How Mercury Nashville Has Already Bungled Chris Stapleton’s New Album
Look, Chris Stapleton is going to be just fine no matter what happens, so please don’t characterize this as being alarmist. If we learned anything from the crazy, historic run Stapleton’s debut record Traveller has been on, it’s that Stapleton doesn’t need no stinking label or radio play to get his music to the masses. Nobody but us music nerds had even heard his name until Stapleton appeared on the 2015 CMA Awards and virtually swept all the major categories, and now he’s outsold everyone in the mainstream and is lapping the field. Nearly 2 million records sold, and don’t give any credit to Mercury Nashville or corporate country radio. All credit goes to Chris Stapleton, a nudge forward by Justin Timberlake, a little magic from Dave Cobb, and the small group of players assembled to record Traveller live in Nashville’s Studio ‘A’.
But at this point, Mercury Nashville has so clearly bungled Chris Stapleton’s sophomore release, whatever it happens to be named, it’s embarrassing, and aggravating. On the eve of it being two years and one month since Stapleton released Traveller, and one month away from when the new album hits the shelves, and we still don’t even have a title. We don’t have a track list. We don’t have pre-orders or T-shirt bundles or autographed copies for the first 500 folks who sign up for the fan club online, let alone a lead single or a video. We’ve got nothing.
As I said last week heading into the ACM Awards, I had already been working on an article about how Mercury Nashville was bungling this Chris Stapleton release, but then I bit my tongue. When it was announced that Stapleton would be performing on the ACM’s, surely this would be the the opportunity, though greatly delayed even at that point, to release a lead single and album details, launch the pre-order, and get Chris Stapleton back in front of folks to make sure his next album is given every opportunity to succeed. But that didn’t happen.
Chris Stapleton performed the song “Second To Know” on the ACM’s, and we can assume this is one of the new songs on the new album. But it wasn’t a lead single. According to Stapleton, he picked that song because the ACM’s requested he play something “upbeat.” That in itself proves how little the ACM’s know about Stapleton, and country music. But Stapleton went along, because he’s a nice guy. Miranda Lambert I’m sure was told to play her latest single, or something “upbeat,” and she told the ACM’s to kiss her ass. She was playing the somber “Tin Man,” and acoustically without any accompaniment. That’s what you can get away with when you’ve won eight Female Vocalist of the Year trophies in a row.
The morning after the ACM Awards, we were all geared up to perhaps stream the new song on Spotify, and lay our $34.99 down on the T-shirt + CD bundle. But there was nothing. Appreciate that for most mainstream releases, or even independent release, they’re preceded months ahead by a lead single to help create anticipation for the record. The details of a record are slowly reveled in the months in advance to build even more interest. Six weeks out at the latest, the pre-order launches to start accumulating sales so when the release week comes, you make headlines with the amount of units moved. For Chris Stapleton, we still have nothing.
Not that we expected much different from Mercury Nashville. They’ve bungled the Chris Stapleton phenomenon at every turn. When Stapleton made country music history with Justin Timberlake on the CMA Awards stage in 2015 and it sent Stapleton’s version of “Tennessee Whiskey” rocketing up the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart to #1, Mercury should have immediately pulled whatever flailing single they weren’t really pushing to radio anyway, and served “Tennessee Whiskey” to mainstream radio immediately. It would have been a massive radio hit. The public appetite was so rich for it, the fat cat radio programmers would have no choice but the add it to playlists. Hell, it may have even crossed over to pop with Timberlake’s involvement, and then we would have heard a song first popularized by George Jones and David Allan Coe back on the radio.
But getting the uninspired humps who work at the corporate offices of country music’s major labels to do anything and be fleet of foot about it is impossible. It takes them six months to do anything. They’re slaves to their formulaic and outmoded procedural bureaucracy, and their focus group data. “Forget that ‘Tennessee Whiskey’ has become a cultural phenomenon, our 9 month-old focus group research tells us ‘Nobody To Blame’ should be the second single,” they say. And so they release it, no questions asked, to ultimately fail, while a huge opportunity passes them by.
Mercury Nashville doesn’t just need to get this new release right for Chris Stapleton, they need to get it right for country music. Despite itself, and incredible mishandling, Music Row has been bestowed an incredible gift in Chris Stapleton. But they’re so tied to the corporate radio promotional model, and so reliant on their tired timelines and formulas, they don’t know what the hell to do. They’re paralyzed. You would think with the money they’re poised to make off the new Stapleton record, perhaps they would ask for help, bring in a manager from another part of Universal Music Group that specializes in non-radio releases. Instead, they sit on their hands.
