Big Machine Records is an American

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

, distributed by

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

. Specializing in

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

and pop artists, Big Machine is based on

Music Row Music Row is a historic district located southwest of downtown Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Widely considered the heart of Nashville's entertainment industry, Music Row has also become a metonymous nickname for the music industry as a w ...

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

. The label was founded in September 2005 by former

DreamWorks Records DreamWorks Records (often referred in copyright notices as SKG Music, LLC) was an American record label founded in 1996 by David Geffen, Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg as a subsidiary of DreamWorks Pictures. The label operated until 200 ...

executive

Scott Borchetta Scott Borchetta (born July 3, 1962) is an American record executive and founder of the Big Machine Label Group. He started the label in 2005 with 13 employees, as its president/CEO and encompasses four imprints: Big Machine Records, BMLG Record ...

and became a joint venture between Borchetta and country singer

Toby Keith Toby Keith Covel (born July 8, 1961), known professionally as Toby Keith, is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer. He released his first four studio albums—1993's ''Toby Keith'', 1994's ''Boomtown'', 1996' ...

. The company concentrates on publishing, management, and merchandising and oversees imprints, such as Valory Music, that are part of the Big Machine Label Group.

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...

was the first client of the label.

History

Big Machine Records was founded by

, a former punk rock bass guitar player who had worked in the mailroom of his father Mike's music company and eventually became a promotions staff member in 1991 for

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...

. According to ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', Borchetta was an "involved manager" at MCA, "choosing singles and dispensing advice." After he was fired from MCA in 1997, Borchetta accepted a role at the Nashville division of

, but later decided to start his own label after Universal acquired the division. Before he left DreamWorks, Borchetta approached

and her family after the musician performed at the

Bluebird Café The Bluebird Café is a 90-seat music club in Nashville, Tennessee that opened in 1982. The club features acoustic music performed by both established singer-songwriters, and cover artists. The Bluebird receives over 70,000 visitors annually. T ...

in Nashville, Tennessee after first meeting her in 2004. At the time, Borchetta had no infrastructure or financing. He made an offer to Swift and her parents, whereby he would recruit her to the new label's roster after it was established. Swift eventually recontacted Borchetta around two weeks later, telling him: "I'm waiting for you." He formed the label in 2005, naming it "Big Machine" after a 2004 song by the band

Velvet Revolver Velvet Revolver was an American hard rock supergroup consisting of Guns N' Roses members Slash (lead guitar), Duff McKagan (bass, backing vocals) and Matt Sorum (drums, backing vocals), alongside Dave Kushner (rhythm guitar) formerly of punk b ...

. The first signees to Big Machine were

Jack Ingram Jack Owen Ingram (born November 15, 1970) is an American country music artist formerly signed to Big Machine Records, an independent record label. He has released eleven studio albums, one extended play, six live albums, and 19 singles. Although ...

and

Danielle Peck Danielle Marie Peck (born September 14, 1978) is an American country music artist. Signed to the independent Big Machine Records label in 2005, Peck released her self-titled debut album, which produced the Top 30 country hits "I Don't", " Findin ...

. Big Machine's first album release was '' Live: Wherever You Are'', a re-release of a live album he had previously issued independently in 2004. In mid-2006, " Wherever You Are" off this album reached number one on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

, thus becoming the label's first single to top that chart. Soon after he released Swift's first ever recording, the single "

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 album ...

" and her debut album ''

''. Keith dropped his affiliation with the label in 2006, but he was reported as an equity holder in November 2014, alongside the Swift family and Borchetta (the latter reportedly owned 60 percent of the business at the time). In October 2012, Borchetta told ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' magazine: " aylor Swift's fatherScott Swift owns three percent of Big Machine." By March 2009, Big Machine artist

had left the label. The departure occurred during a downturn period for the overall U.S. music industry. In February

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, Swift won four

Grammys The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

—including Album of the Year (''

Fearless Fearless or The Fearless may refer to: Psychology * Lack of fear * Courage or bravery Film, television and audio Film * ''Fearless'' (1978 film), an Italian film directed by Stelvio Massi * ''Fearless'' (1993 film), an American drama directed ...

