New Jamey Johnson Deal with SESAC Could Be Key To New Music (Finally)
The long suffering Jamey Johnson fan waiting for new music from the once-prolific and award-winning songwriter finally may have a positive sign that new, original material could be on the way.
Announced Tuesday (2-28), Jamey Johnson has signed a new deal with music rights organization SESAC. Though these rights organization deals happen all the time on Music Row, with artists moving back and forth from ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC for various reasons, this one feels significant if for no other reason than the rhetoric that accompanies it.
“There is an old set of laws on the books where the courts decide how much songwriters get paid. It isn’t fair the courts are adhering to these archaic laws that were written before streaming music was even conceptualized. SESAC isn’t bound by those restrictions, so it made perfect sense to join the organization and eventually move my catalog there,” Johnson said as part of the deal.
“The energy at SESAC is something I haven’t experienced in my professional career, and it’s great,” Johnson continued. “I need to be surrounded by people who are motivating me to write. One of those motivators is knowing that I have someone looking after the money generated from my writing, and that I am actually going to get the royalties that I feel like I have earned.”
Johnson, who hasn’t released an album of original material for going on seven years now, has been vocal about being saddled with a bad publishing deal that kept him from earning significant money from his songs, and that he’s been struggling to write any new material. Johnson has seen a few significant cuts with other artists over the last few years, including a recent co-write with George Strait aptly-named “Kicked Outta Country.” But his live shows regularly feature a significant amount of covers from the lack of new material.
In November of 2014, Johnson launched his own record label called Big Gassed Records, and afterwards there was a flurry of activity, including releasing a Christmas record, a couple of singles, and a record from Chris Hennessee. But since then there has not been much news, especially on the front of any new music from Johnson.
The problem Jamey Johnson is facing with the lack of financial incentive to write songs is a problem plaguing the entire songwriting world in the era of streaming. Moving to SESAC may help in that regard, but if that was the magic bullet for songwriters, we would see more flocking to SESAC. Unlike BMI and ASCAP, SESAC members must be invited into the organization by others members, so it’s not a simple move, especially if a songwriter has an existing contract with another company. But the issues facing songwriters are much more complex than what rights organization they use.
Ultimately songwriters and creators, like Johnson, have to keep writing and creating. Waiting around for a solution for songwriters via governmental action that may never come could arguably be more financially detrimental than releasing new music under the current rules. It’s been 7 years since any significant output from Johnson, and this time has spanned a period in his life when many songwriters and performers are their most prolific.
Hopefully the SESAC deal will be the grease to get Jamey Johnson’s songwriting gears turning once again, and result in more new music from himself, and from others in the form of songwriting credits.
March 1, 2017 @ 10:07 am
Awesome. Maybe we’ll have new music from JJ by 2038!!
March 1, 2017 @ 2:06 pm
“Shit or get off the pot.”. Long time JJ fan, but had to say it. In other news, great for Sturgill and others to take on the scalpers. It can be really frustrating at times to battle bots. It usually makes me want to catch cheap or free bluegrass shows in small rooms instead of fighting through crowds, presales, egos, etc. I will battle through it to see Sturgill and a select few others making quality new music, though.
March 4, 2017 @ 6:02 pm
Should be just thankful for the talent, just listen to that’s why I write songs
March 1, 2017 @ 10:17 am
Good news!
I blame the GF for all these cover shows.
March 1, 2017 @ 8:54 pm
If anything Allison Krauss is the answer to this not the problem. Many of us Johnson fans are hopeing the relationship is inspiring him to write
March 1, 2017 @ 10:20 am
So what exactly does this do? Like what does he get from it and how will it change the status quo?
March 1, 2017 @ 2:41 pm
One of the reasons Jamey Johnson has been saying he isn’t writing music and releasing albums is because he’s not making any money from it, and specifically his last publishing deal was terrible. But hypothetically he is all through with that now.
I really don’t see how SESAC is going to significantly change the amount of money he makes off of the songs he publishes. It may make some difference, but the simple fact is if you’re not writing hits and having big radio songs that sell hundreds of thousands of copies or are streamed millions of times, or releasing big albums like Sturgill, Isbell, and Aaron Watson, you’re not going to make the same money Jamey COULD have made early in his career when he was writing and releasing #1’s.
I feel for Jamey and all the songwriters that are getting short changed, but as Robert St. said it best above, shit or get off the pot. At some point you have to stop bellyaching and get back in the game. What Jamey Johnson has been doing is like complaining about the refs and taking your ball and going home. If Jamey Johnson had passion for the music, he’d release his songs for free if he had to. Of course he still has to support himself, but I think at this point he’s looking to blame everything and everyone else. Streaming is here, the laws are what they are, and Jamey’s one-man stick-in-the-mud personal protest hasn’t and isn’t going to change anything. There are artists doing quite well transitioning into the streaming economy.
Jamey Johnson was at one point one of the hottest names in country. Now since he’s disappeared for basically seven years, there’s not as much audience left for him. His fans got their hopes up with Big Gassed Records, and that was three years ago. Many have moved on. They’re listening to Sturgill and Cody Jinks. That’s why you can’t take seven years off and then just expect to pick right back up where you started. Ask Clint Black. A publishing deal isn’t the reason he’s not going to make any money off his music anymore. It’s because people stopped caring and won’t buy/stream it anyway.
I’m rooting for a big Jamey comeback, and maybe this SESAC deal really motivates him. I hope it does. But if he’s hoping to see his royalty checks significantly change and hope that motivates him to write more, I think this is false hope.
March 1, 2017 @ 4:42 pm
He’s no Clint Black. I see his fans crawl out of the woodwork as soon as new material is available. I know I will. I think we’d wait a lifetime to hear something new from Jamey, almost thought we’d have to!