At some point, we will get an album title, pre-orders, a “single,” and maybe even a video from this new Chris Stapleton album. In fact it may be tomorrow, or the next day. It better be, because time is running out. And folks will come here to laugh and say, “See, there’s nothing wrong here Trig, quit being so alarmist.” But the damage is already done. Mercury Nashville has failed to go through even the most basic, fundamental steps of an album release to ensure the most successful roll out possible. I still expect Chris Stapleton’s sales floor to be 150,000 units for this new album, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he moves as many as half a million in the first week … depending on if or how Mercury Nashville rallies to at least give this album release a respectable roll out. But whatever the eventual number is, it could have been better if they had any sort of salient plan.
Chris Stapleton will be fine, because he’s Chris Stapleton. But as far as I’m concerned, let the record show that the release of Chris Stapleton’s second record was botched from the start, whatever the title of it may be.
UPDATE: Chris Stapleton to Release New Albums “From A Room: Volume #1” and “Volume #2”
April 4, 2017 @ 6:51 pm
I would try to play Devil’s Advocate but it really has been a disaster. All the TV Ads for the ACMs should have lead with “Chris Stapleton debuts new song” instead barely a mention of him.
April 4, 2017 @ 6:51 pm
And just to reiterate: I expect details on Chris Stapleton’s new album to be released in the coming days, maybe the coming hours. That’s not the point. The point is this release should have been a multi-month process with a promotional budget to build anticipation and rack up pre-orders. At this point, it would have been better to just do a surprise release. At least that way it would have made some headlines.
April 5, 2017 @ 1:18 am
Exactly. I’m an indie publicist and seeing “less than a month” and “no title” made my hair fall out. Even smaller firms need months to prepare press materials, compile a press list, and actually get a press release out. The lead time for press in the major publications is even longer. As you say, he will be fine, because Chris is amazing, but it’s not fair. He deserves better, or even competent. The sad thing is there are so many good people who would love to work with him, but far be it for me to tell those geniuses how to do their jobs.
April 4, 2017 @ 7:01 pm
I will be the pessimist since you won’t… I’m genuinely scared. Let’s not forget he’s still a new artist and most artist suffer from sophomore slump. God I hope I’m wrong
April 4, 2017 @ 7:42 pm
I agree. I’m a fan and sure I’ll still like it but Traveller set the bar pretty high so I’m trying to keep low expectations. Truth is he had his whole life to write Traveller and now the pressure is on and you have to produce. Not an easy task at all for anyone.
April 4, 2017 @ 8:15 pm
Regardless of what the album sounds like or how it is received, I think Stapleton’s assembled enough name recognition that even if the album is a dud, it’ll still sell well. This really has nothing to do with the music itself, though I’m sure he’s going to face incredible scrutiny because he’s now a superstar. We’ve seen it here and other places. Stapleton’s popularity is one of his biggest adversities right now.
April 4, 2017 @ 7:27 pm
Ya know after 3 times in the last 10 years of Mercury records having a critically acclaimed artist (Jamey Johnson and Kacey Musgraves) you woulda thought they coulda figured out how to turn that into long term mainstream success. But apparently they freeze. That was what I was worried about from the beginning was that they were gonna screw this up. But you’re right. Chris will be alright it’s just a damn shame they couldn’t have done more so close to the release. But last time he put out a record only a few of us knew who he was so he’s gonna sell a lot.
April 4, 2017 @ 8:23 pm
True story. Once when doing research for an article, I called up Mercury Nashville to see if Jamey Johnson was still signed to the label. The person who answered the phone didn’t even know who Jamey Johnson was, and if Jamey was a he or a she. The person thought I was asking about somebody who worked there, not an artist. It shows just how qualified some of the people are on Music Row to represent country music.
April 4, 2017 @ 9:30 pm
Yeah I remember that article from a few years back pretty crazy. You’d think here in Nashville someone working at a label would be very much interested in country music. But I guess to some it’s just a job
April 4, 2017 @ 7:46 pm
Thirty Tigers would have killed it. Let the ignorant suits die the death they so richly deserve…its the only way to get true revolution.
April 4, 2017 @ 8:00 pm
In my opinion, and the reason I agree with Trigger so much on this, is not about whether or not Chris will still be successful with his next album. He’s a proven writer, and while it will be his sophomore release as “Chris Stapleton”, his track record and experience with his previous projects make him so much more seasoned than the average new artist.