''),

Best Country Album The Grammy Award for Best Country Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality albums in the country music genre. Honors in ...

(''Fearless''),

Best Country Song The Grammy Award for Best Country Song (sometimes known as the Country Songwriter's Award) has been awarded since 1965. The award is given to the songwriter(s) of the song, not to the artist, except if the artist is also the songwriter. There ha ...

( "White Horse"), and

Best Female Country Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance was first awarded in 1965, to Dottie West. The award has had several minor name changes: *From 1965 to 1967 the award was known as Best Country & Western Vocal Performance - Female *In 1 ...

("White Horse")—becoming the first Big Machine artist to win a Grammy Award. Borchetta signed a deal with Clear Channel—which later changed its name to iHeartMedia—in 2012 that ensures payment for Big Machine artists from terrestrial and digital radio airplay. Three years after the deal was signed, Borchetta said that the revenue streams were "very meaningful." In response to a claim that Borchetta was seeking a sum of US$200 million for Big Machine since the release of Swift's fifth studio album '' 1989'', the label head refuted the claim in November 2014: "Every time we have a Taylor

wift WIFT (102.1 FM, "Bigfoot Country 102.1 & 101.3") is a country music formatted broadcast radio station licensed to DuBois, Pennsylvania, serving the DuBois/ Punxsutawney/ Clearfield area. WIFT is owned and operated by Kristin Cantrell, through ...

record, they're like, 'Oh, he's selling the company.'" However, Borchetta did not rule out a future change of ownership, stating that "the business is changing so quickly, and if I see a strategic opportunity that's going to be better for our artists and executives, it's going to be a serious conversation." Following the release of ''1989'', her Big Machine contract required her to produce one more full-length album for the label. The

Zac Brown Band Zac Brown Band is an American country music band based in Atlanta, Georgia. The lineup consists of Zac Brown (lead vocals, guitar), Jimmy De Martini ( fiddle, vocals), John Driskell Hopkins (bass guitar, guitar, baritone guitar, banjo, ukulel ...

announced on January 12, 2015, that it had finalized a four-way strategic partnership involving the Southern Ground Artists record label, Big Machine Label Group,

Republic Records Republic Records is a New York City–based American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). It was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially an ...

and John Varvatos Records for the release of its fourth studio album. The terms of the deal state that Zac Brown Band will work with Big Machine Label Group for marketing and distribution, while Southern Ground Artists will work on radio promotion, Republic will provide support in the area of non-country radio formats and international promotion, and Varvatos will oversee branding and styling. Borchetta was quoted in the Big Machine press release as saying that there is "literally no ceiling" to what can be achieved by the new partnership, and also spoke of "moments when our best artists hit a global stride and a deeper sense of engagement that speaks a clearer musical language". In a February 2015 interview, Borchetta refused to comment on the status of the label's distribution deal with

(UMG), which was up for renegotiation at the time. He confirmed that the label would release the next ''American Idol'' album, in partnership with 19 Entertainment and UMG—Borchetta would be one of the mentors on the reality program's next series. Borchetta also disclosed that Swift agreed to the withdrawal of her catalog from Spotify after he first suggested the idea to her, and that he would remove the music of all Big Machine artists if it was within his power. In May 2017, the label branched out into the

alcoholic beverage An alcoholic beverage (also called an alcoholic drink, adult beverage, or a drink) is a drink that contains ethanol, a type of alcohol that acts as a drug and is produced by fermentation of grains, fruits, or other sources of sugar. The c ...

industry by launching Big Machine Vodka, a premium brand distilled in

Lynnville, Tennessee Lynnville is a town in Giles County, Tennessee. The population was 287 at the 2010 census. The name is from a local creek. Richland high school is located in Lynnville it serves the town and surrounding areas Geography Lynnville is located at ...

