DuBois (born May 4, 1948 is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a Nashville-based songwriter and recording industry executive who has headed both Arista Records (Nashville Division) and Universal South Records. As a songwrit ...

to form Arista Nashville. The label's initial roster included

Asleep at the Wheel Asleep at the Wheel is an American Western swing group that was formed in Paw Paw, West Virginia, and is based in Austin, Texas. The band has won nine Grammy Awards since their 1970 inception, released over twenty albums, and has charted more t ...

Lee Roy Parnell Lee Roy Parnell (born December 21, 1956) is an American country music and blues artist, singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Active since 1990, he has recorded eight studio albums, and has charted more than twenty singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot ...

, Pam Tillis, and Michelle Wright. Other artists who recorded on the label within its first five years included Blackhawk, Brooks & Dunn,

Rob Crosby Rob Crosby (born Robert Crosby Hoar; April 25, 1954) is an American country music artist. Between 1990 and 1996, Rob charted eight singles on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. He has also recorded six studio albums, w ...

, Linda Davis,

Diamond Rio Diamond Rio is an American country music band. The band was founded in 1982 as an attraction for the Opryland USA theme park in Nashville, Tennessee, and was originally known as the Grizzly River Boys, then the Tennessee River Boys. It was f ...

Exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

, Radney Foster,

Dude Mowrey Daniel "Dude" Mowrey (born February 10, 1972 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida) is an American country music artist. Between 1991 and 1993, Mowrey recorded two studio albums, both on major labels: 1991's ''Honky Tonk'' on Capitol Records Nashville, ...

The Tractors The Tractors were an American country rock band composed of a loosely associated group of musicians headed by guitarist Steve Ripley. The original lineup consisted of Steve Ripley (lead vocals, guitar), Ron Getman (guitar, Dobro, mandolin, tenor ...

, and Steve Wariner. The label founded Arista Texas in 1993, a sub-label specializing in

Texas music The U.S. state of Texas has long been a center for musical innovation and is the birthplace of many notable musicians. Texans have pioneered developments in Tejano and Conjunto music, Rock 'n Roll, Western swing, jazz, punk rock, country, ...

artists. In 1997, it was split into Arista Austin, which featured Jeff Black, Radney Foster, Robert Earl Keen, and

Abra Moore Abra Moore (born June 8, 1969) is an American folk-styled rock singer-songwriter. Moore was a founding member of the Hawaiian rock band Poi Dog Pondering, but left to pursue a solo career after the group's move to Texas in the late 1980s. Her 199 ...

, and a Spanish-language label called Arista Latin. Another sub-label, Career Records, was launched in 1995 with Lee Roy Parnell transferred to this label, while

Brett James Brett James Cornelius (born June 5, 1968) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and record producer based in Nashville. James' compositions have been credited on 494 recordings by a wide variety of artists. Signed to Career Records ( ...

and

Tammy Graham Tammy Wynette Graham (born February 7, 1968) is an American country music artist. Active as a singer and self-taught pianist since childhood, she first gained attention in her hometown before moving to Las Vegas and subsequently to Nashville, ...

were newly signed to it. All three artists moved back to Arista Nashville when Career Records was dissolved. While Graham and James were dropped from it soon afterward, James re-signed to Arista Nashville between 2002 and 2003. From 2005 to 2017, Arista Nashville, Arista Records, and 19 Recordings promoted and distributed recordings by ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to ...

'' winner

. In late 2009, Brad Paisley launched a personal label, Sea Gayle, which is distributed through Arista. The label's first signee was Jerrod Niemann. During the years after the dissolution of

in 2011, Arista Nashville became

's only label using the Arista name until Sony re-launched Arista Records in July 2018.

Current artists

Adam Doleac Adam Doleac is an American country music singer/songwriter signed to Arista Nashville. He has written songs with Darius Rucker and Kane Brown. Background Doleac grew up in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. His father and grandfather ran an electr ...