No, the tragedy here is the industry’s future overall. This was an opportunity for country music, a hand delivered freebie for Nashville big wigs. All the noise out of Nashville is that labels and publishers WANT to move on from bro-type country, that they WANT the traditional sound, but most of the time they fail to put their money behind it because it’s still in the minority; it still means breaking a new artist to the public without all the bro-buzzwords. Not so with Stapleton; he’s already got the name, the fan base, the consumers who want the music. I can forgive them for not being ready the first time around, none of us really dreamed that CS would be as universally loved and critically accepted at the beginning cycle of that first record. But this time… man, we could have seen this blow up with epic, peak Taylor Swift type numbers, firmly planting “traditional” country at the top of the sales charts for everyone to see. It could have been the death knell for all the crap we still have to put up with.
Stapleton will be fine, he’s too good not to. But damn… what could have been nail in the bro-country-coffin is feeling more like a misfire.
April 4, 2017 @ 8:25 pm
Good point.
April 4, 2017 @ 8:32 pm
I don’t understand, it’s in there best interest to promote him. Is the rest of there roster Bro country hacks and there scared of Chris taking away from there other artist?
April 4, 2017 @ 8:35 pm
Could be downplaying the hype and media circus of release dates pre-orders and special editions in order for it to appesr authentic grassroots stand on its home. Or maybe Stapleton isnt playing nice with the execs and we end up with a JJ situation
April 4, 2017 @ 9:06 pm
It’s not out of the question that some of this delay could also be part of the Stapleton camp, or because the Stapleton camp and Mercury can’t get on the same page. But one weird thing is they’re both pushing his tour like no tomorrow. Of course that’s where a lot of the money is these days anyway, but Stapleton can sell records, he’s proven that. His fan base buys physical product. Why not maximize this opportunity?
April 4, 2017 @ 10:43 pm
I get you and yeah a major label not pimping an album of a successful artist by some standards is strange I agree. But it could be a calculated restraint on Stapleton’s part. The tour promotion kinda confirms that whole thing. Yknow ‘fuck the radio they aint gonna play me hit the road blow em away then theyll buy the album’ kinda thing only on a bigger scale like Nashville is playing the independent road warrior game. Less of a product. Theyre catchin on. Bad or good.
April 4, 2017 @ 10:46 pm
And I dont recall Traveller getting massive promo to begin on a mainstream level and look where it got home. Makes it less of a product imo. Or a new kind of product. Underground diy independent ethics with a Music Row veneer
April 4, 2017 @ 8:43 pm
Honestly even radio wants new Chris music. I’ve heard a bunch about Chris’s new album on my local iHeartRadio station.
But seriously you play a new single at an awards show, and nobody can buy it? That’s total bullcrap. Mercury Nashville should be ashamed.
April 4, 2017 @ 9:04 pm
Huge opportunity for sales and streams ahead of an album release, and Chris Stapleton and his performance felt like an afterthought. Huge opportunity missed. What are the ACM’s? They’re a big infomerical for the industry. Chris Stapleton’s performance was like showcasing a product you can’t buy.
April 4, 2017 @ 8:56 pm
Trigger, are you even positive the album is being released May 5th? Many times labels announce album release dates but postpone them last minute, most recently happening to The Band Perry’s Heart+Beat (yes I know there’s SO much more to that story), but also Kenny Chesney’s Some Town, Somewhere (that one even got a title change!). I doubt Stapleton’s album will come out May 5th, but agree with some of your broader points.
April 4, 2017 @ 9:02 pm
That wouldn’t surprise me. If we don’t hear anything by tomorrow or Thursday, I would almost expect a delay. It almost may be necessary to delay it. And that would be even a further misstep. At this point you need physical product in the pipeline, and one of these announcements are made months in advance is because this stuff leaks out anyway once you start manufacturing. I haven’t heard anything about this album from folks who monitor metadata channels and such. There’s nothing.
April 4, 2017 @ 9:17 pm
Yep.
April 4, 2017 @ 11:42 pm
Can anyone tell me the name of this GREAT new C. Stapleton song, and/or the lyrics?! Will it be on the new album ?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmepgZlkhSo
April 5, 2017 @ 11:37 pm
judging by the track listing for the new album it looks like it’s called up to no good livin
April 5, 2017 @ 12:53 am
I’ll bet this article is printed out and plastered on every office door at Mercury. A little birdie told me….