. Borchetta described the new venture as "perfectly omplementingthe music we take such great pride in". In November 2017, Swift released her sixth studio album ''

Reputation The reputation of a social entity (a person, a social group, an organization, or a place) is an opinion about that entity typically as a result of social evaluation on a set of criteria, such as behavior or performance. Reputation is a ubiquitous ...

'', her last album released under Big Machine. After this album, Swift refused to renew her contract with the label. She eventually stayed in Universal Music Group, Big Machine's distributor, and on November 19, 2018, after her contract with Big Machine expired, Swift signed with

, under a deal in which she would maintain ownership of her masters going forward.

Spotify issue

On November 3, 2014, Swift removed all but one of her songs from Spotify after indications of her disapproval of the streaming service emerged in July of the same year. Swift, statistically one of the world's most popular music artists at the time, had previously delayed the streaming of her 2012 album, ''

Red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

''. Big Machine country music artists Justin Moore and Brantley Gilbert removed their music from Spotify on November 12, 2014. Like Swift, both artists allowed a single song to remain on the streaming platform. After Swift and Big Machine withdrew her catalog from Spotify in November 2014, the streaming service launched a social media campaign to persuade Swift to return and, in a statement on its website, claimed that 16 million of over 40 million users had played her music in the preceding 30-day period. In mid-November, Borchetta disputed figures released by Spotify that claimed that Swift would receive US$6 million annually from the streaming site—Borchetta said in a ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' magazine interview that Swift was paid a total of US$500,000 over the previous 12 months. Spotify responded to Borchetta, by clarifying that Swift had been paid US$2 million for global streaming over the year-long time frame. Spotify further explained: "We potifypaid Taylor

s label and publisher roughly half a million dollars in the month before she took her catalog down". According to Borchetta, the amount Swift earned from streaming her music videos on the

Vevo Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, di ...

site was greater than the payout she received from Spotify. Borchetta then clarified in a February 2015 interview that Swift's catalog would be permitted on a streaming service "that understands the different needs that we wift and Big Machinehave," whereby "the choice to be n the free, ad-supported tieror not" is provided. Borchetta argued that Swift's musical oeuvre is "arguably the most important current catalog there is" and stated that the streaming issue is "about each individual artist, and the real mission here is to bring ... attention to it." Taylor Swift's catalog returned to Spotify in June 2017.

Acquisition by Ithaca Holdings

In October 2018, Big Machine was placed for sale, with bids from

Macquarie Group Macquarie Group Limited () is an Australian global financial services group. Headquartered and listed in Australia (), Macquarie employs more than 17,000 staff in 33 markets, is the world's largest infrastructure asset manager and Australia' ...

Evan Spiegel Evan Thomas Spiegel (born June 4, 1990) is an American businessman, co-founder and CEO of Snap Inc. Spiegel was the youngest billionaire in the world in 2015. Early life and education Spiegel was born in Los Angeles, California, to lawyers J ...

and

. Big Machine was valued at $300 million. On June 30, 2019, ''Billboard'' reported that

Scooter Braun Scott Samuel "Scooter" Braun (born June 18, 1981) is an American entrepreneur, investor, and entertainment executive. Known as the manager for artists such as Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, J Balvin, Demi Lovato, The Kid Laroi and other artists ...

's Ithaca Holdings had purchased Big Machine Records for $300 million, with funding from

Carlyle Group The Carlyle Group is a multinational private equity, alternative asset management and financial services corporation based in the United States with $376 billion of assets under management. It specializes in private equity, real assets, and pri ...

. A few hours after the announcement of the purchase, Taylor Swift wrote on

Tumblr Tumblr (stylized as tumblr; pronounced "tumbler") is an American microblogging and social networking website founded by David Karp in 2007 and currently owned by Automattic. The service allows users to post multimedia and other content to a sho ...

that she was unaware of the buyer of the masters of the her first six albums. Later that night, Scott Borchetta revealed through the Big Machine Label Group website of his and Swift's conversation regarding the purchase. A copyright issue arose later in the year just ahead of Swift's

American Music Awards The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show, generally held in the fall, created by Dick Clark in 1973 for ABC when the network's contract to air the Grammy Awards expired, and currently produced by Dick Clark Produc ...

