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As Coastal Record Labels Continue Signing More Country Stars, How Is It Changing Nashville?

Coastal record labels are signing more country stars, like Zach Bryan and BRELAND — how is Nashville changing and dealing with it?

“In those days, there would be curiosity from the coastal labels, but it was such a tight community and country radio played such a gatekeeper role, the barriers to entry were higher,” says Jon Loba, BMG president of frontline recordings for North America, who continues to oversee the Nashville division. The international streaming numbers on the song made Moroney’s co-manager Juli Griffith decide that the rising star should partner with both a country and a pop label, selecting Sony Nashville and Columbia Records. “Maybe it’s our cross to bear, but I think people have certain perceptions of Nashville labels holding on to certain ways of marketing or developing projects that are not even considered significant in other genres, so maybe part of it is we allowed this to happen because we weren’t being as progressive or aggressive as we needed to be.”

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