April 5, 2017 @ 3:20 am
Chris posted on twitter/instagram or something that he’s recieved the test presses etc. And, though I can’t confirm it, I’ve heard that the album was playing after the final shows in Canada a couple weeks ago. Of course no one noticed, they just walked as quickly to the bar as possible.
April 5, 2017 @ 5:28 am
Puzzling, particularly the lack of a single for sale following the ACMs. I already felt bad that a singer of his talent had his performance sandwiched between Malibu Stacy and a circus act. At least give him some sales for his troubles.
April 5, 2017 @ 5:42 am
The reason for the lack of the preorder and song release could be because of how awkward it would be to release a new song on a Sunday night. With new music coming out on Fridays, releasing it after an awards show puts you outside of the window where a lot of folks are getting on iTunes to see what came out. If theyre following this logic, then it all could be coming this Friday.
April 5, 2017 @ 7:47 am
But the next Monday morning would be the perfect time to release a single and album details. This is usually when these things drop. Singles usually don’t drop on Fridays because news tends to get lost on Fridays. Either way, if they wait until this Friday, that’s less than a month ahead of the release. That’s not enough lead time for an album release.
April 5, 2017 @ 6:48 am
Small clarification, but Tin Man is Miranda’s next single. There is a full page ad in this week’s Billboard update pushing her and it.
April 5, 2017 @ 7:08 am
Hell yes! I love Tin Man. Such an amazing, emotional, and relatable song.
April 5, 2017 @ 11:39 am
Excellent. Glad it will be her next.
April 5, 2017 @ 7:17 am
Eric Church obviously released “Mr. Misunderstood” with zero buzz, surprising fans with the record and releasing his first single and video the same day. The album has now gone gold, which ain’t nothing in today’s market, and spurned a No. 1 single and CMA award.
Of course, Mr. Misunderstood isn’t Church’s second album. He’s at the point where he’s trying to solidify his fan base and keep them coming to shows.
To be honest, as an album lover, I’m kind of sick of the long delays in album releases after an initial single. For months, I have been excited for Brad Paisley, but it has been so long since his label started talking about that I’m losing interest. If he would have released when “Today” was climbing the charts, I would have been more interested.
I wonder if you’re a “singles” artist, releasing singles early probably helps. Fans can’t decide between downloading singles or albums. They just download the singles, but it you are all about albums like Church and Stapleton are, just release the album when it’s ready and forget about all of the pre-release crap.
April 5, 2017 @ 7:44 am
If they want to go with a surprise release for buzz, that’s one thing. That’s at least a strategy. But they haven’t done that here. They’ve just announced a release date, and done nothing else. It’s the worst of both worlds.
Also, I’m not sure Eric Church, or a lot of these other artists that did surprise releases are happy with them. A lot of the hip-hop artists that have done then have been really lackluster. The “surprise” strategy is under a lot of scrutiny right now.
April 5, 2017 @ 11:27 am
Yeah, even Beyoncé isn’t doing the surprise strategy anymore. But I’ve seen surprise campaigns from behind the scenes and this isn’t what this is. If it were, we wouldn’t be talking about it. You shouldn’t see the obvious mistakes in a pr campaign.
April 5, 2017 @ 7:22 am
It is a good case study for the business side and illustrates maybe how he could be handled better to make more money. Can only speculate on the strategy they have.
This is an artist that most of us think deserves to be promoted because of his art and the music he makes. It is the same old thing though, what we hear and are fed buy the industry is not what we like or want
He will be fine. He has an audience now, his tour is selling well.
He shouldn’t ever be poor again in his life.
Let’s just hope the album is good.
April 5, 2017 @ 9:05 am
My gut tells me Chris isn’t losing sleep or facing an eviction notice…..this guy’s done better than most of the wannabes do in 10 years , in terms of cred and $$$$. But yeah ….for country music and country fans ….hear ya Trigger .
April 5, 2017 @ 9:10 am
I had assumed that the lack of details about this album was a deliberate strategy, with Stapleton’s blessing. Are we sure that it’s not?
April 5, 2017 @ 10:42 am
Maybe it is. But with Mercury Nashville’s track record, including their bungling of “Tennessee Whiskey” as a radio single and Jamey Johnson’s career just to name a few things, I’m not confident this is part of the plan. Perhaps saying “doing nothing as a strategy” is just a convenient excuse. There’s no passion in many of the folks that work at these major labels.
