Cody Jinks Officially Forms Own Record Label, Preps New Albums
Cody Jinks has officially formed his own record label called Late August Records, and looks to be prepping the release of not one, but two new albums in late 2021—one as his latest effort in the country realm, and a long-rumored heavy metal record Cody appears to have recorded under the pseudonym Caned by Nod.
Jinks formed the label with his longtime manager Arthur Penhallow Jr. at True Grit Management, as well as Malia Barrett. The completely independent label will not only facilitate Cody’s new releases, but the entire Cody Jinks catalog has been brought under the Late August Records umbrella.
Starting in 2006, Cody Jinks released his first few records independently until the breakout success of his 2015 album Adobe Sessions when he began working with Thirty Tigers both with the release of 2016’s I’m Not The Devil, and to manage portions of his back catalog. Then Jinks signed with Rounder Records to release 2018’s Lifers. The sister albums After The Fire and The Wanting released in October of 2019 were the first titles to be released under the Late August Records imprint.
Though we don’t have a specific release date yet, Cody Jinks has confirmed his new country album will be called Mercy, and it will arrive in November. The 12-track album was culled down from 30 songs he recorded in May at the Sonic Ranch in West Texas. Jinks has also confirmed one of the songs from the album will be called “All It Cost Me Was Everything,” and it was co-written with Josh Morningstar and Kendell Marvel.
The Caned By Nod heavy metal project is said to be titled None The Wiser, with a song of the same name also included on the 10 track album. It is expected to also be released in November, though no specific date has been confirmed.
Cody Jinks dabbling in metal music can’t come as a surprise to fans. He started his career as the lead singer and guitarist in a band initially called Silas that then became Unchecked Aggression active between 1998 and 2003. They released an album in 2002 called The Massacre Begins. After Unchecked Aggression relocated to Los Angeles, they broke up. Jinks took a year off from music afterwards before starting his career in country in 2005, wanting to return to the roots of the music he grew up with.
As an independent artist, Cody Jinks has amassed massive numbers, including over 2 billion song streams, including a Certified Gold single in “Hippies and Cowboy,” and a Platinum single in “Loud & Heavy.”
Cody Jinks is touring with Whitey Morgan this week, playing shows in Wichita, KS, Dubuque, IA, and Columbia, Missouri.
July 14, 2021 @ 10:26 am
Good for Jinks, but I can’t help but think artists forming and running their own labels has no inherent upside for fans.
It just means much more of a grind for the artist, which can put a dent in their creative workflow and process. Now they’re not just an artist, they’re a business manager contending with employees, payrolls, administration etc.
If we’re talking about owning your own masters or creative freedom, that’s not necessarily contingent upon owning your own label.
July 14, 2021 @ 11:37 am
Joe Ely started Rack ‘Em records like twenty years ago, I bought one of his albums and it was super cheap, ran into him at a festival and mentioned the price and he said that was the benefit of running his own label. Now that is only one example but it’s the only one I have. Definitely see your point from a musicians perspective but for people like me it’s basically fund my own recording projects or don’t do recording projects. Either way it sounds like Jinx is going to make more profit with more control so good for him!
July 14, 2021 @ 12:15 pm
Doesn’t it depend on who he has working with / for him. Just being an owner doesn’t necessarily mean he will also be managing the day to day.
July 14, 2021 @ 5:54 pm
If they have a great team around them, it shouldn’t distract the artist. Jinks has a great team.
July 15, 2021 @ 11:15 am
I see it as no different than someone starting their own business. If an artist is able to surround themselves with good people and understand their own personal strengths and weaknesses and how to delegate, I don’t think it should impact them all that much. Cody seems like a really smart businessman, so I don’t have much worry there. Plus, the upside is now he likely gets to collect a bigger chunk of the streaming service revenues that come in, which isn’t a bad thing either.
July 15, 2021 @ 11:24 am
To clarify my opinion, I used to work for an artist owned independent record label. The level of mismanagement (including dubious financial shenanigans), egos, toxic work culture, and devolution of their own creative output culminated in that artist simply dissolving the label and firing the entire staff without warning. Running a successful business while juggling artistic aspirations is not easy and can reap disastrous results, is all I’m saying. If wish Jinks and his team the best.
July 14, 2021 @ 2:21 pm
“I’m Not The Devil” might be one of the greatest songs in country music history.
30 years ago is a #1 hit.
Damn you Nashville.
July 15, 2021 @ 12:12 pm
Credit to Ward Davis. Seeing him tomorrow. First live show for me in a year and a half. Can’t wait.
July 14, 2021 @ 6:05 pm
Got to meet Cody Jinks backstage in Mankato Minnesota what a guy he is not full of himself like a lot of musicians he is down to earth and real
July 15, 2021 @ 6:59 am
This is kinda goofy but at first glance, Caned by Nod looks like an anagram of Cody Banned.
Though I might’ve missed some letters…
July 15, 2021 @ 7:16 am
Heavy metal? Yuck.
July 15, 2021 @ 8:36 am
Heavy metal? Sweet
July 15, 2021 @ 9:02 am
I enjoy an occasional trip through his earlier metal album; am looking forward to this one.
Fans are entitled to their opinions, and they will vary. Artists ought to be able to to do what they want, but they need to be willing to shoulder the market risk. I didn’t have a problem with Sturgil changing styles, but he didn’t need to get snarky with fans who expressed disappointment. Just be content that some fans won’t follow some directions.
July 18, 2021 @ 10:14 am
Is there a place to listen to his original Metal albums? I just want to hear what a Metal Cody Jinks sounds like. I’m actually more looking forward to his Metal album than Country Album just because of that curiousity.
July 18, 2021 @ 4:48 pm
Unchecked Aggression (“The Massacre Begins”) appears to be available on Spotify.
The file in my phone has the cover art, so I suspect I got it off Amazon, although it seems to be currently gone from there.
Couldn’t find it on Apple Music, either.
July 15, 2021 @ 11:42 am
Country and metal (at least on the indie level), despite their highly differing sounds and themes, have more in common on a philosophical, spiritual, and business level than you might expect, and make natural bedfellows. Both genres are anti-establishment and DIY but honor their forebears and traditions, rely heavily on touring and live performance, and are highly dependent on fervent fan loyalty.
There’s some tangible crossover too, and not just Jinks. Look carefully at your favorite artists and it’s likely you’ve seen a few of them covering metal songs or wearing metal band merch. For example, Marcus King has performed onstage with metal band Mastodon, the Steel Woods have covered Black Sabbath multiple times and have metal licks on their latest album, and multiple members of Mike and the Moonpies wear metal band merch. Their bass player Omar even came up playing bass in a thrash metal band – which is most likely why he’s so active and animated on stage. Metal is about performance and hyping the crowd – something more country artists could stand to do while performing live.
July 15, 2021 @ 12:34 pm
You’re talking to the wrong guy. Heavy metal is just noise to me. My favorite artists are mostly all dead. I can’t recall any of them performing heavy metal: Elvis, Sinatra, Ray Charles, Hank Williams, George Strait…. I’m an old soul, Tex.
July 17, 2021 @ 12:38 am
Looking forward to cody`s new country album. Pleased that it is a concise 12 track album which should be of high quality given the fact he culled almost 20 songs from his recordings.Hoping it will be as good as black cats and crows by ward davis ,one of last years best which totally flew under the radar..
July 18, 2021 @ 8:53 pm
Cody says he will put 45 minutes of annoying steel guitar into a 47 minute record just cause he can. Hahahahhaba. Get mad everyone.
December 22, 2022 @ 12:45 pm
Saw on face book- it is now a done deal and he has signed his first artist!