It’s a new chapter for Chris Young. The Grand Ole Opry member announces he has left his longtime label, RCA Nashville, where he has been for his entire career, and signed with Black River Entertainment.
“I’m so excited to announce my new partnership with Black River Entertainment!” Young says. “RCA Nashville was an amazing home for me since 2006 when Joe Galante signed me to work with the Sony team, but it is time for my next chapter. I couldn’t be more excited about the new music that’s on the way or my new home. Black River is an amazing company, and they have truly impressed upon me how much they believe in me and my future. I can’t wait to continue to add to my legacy with them as a Black River Entertainment artist.”
“This is a historic day for Black River,” adds Black River’s President and CEO Gordon S. Kerr. “With 14 No.1s under his belt, Chris has made an undeniable impression on country music. His songwriting and vocal excellence make him a leader in the genre, and I can’t wait to see all we can accomplish together on this impressive journey.”
Young signed with RCA Nashville after winning Season 4 of Nashville Star in 2006.
“Nineteen years is an amazingly long time to have a career, much less be at one place with one team,” Young tells Billboard. “This is the next chapter for me and I couldn’t be more excited to be where I’m at.”
Young’s last album at RCA Nashville was Young Love & Saturday Nights, released in March. The 39-year-old celebrated his 14th No. 1 hit with the title track of the record in September, which was about the time he realized he was ready to make a change.
“I had the chance to be a free agent. I felt sort of like an athlete a little bit,” Young reflects. “I was prepared to take all these [label] meetings, and I went in and [Black River Records] were the first meeting. By the end of that meeting, I told them, ‘I want to be here.’”
Young Love & Saturday Nights is less than a year old, but the Tennessee native hints that he is already hard at work on new music.
“[Black River] had done their research and they were like, ‘We want you to be part of this group. We’re ready to go to work immediately.’ And I gave them a dropbox with 20 songs in it,”
Young has plenty of other creative opportunities to keep him busy as well. He recently revealed he was working on adding becoming an author to his lengthy list of accomplishments, although he hints fans might be surprised by the end result.
“There’s a project people don’t know about that we haven’t announced,” Young hints on Country Countdown USA. “I don’t wanna say it yet. But I may or may not be writing a book that has nothing to do with the music business. It is a fiction novel. Something that I’ve not attempted before, but always had it in the back of my mind.”
Young isn’t the only country music superstar who left their longtime label recently. In September, Blake Shelton announced he was leaving Warner Music Nashville, where he had been for 23 years, and signed with BBR Music Group/BMG Nashville.
Black River Entertainment is also home to Kelsea Ballerini and Scotty Hasting, among others.
Keep track of all of Young’s music and upcoming shows at ChrisYoungCountry.com.
Photo Credit: John Shearer