April 5, 2017 @ 6:02 pm
Oh shoot hes on same label as JJ didnt realize that. I hope for Stapletons sake he isnt getting the same runaround.
Did JJ stop writing radio trash for others once he got recognition as a solo artist? Has Stapleton wrote/released under other artists any radio turds since Traveller blew up like he had many of before?
April 5, 2017 @ 6:17 pm
The career trajectory (and look) of Jamey Johnson and Chris Stapleton is pretty incredible when you sit back and look at it. Hopefully Stapleton’s doesn’t result in a crash and burn where he refuses to release anything new for a decade like we’re witnessing with Johnson. There’s a reason Johnson became disenchanted with the whole thing and said “Screw it.” And there’s no reason to think that if we let it, the same thing could happen to Stapleton or anyone else. This is Music Row.
April 5, 2017 @ 6:28 pm
Oh no doubt I just didnt realize it was right down to their label! I dont want to count JJ out (theres lots who adore him but not convinced by Isbell/Sturg/Chris) but as far as his Music Row career yeah its crash and burn. Ive been saying for awhile need to relax and that Stapleton has had ONE album. And yeah Music Row has tanked far greater artists than Stapleton in its sordid history.
Whats Sturgill’s label like? Is he even on a country division? He has the freedom to recreate himself which he has already been doing it seems so I dont see a crash n burn coming there necessarily but yeah very possible with Stapleton. Stapleton has a ‘look’ and you expect something from that ‘look’. JJ too. Sturg aint got that problem.
April 5, 2017 @ 9:24 am
If he doesn’t toe that corporate line, and he’s not doing EXACTLY what they want him to do, they will do everything they can, to sabotage him. It’s what they do. If they have an artist burning up the mainstream charts, they will do all they can, for that artist, and leave him twisting. If he made them look bad, by releasing something not on radio, and made money at it, they will make an example of him. It’s how corporate anything works. They get you to trust them, then do a hostile takeover. Look what Apple did to the company that made their video technology…they decided, since the company won’t play ball, and sell out to Apple, Apple will just create their own technology, after they stole their highest-ranking techs.
April 5, 2017 @ 10:09 am
I don’t know enough about the record label business to say what is, or isn’t, a botched launch. I certainly take your word on it. But something tells me a lot more of this falls on the Stapleton camp than you might be suggesting. I’m not sure he gives a shit about singles or radio. Chris has proved he can do this without radio so I think he is in the “fuck it” camp. Either they can buy it or not buy it. Not suggesting that is smart business but that is the read I get on him.
April 5, 2017 @ 10:51 am
I think Chris Stapleton is a real nice guy who doesn’t get angry at folks, works well with others, always has a handshake and smile to offer, and in the ugly country music business, this can get you walked on. His kindness is the reason that when Stapleton’s name showed up on awards show ballots, everybody voted for him. Because even though he wasn’t on the radio, everybody in the industry knew him, and loved him. And they loved his music. But he’s not one to complain, especially after all of his success. Chris Stapleton has a quiet zen about him. So he probably isn’t being the squeaky wheel. And that could hurt him. That’s why it’s up to gadflies like myself to put pressure on Mercury Nashville to do their flipping jobs. Perhaps they do have a strategy that will be amazing and I’ll be proved wrong. I hope that’s the case. I want to be wrong about this. Because this release is too important just to give it a ho hum effort.
April 5, 2017 @ 10:56 am
I almost get the feeling that Stapleton is the kind of guy that decides to work for change and improvement from inside the system as opposed to being the rebel outsider raging against the machine.
The edgy outsider always comes across as cooler than the insider guy but that doesn’t make them better by default.
April 5, 2017 @ 11:24 am
And I love that you play that role. I think you sum his personality up well. I think Chris is content to let his music do the talking for him and not his label.
April 5, 2017 @ 10:25 am
There is a reason Graham Parker wrote “Mercury Poisoning”.
“Their promotion’s so lame
They could never ever take it to the real ball game”- GP
April 5, 2017 @ 11:26 am
How the hell?! Your article, especially mentioning “Nobody to Blame” being released after the 2015 CMAs confirmed what I’ve been saying ALL ALONG!!! Mercury needs to get their shit together
April 5, 2017 @ 12:22 pm
BTW, I finally heard the song he did at the ACM’s and I liked it. It’s got a badass Skynyrd feel, so I have high hopes for the CD. We’re going to see him in August in St. Louis, so we’ll see how this all pans out.