' Artist of the Decade performance when Swift

tweeted Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

regarding Big Machine's prohibition on the use of her old music. On August 22, 2019, Swift announced on

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...

that she would rerecord her first six albums in November 2020 and release them through

. On November 16, 2020, ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' reported that Big Machine had sold the rights to Taylor Swift's first six albums to

Shamrock Holdings Shamrock Holdings, or Shamrock, is a private equity firm founded as the Roy E. Disney family's investment firm; the Disney family remains its sole investor. Shamrock is a private corporation, and is fully owned by the estate of Roy E. Disney. Dis ...

. Swift stated that she had not been contacted about the sale. On February 11, 2021, Swift announced that the first rerecorded song, "

Love Story (Taylor's Version) "Love Story" is a song by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It was released as the lead single from her second studio album, ''Fearless'', on September 15, 2008, by Big Machine Records. Inspired by a boy who was unpopular with her famil ...

", would be released the following day at midnight, which was then followed by the album ''Fearless (Taylor's Version)'' on April 9. Swift announced the next re-recorded album to be released, originally slated for a November 19 release then changed to a November 12 release date, would be ''Red (Taylor's Version)'', on June 18.

Acquisition by Hybe Corporation

On April 2, 2021, it was announced that Ithaca Holdings, including Big Machine, would be sold to the South Korean music and entertainment firm

Hybe Corporation Hybe Co., Ltd. (, stylized as HYBE Corporation) is a South Korean multinational entertainment company established in 2005 by Bang Si-hyuk as Big Hit Entertainment Co., Ltd. The company operates as a record label, talent agency, music productio ...

(formerly Big Hit Entertainment). Borchetta will remain CEO of Big Machine.

Imprints

Valory Music Co.

In November 2007, Big Machine Records founded a subsidiary imprint called Valory Music Co. Acts signed to this roster include

Jimmy Wayne Jimmy Wayne Barber (born October 23, 1972) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He released his self-titled debut album in 2003 on the DreamWorks Records label. Four singles were released from it, including "Stay Gone" and " I L ...

(who was formerly signed to Big Machine), Jewel,

The Mavericks The Mavericks are an American country music band from Miami, Florida. The band consists of Raul Malo (lead vocals, guitar), Paul Deakin (drums), Eddie Perez (lead guitar), and Jerry Dale McFadden (keyboards). Malo and Deakin founded the band in ...

Thomas Rhett Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

, and

Justin Moore Justin Cole Moore (born March 30, 1984) is an American country music singer and songwriter, signed to Big Machine Records imprint Valory Music Group. For that label, he has released six studio albums: his Justin Moore (album), self titled debut ...

. By the end of November 2008, the Valory imprint entered into a partnership with Midas Records—promotion, sales, marketing, production, publicity and distribution—for Canadian acts Adam Gregory and

Emerson Drive Emerson Drive is a Canadian country music band consisting of Brad Mates (lead vocals), Danick Dupelle (guitars, backing vocals), Mike Melancon (drums), and Dale Wallace (keyboards, backing vocals). The band was founded in 1995 as 12 Gauge, which ...

. The announcement that

Reba McEntire Reba Nell McEntire (born March 28, 1955), or simply Reba, is an American country music singer and actress. Dubbed " the Queen of Country", she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Since the 1970s, McEntire has placed over 100 single ...

would join Valory was also publicized in November 2008. McEntire's debut single on Valory was scheduled for 2009, with her new studio album scheduled for mid-2009.

BMLG Records

Big Machine joined with

Universal Republic Records Republic Records is a New York City–based American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). It was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially an i ...

in June 2009 to found a new label, Republic Nashville. In August 2016, Republic Nashville was rebranded as BMLG Records after Big Machine took back full ownership of the label.