* Ryan Hurd * Old Dominion * Brad Paisley * Seaforth * Nate Smith * Morgan Wade

Formerly on Arista Nashville

* Brent Anderson * Carlton Anderson * Keith Anderson *

* Sherrié Austin * Adam Brand * Blackhawk * BR549 * Kix Brooks * Shannon Brown * Cam *

Deana Carter Deana Kay Carter (born January 4, 1966) is an American country music singer-songwriter who broke through in 1996 with the release of her debut album '' Did I Shave My Legs for This?'', which was certified 5× Multi-Platinum in the United States ...

* Jason Michael Carroll * Jim Collins *

Kristy Lee Cook Kristy Lee Cook (born January 18, 1984) is an American country music singer and television personality. She was the seventh place finalist on the seventh season of ''American Idol''. In 2005, Cook released her first album called ''Devoted''. In ...

*Robert Counts *

Clint Daniels Clint Allen Daniels (born August 24, 1974 in Panama City, Florida) is an American country music artist. Signed to Arista Nashville in 1998, Daniels charted two singles for the label. In 2003, Daniels signed to Epic Records, releasing a third sin ...

* Linda Davis *

The Doobie Brothers The Doobie Brothers are an American rock band formed in 1970 in San Jose, California, known for their flexibility in performing across numerous genres and their vocal harmonies. Active for five decades, with their greatest success in the 1970s, ...

* Ronnie Dunn * Seth Ennis *

* Radney Foster * The Henningsens *

Rebecca Lynn Howard Rebecca Lynn Howard (born April 24, 1979) is an American country music artist. She has charted seven singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts, and has released three studio albums. Her highest-charting single, "Forgive", peaked at ...

Carolyn Dawn Johnson Carolyn Dawn Johnson (born April 30, 1971) is a Canadian country music singer-songwriter. Johnson co-wrote Chely Wright's 1999 single, "Single White Female," which reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart in Se ...

* Jypsi *

Kristen Kelly Kristen Kelly is an American country music singer from Lorena, Texas. While signed to Arista Nashville she released her debut single, "Ex-Old Man". The song was the first from her self titled ep, produced by Tony Brown and Paul Overstreet. “ ...

* Lanco *

Tim McGraw Samuel Timothy McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is an American country singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has released 16 studio albums (11 for Curb Records, four for Big Machine Records and one for Arista Nashville). 10 of those alb ...

& Faith Hill *

Logan Mize Logan Mize is a country music artist/songwriter from Clearwater, Kansas signed to Big Yellow Dog Music. Music career In April 2010, Mize signed a publishing/record deal with Big Yellow Dog Music and a booking deal with William Morris Endeavor ...

*Joel Nava * Jerrod Niemann *

*Ben Rue * The Sisterhood *

Matt Stell Matthew Neal Stell is an American country music singer, guitarist, and songwriter. His song " Prayed for You" and his EP ''Everywhere but On'' were released in 2019. Early life Stell was born in Clinton, Arkansas and raised in Center Ridge, Ar ...

* The Swon Brothers * Pam Tillis *

* Ryan Tyler *

Phil Vassar Phillip George Vassar Jr. (born May 28, 1962) is an American country music artist. Vassar made his debut on the country music scene in the late 1990s, co-writing singles for several country artists, including Tim McGraw ("For a Little While", ...

* Steve Wariner * Calvin Wiggett * Michelle Wright

Formerly on Career Records

Formerly on Arista Austin

* Jeff Black * Radney Foster * Robert Earl Keen *

Sister 7 Sister 7 is an American rock band from Austin, Texas. Patrice Pike originally met guitarist Wayne Sutton when they were high school students in Dallas, Texas. The two formed a band and began writing and rehearsing in 1991. They both opted to forgo ...

* Townes Van Zandt

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Arista Records RCA Records Music Group Sony Music American country music record labels Record labels established in 1989 Companies based in Nashville, Tennessee