April 5, 2017 @ 2:40 pm
I said recently I hope Mercury is not going to pull a Jamey Johnson part Deaux
April 5, 2017 @ 3:35 pm
Think it’s possible Chris doesn’t give a shit about promotion and playing the media game?
I do.
Why give a single to radio that radio wont play? Sure “Tennessee Whiskey” received some airtime, but “Fire Away”,”Nobody To Blame” and “Parachute” hardly got spun.
Hell,even his first real release as a solo artist “What Are You Listening To?” was completely ignored.
As were his albums with The Steeldrivers.
In fact I would venture to say that 75% of Stapleton “fans” had no clue that he was a lead singer in a bluegrass band just 7 years ago. Radio never played that band either,nor was there any massive promotional marketing yet he was still getting Grammy nods.
I’m pretty sure Chris Stapleton knows his career is not contingent upon the advanced single,the music video, the stream….the t-shirt/cd bundle.
He was writing #1 songs for other artists over a decade ago when no one knew who the hell he was at all.
He’s as accomplished and respected as you can possibly get..consistently delivering the goods.
If you’re not hearing a new song yet or you’re missing out on the T-shirt,it’s because Chris Stapleton has made that decision,not Mercury Nashville.
April 5, 2017 @ 6:32 pm
If Chris Stapleton or his crew didn’t give a shit about promotion, we wouldn’t see a ton of it surrounding his current tour, sponsored by CITI. Promotion for that is all over the place. Last year at this time he was peddling Ram trucks with Dave Cobb.
Even though Stapleton’s performance on radio has been lackluster, all his singles have charted in the Top 40, and it helps to spread the word. But releasing a single isn’t just about radio. Just in the last couple of weeks, we’ve seen new singles by small, independent artists such as The Secret Sisters, John Moreland, and Phoebe Hunt, all while they’re trying to push pre-orders of an upcoming release. Whether you’re a tiny local band with 300 Facebook “likes,” or Luke Bryan selling out stadiums, there’s a strategy to releasing albums to make sure you maximize exposure. Sure, taking a minimalist, understated approach and relying on grassroots word of mouth could be one strategy, but we don’t even have the fucking title of this record. You can’t even pre-order it on iTunes now less than a month away. Trust me, you won’t talk to any professional in the entire music industry who will tell you this is a good thing, ESPECIALLY for an artist who can’t rely on radio play, and actually sells physical copies of albums.
Perhaps the Chris Stapleton camp has something to do with the delays and lack of information, either willfully or in opposition to Mercury Nashville. But this is Music Row we’re talking about. We’ve seen this same routine dozens and dozens of times. I’d rather cry wolf and be wrong than watch them bungle yet another release from a critically-favored artist just because they don’t know what the hell they are doing. I bit my tongue about this for weeks expecting something, anything. I thought the news might come today. It better come tomorrow. Or, they should seriously think about delaying the release.
April 5, 2017 @ 4:11 pm
I really do not get Mercury’s though process, but then again I’m not alone in that regard. You have an initial album that was released to little initial fanfare and zero promotion (I waited for 45 minutes at Best Buy on release day for an employee to pull out the THREE copies they’d received of Traveller) that’s managed to sell more copies on the back of the music alone than what, 80-90% of what is released today? More? Surely the logic that pumping some actual MONEY into this franchise might recoup even bigger sales crossed SOMEBODY’S mind, right? It really wouldn’t surprise me at this point if Mercury tries to pull the “surprise” card, given how badly they’ve handled this. Come to think of it, do we have any confirmation that it wasn’t planned that way all along, and that the street date was just a leak? Unlikely, I know, but some part of me is just refusing to accept that people that run labels for a living would act this poorly in their own self-interest.
April 5, 2017 @ 6:21 pm
The release date came from an official press release that coincided with the release of dates on Chris Stapleton’s current tour. I went back and re-checked that. It’s impossible to have a surprise release when we already know the date, but maybe we shouldn’t take it for granted that Mercury Nashville understands that.
April 5, 2017 @ 6:55 pm
Just saw on Gary P. Nunn’s Facebook page that he attended Chris’ album release party tonight and his song Last Thing I Needed, First Thing This Morning is on the album. Anxious to hear Chris’ version of it as I like Willie’s and Gary’s of it.
April 5, 2017 @ 8:21 pm
http://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/music/2017/04/05/chris-stapleton-reveals-2-new-albums-2017/100106930/
April 5, 2017 @ 8:44 pm
Beat me to it…
April 7, 2017 @ 6:34 am
This is alarmist.