Dot Records

In March 2014, Big Machine announced the revival of

Dot Records Dot Records was an American record label founded by Randy Wood (record producer), Randy Wood and Gene Nobles that was active between 1950 and 1978. The original headquarters of Dot Records were in Gallatin, Tennessee. In 1956, the company moved ...

and, as of February 2015, the imprint was run in partnership with Republic Records. Dot was shuttered in March 2017 and a number of its artists moved to other Big Machine imprints.

Nash Icon Records

In 2014, Big Machine announced a partnership with

Cumulus Media Cumulus Media, Inc. is an American broadcasting company and is the third largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States behind Audacy and iHeartMedia. As of June 2019, Cumulus lists ownership of 428 stations in 87 ...

to create Nash Icon Music, a Big Machine imprint serving as an offshoot of Cumulus's

Nash FM Nash or NASH may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Nash, Buckinghamshire * Nash, London, a hamlet near Keston in the London Borough of Bromley *Nash, Newport, Wales * Nash, south Shropshire, a small village and parish in southern Shropshire * Nas ...

brand, focusing on active country acts who achieved mainstream fame in the 1990s and early 2000s. Cumulus also operates Nash Icon-branded radio stations with a similar focus. On October 21, 2014, it was announced that McEntire would be the first artist signed to Nash Icon Music. Nash Icon Records folded into Big Machine Records in 2018.

Big Machine Records roster

Current country artists

Danielle Bradbery Danielle Simone Bradbery (born July 23, 1996) is an American country pop singer. She won season 4 of NBC's ''The Voice'' in 2013, becoming the youngest artist to win the competition at age 16. Bradbery's record has since been eclipsed by Sawyer F ...

(returned to Big Machine in 2020) *

Kristian Bush Kristian Merrill Bush (born March 14, 1970) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Bush is one half of the country music duo Sugarland with Jennifer Nettles, and was a member of the folk rock duo Billy Pilgrim with Andrew Hyr ...

The Cadillac Three The Cadillac Three, originally known as The Cadillac Black, is an American rock band consisting of Jaren Johnston (lead vocals, guitar), Kelby Ray (lap steel guitar, bass guitar, vocals), and Neil Mason (drums, vocals). All three members were or ...

* Callista Clark *

Jay DeMarcus Jay DeMarcus (born Stanley Wayne DeMarcus Jr.; on April 26, 1971) is an American bassist, vocalist, pianist, record producer and songwriter. From 1999 to 2021, he was a member of the country pop group Rascal Flatts. Early life DeMarcus was born ...

Jackson Dean Jackson Dean Nicholson (born October 6, 2000) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He signed to Big Machine Records in 2021 and has charted with the singles "Don't Come Lookin'" and "Fearless (The Echo)". Biography Dean was born i ...

Ray Wylie Hubbard Ray Wylie Hubbard (born November 13, 1946) is an American singer and songwriter. Early life Hubbard was born in the town of Soper, Oklahoma. His family moved to Oak Cliff in southwest Dallas, Texas, in 1954. He attended W. H. Adamson High Schoo ...

* Brian Kelley *

Gary LeVox Gary LeVox (born Gary Wayne Vernon Jr., July 10, 1970) is an American singer and songwriter. He is known for being the lead vocalist of the contemporary country music band Rascal Flatts, and his stage name was taken from the studio-console label ...

* Midland * Carly Pearce *

Sugarland Sugarland is an American country music duo founded in Atlanta, Georgia. The duo consists of singer-songwriters Jennifer Nettles (lead vocals) and Kristian Bush (vocals, guitar, mandolin). They were founded in 2002, at which point Kristen Hall (vo ...

Former country artists

Tucker Beathard Tucker Russell Beathard ( ; born January 24, 1995) is an American country music singer and songwriter. A son of songwriter Casey Beathard, Beathard was signed to Dot Records, Dot Records, a subsidiary of Big Machine Records in 2015 where he rel ...

Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him popularity, particularly in the United States with success on the co ...

(Big Machine/Pearl) *

Dusty Drake Dean Buffalini (born February 23, 1964), known professionally as Dusty Drake, is an American country music artist. Drake played various venues in his native Pennsylvania for several years before moving to Nashville, Tennessee, co-writing a 1996 ...

Edens Edge Edens Edge was an American country music band founded by Hannah Blaylock (lead vocals), Dean Berner (vocals, guitar, Dobro), and Cherrill Green (vocals, mandolin, banjo, guitar). The band was signed to Big Machine Records which released their sel ...

*Brock Gonyea * Adam Gregory (Big Machine/Midas/Open Road) *

Trent Harmon Trenton William Harmon (born October 8, 1990) is an American country music singer who gained national attention for winning the fifteenth season of ''American Idol'' on April 7, 2016. Early life and education Harmon was born in Amory, Mississi ...

Lauren Jenkins Lauren Elizabeth Jenkins (born September 16, 1991) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Throughout her teenage years, Jenkins performed regularly at nightclubs in various states, before settling in New York City to study acting. While i ...

Kate & Kacey Kate & Kacey is an American country music duo consisting of identical twin sisters Kate Coppola and Kacey Coppola. In early 2008 they competed as a duo on the Country Music Television, CMT series ''Can You Duet'', where they took fourth place. In A ...

* Todd O'Neill (Nash Next) *

Melissa Peterman Melissa Margaret Peterman is an American actress and comedian. She has played the role of Barbra Jean in the television comedy series '' Reba'', appeared as Bonnie Wheeler in the ABC Family/ Freeform series ''Baby Daddy'', and was host of ABC Fami ...

(Comedy Artist) *

Rascal Flatts Rascal Flatts is an American country music band founded in 1999. The band members were Gary LeVox (lead vocals), Jay DeMarcus (bass guitar, background vocals), and Joe Don Rooney (lead guitar, background vocals). DeMarcus is LeVox's second cousi ...

(disbanded, LeVox and DeMarcus remain signed individually) *Dan Smalley * Payton Smith *

Steel Magnolia Steel Magnolia was an American country music duo that won season two of the television talent show ''Can You Duet''. The duo consisted of Meghan Linsey and her fiance, Joshua Scott Jones. After becoming the top winner on the show, the duo signe ...

Jennifer Nettles Jennifer Odessa Nettles (born September 12, 1974) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and record producer. Nettles is the lead vocalist of the duo Sugarland alongside Kristian Bush, and prior to this she fronted the Atlanta-based band ...

* Noah Schnacky *

Sunny Sweeney Sunny Michaela Sweeney (born December 7, 1976) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She is signed to the Thirty Tigers label. She was formerly with the Republic Nashville label and Big Machine Records. Her debut album, ''Heartbrea ...

(moved to Republic) *

(moved to Republic) * Waterloo Revival *

(moved to Valory) *

Trisha Yearwood Patricia Lynn Yearwood (born September 19, 1964) is an American singer, actress, author and television personality. She rose to fame with her 1991 debut single " She's in Love with the Boy," which became a number one hit on the ''Billboard'' c ...

Former Nash Icon Records artists

(moved to Big Machine) *

Ronnie Dunn Ronald Gene Dunn (born June 1, 1953) is an American country music singer-songwriter and record executive. Starting in 2011, Dunn has worked as a solo artist following the temporary dissolution of Brooks & Dunn. He released his self-titled debu ...

(moved to Big Machine) *

Martina McBride Martina Mariea McBride (née Schiff, born July 29, 1966) is an American country music singer-songwriter and record producer. She is known for her soprano singing range and her country pop material. McBride was born in Sharon, Kansas, and relocat ...

Hank Williams Jr Randall Hank Williams (born May 26, 1949), known professionally as Hank Williams Jr. or Bocephus, is an American singer-songwriter and musician. His musical style is often considered a blend of southern rock, blues, and country. He is the son of ...

BMLG Records roster

* Riley Green *

Chris Janson Christopher Pierre Janson (born April 2, 1986) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Janson has recorded three full-length albums, '' Buy Me a Boat'', '' Everybody'', and '' Real Friends'', through Warner Bros. Records Nashville, alo ...

Lady A Lady A (formerly known as Lady Antebellum) is an American country music group formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2006. The group is composed of Hillary Scott (lead and background vocals), Charles Kelley (lead and background vocals, guitar), ...

*Shane Profitt * Brett Young

Former artists

(moved back to Big Machine in 2020) *

The Band Perry The Band Perry are an American band composed of siblings Kimberly Perry (lead vocals, guitar), Reid Perry (bass guitar, background vocals), and Neil Perry (mandolin, bouzouki, background vocals). They signed to Republic Nashville in August 2009 ...

Greg Bates Greg Bates (born September 25, 1987) is an American country music singer formerly signed to Republic Nashville. Early life In 2006, Bates graduated from Ravenwood High School. Bates then graduated in 2010 with a degree in Music Business from Be ...

* Laci Kaye Booth *

Eli Young Band Eli Young Band is an American country music band composed of members who met while students at the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas: Mike Eli (lead vocals, guitar), James Young (guitar), Jon Jones (bass guitar), and Chris Thompson (drum ...

(moved to Valory) *

Fast Ryde Fast Ryde was an American country music duo composed of singer-songwriters James Harrison and Jody Stevens, both of whom sing and play guitar. The duo was signed to Republic Records Nashville and has released three singles: "That Thang", which ch ...

Florida Georgia Line Florida Georgia Line is an American country music duo founded in 2010 by Tyler Hubbard of Georgia and Brian Kelley of Florida, both of whom are vocalists and songwriters. Their 2012 debut single " Cruise" broke two major sales records: it was ...

* Ryan Follese *

Jaron and the Long Road to Love Jaron David Lowenstein (born March 18, 1974) is an American singer who formerly recorded with his identical twin brother, Evan, in the musical duo Evan and Jaron. As Jaron and the Long Road to Love, he released his debut single, "Pray for You" t ...

* Jackie Lee *

(moved to Nash Icon) *

Cassadee Pope Cassadee Blake Pope (born August 28, 1989) is an American pop and country singer. She was the lead vocalist and songwriter of the pop band Hey Monday, with whom she released one studio album and two EPs. Pope embarked on a solo career in early ...

* SHEL *

Dallas Smith Dallas Hendry Smith (born December 4, 1977) is a Canadian singer and songwriter, who performs both as a solo country music artist and as lead singer for the hard rock band Default. He is currently signed to Big Loud Records. Smith is the curre ...

A Thousand Horses A Thousand Horses is an American country music band formed in 2010 in Nashville, Tennessee. The band is composed of Michael Hobby (lead vocals), Bill Satcher (lead guitar), Zach Brown (guitar and vocals), and Graham Deloach (bass and vocals). Their ...

* Drake White

Former Dot Records artists

(moved to Big Machine) *

Craig Wayne Boyd Craig Wayne Boyd (born December 31, 1978) is an American country singer and songwriter. A native of Dallas, Texas, Boyd is based out of and resides in Nashville, Tennessee. He is best known for winning Season 7 of NBC's reality TV singing compet ...

* Ashley Campbell *

Aaron Lewis Aaron Lewis (born April 13, 1972) is an American musician who is best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and founding member of the nu metal band Staind, with whom he released seven studio albums. Since 2010, he has pursued a solo ca ...

(moved to Valory) *

Maddie & Tae Maddie & Tae are an American female country music duo composed of Maddie Font (née Marlow) and Tae Kerr (née Dye), both of whom are singers, songwriters, and guitarists. The duo was signed to the revived Dot Records in 2014. Their debut album, ...

* Carly Pearce (moved to Big Machine) * Drake White (moved to BMLG) *

Steven Tyler Steven Victor Tallarico (born March 26, 1948), known professionally as Steven Tyler, is an American singer, best known as the lead singer of the Boston-based rock band Aerosmith, in which he also plays the harmonica, piano, and percussion. ...

* The Shires *

(Southern Ground Artist's/Republic Records/John Varvatos Records)

Valory Music Co. roster

*MacKenzie Carpenter *Abbey Cone *

Sheryl Crow Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, pop, country, folk, and blues. She has released eleven studio albums, five compilations and three li ...

Brantley Gilbert Brantley Keith Gilbert (born January 20, 1985) is an American country rock singer, songwriter and record producer from Jefferson, Georgia. He was originally signed to Colt Ford's label, Average Joes Entertainment, where he released ''Modern Day ...

*Tiera Kennedy *

* Tyler Rich * Conner Smith

Former artists

*Avenue Beat *

Delta Rae Delta Rae ( ) is an American folk rock band formed in Durham, North Carolina. The band consists of three siblings Ian Hölljes (vocals and guitar), Eric Hölljes (vocals, guitar, piano and keys) and Brittany Hölljes (vocals), as well as Elizab ...

(Valory/Midas/Open Road) *Levi Hummon * Jewel *

(moved to Nash Icon) *

RaeLynn Racheal Lynn Woodward (born May 4, 1994), better known as RaeLynn, is an American singer and songwriter who was a contestant on ''The Voice'' in season two (2012). She was eliminated in the quarterfinals. Early life RaeLynn was born and raise ...

*Heath Sanders *Tara Thompson *

Big Machine/John Varvatos Records

Badflower Badflower is an American rock band founded in Los Angeles, California. The band is composed of singer/guitarist Josh Katz, lead guitarist Joey Morrow, bass guitarist Alex Espiritu and drummer Anthony Sonetti. The band is signed to Big Machine / ...

(Big Machine/John Varvatos Records) *John 5 *

Ayron Jones Ayron Jones (born August 23, 1986 in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. His music blends elements of grunge, rock, hip-hop, soul and other genres. After years performing in local venues of hi ...

(Big Machine/John Varvatos Records) *Starcrawler *

The Struts The Struts are a British rock band formed in Derby, Derbyshire in 2012. The band consists of lead vocalist Luke Spiller, guitarist Adam Slack, bassist Jed Elliott, and drummer Gethin Davies. The band has cited its influences as: Queen, The D ...

*Violet Saturn

Former pop artists

*Ivory Blue (Big Machine/John Varvatos Records) * MacKenzie Bourg *

Cheap Trick Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973 by guitarist Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson, lead vocalist Robin Zander and drummer Bun E. Carlos. The current lineup of the band consists of Zander, Nielsen and ...

* Nick Fradiani *Friday Pilots Club (Big Machine/John Varvatos Records) *

Gunnar Gehl Gunnar Patrick Gehl is an American singer-songwriter. He released his debut single, "Ocean Blue" in October 2018. Gehl was the opening act of PrettyMuch's North American Funktion Tour. His first EP "One Second Of One Day" was released in Octob ...

Laura Marano Laura Marie Marano (born November 29, 1995) is an American actress and singer. She is known for her role in the Disney Channel series '' Austin & Ally'' as Ally Dawson. Marano was one of the five original classmates in '' Are You Smarter than a ...

*Pretty Vicious (Big Machine/John Varvatos Records) * La'Porsha Renae (Big Machine/

Motown Records Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmant ...

) *The Static Shift (Big Machine/John Varvatos Records) *

Who Is Fancy Jake Hagood (born March 29, 1991), better known as Who Is Fancy, is an American singer. He co-signed with Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta on Big Machine Label Group and Dr. Luke on Prescription Songs. His single "Goodbye" was released in ear ...

References

External links

Big Machine Records
{{Authority control American country music record labels American independent record labels Record labels established in 2005 Country music record labels Pop record labels Soundtrack record labels Labels distributed by Universal Music Group Record labels based in Tennessee American subsidiaries of foreign companies

History

Spotify issue

Acquisition by Ithaca Holdings

Acquisition by Hybe Corporation

Imprints

Valory Music Co.

BMLG Records

Dot Records

Nash Icon Records

Big Machine Records roster

Current country artists

Former country artists

Former Nash Icon Records artists

BMLG Records roster

Former artists

Former Dot Records artists

Valory Music Co. roster

Former artists

Big Machine/John Varvatos Records

Former pop artists

See also

References

External links