March 2, 2017 @ 7:46 am
IMO, If he took his ball and went home, he wouldn’t be touring. He tours pretty regularly (recently he has been touring with Allison Krauss). He probably feels that he was giving his life’s work away, and had no reason to give anymore away. One of his good friends is Willie Nelson. How many songs did Willie essentially give away early in his career? Willie sold “Family Bible” for 50 bucks. We don’t all have to learn every lesson the hard way. Willie probably told him to keep writing and hold everything back until he gets his deals straight.
March 2, 2017 @ 9:38 am
Jamey Johnson has alluded to and outright said that he is struggling to write new material, and has been over many years. He even basically says this in these new quotes tied to the SESAC deal. Perhaps I should have put more effort in establishing this in the article, but I thought this was something that everyone understood (and I was tired of linking to so many previous articles). Way back in 2014 he told The Tennessean he wasn’t ready to write yet (https://savingcountrymusic.com/jamey-johnson-when-i-get-ready-to-write-ill-write/).
I’m not criticizing or blaming the guy necessarily. I think he is very frustrated at the business and that has created some writer’s block. How many times have we talked about artists getting taken advantage of by the system? I wish I knew more about what was going on, so I could point my venom towards it and try to help break the impasse.
All that said, it’s my opinion that if Jamey Johnson wants to do right by himself, his music, and his career, waiting around for the entirety of music to be fixed by Congress, where songwriters get paid what they believe their music is worth, especially now that Jamey’s recused himself from the commercial realm from disappearing for seven years, I think is foolish. To be frank, this problem is likely never to be fixed. Streaming is what it is, and whatever gains creators can get to inching back to the way it used to be will be marginal and symbolic. That’s just the way it is. They now have to focus on volume. It sucks, but this is the new system.
I don’t think Jamey has any music sitting in the can. Maybe he’s got a few songs. But with this SESAC deal, all the excuses are out of the picture, at least hypothetically. I don’t think it’s all of a sudden going to allow him to make the same money he made off of “In Color” because it’s not. But if it helps remove the mental block that is keeping him from creating, I’m all for it.
March 2, 2017 @ 11:32 am
I agree with most of what you are saying, I’m just hoping for a new lease on life for JJ. Btw Trig, thanks for running such a good site that keeps fans of real country in the loop on what’s going on . I appreciate your work an awful lot.
March 2, 2017 @ 1:31 pm
Also I’ve heard from quite a few close to Jamey that he had another 2 albums worth of material in his back pocket at the time “the guitar song” was released.
March 2, 2017 @ 2:21 pm
Okay well then, release it. You have your own label. You have your ideal publishing deal with SESAC. What’s holding you back? One problem is if this is true, that material has been sitting on a shelf for seven years getting stale.
And by the way, whatever or whomever is or was standing in Jamey’s way of releasing new music, give me their name and I will take them to the woodshed because that is irresponsible on their part.
March 2, 2017 @ 1:30 pm
Trig,
Your comment “there’s not as much of an audience for him” may be a slight stretch. If you go to his shows, all of them are at near full capacity. Just saw Jinks and Whitey in Raleigh a few months back and them combined did nearly fill the small place to capacity. Jamey came to the same bar a year or so ago and you couldn’t move. Jamey has a dedicated following and continues to draw well at all of his shows. Now I agree the mainstream audience potential he once had is likely gone, which he doesn’t seem to care much about.
March 2, 2017 @ 2:17 pm
There is the live context, and the recorded context in music. Nobody is questioning that Jamey Johnson continues to do well live. What I am talking about is the audience for him when he finally gets around to releasing new recorded music. He already released a couple of new songs, a Christmas album, and an album for Chris Hennessee, and none of that stuff raised as much as a blip on the radar. That is why I think we haven’t heard anything else from Big Gassed Records in two years. Ahead of the launch of that label, we heard Jamey speak about how much he despised contracts and lawyers and the business side of music. And that’s all a record label is. Then he puts all this effort out on these new releases, and it wasn’t reciprocated in any way via financial reward, or probably even recouping his costs. All the folks saying that now that he’s free of his hindering contracts he’ll start releasing new music again, but he’s been free of those restrictions for some two years. Joining SESAC just feels like rearranging deck chairs.
I hope it works. I’m not trying to slag Jamey Johnson at all. I want him to succeed. But I think some of his fans aren’t even listening to his own words. He is and has been unmotivated to write new music. And he may be able to sustain his live crowds and that is great, but they’ve already proven they won’t be there in the same numbers when he releases new music. The music industry is designed to suck up and spit out people like Jamey, and I have nothing but sympathy for his situation. But at some point you have to stop blaming others.
Let me put it like this: The entirety of Sturgill Simpson’s career has come about in the period that Jamey Johnson has refused to put out any significant music, and mostly during the period when Jamey got free of his bad publishing deal, and his record contract. What if Sturgill had just sat on the sidelines this whole time, waiting for Congress to pass comprehensive copyright reform to alleviate the plight of songwriters? Sturgill Simpson has gotten rich over this time. Quit bellyaching and blaming others, and get your head in the game. That or quit complaining about it, play your live shows, and just admit you don’t care about writing new songs or recording new music anymore?
March 3, 2017 @ 7:42 am
What effect does having co-writers factor in then? Alot of those songs on his three albums have a co-writer, some have two. And I’d imagine even with a #1 hit as Strait did with “Give it Away,” having two other writers would dilute the royalties. I realize alot of the legendary songwriters shared credits on songs, but they seemed to pump alot more of them out to compensate.
March 3, 2017 @ 10:42 am
Obviously having co-writers cuts down on profits as well.
I don’t know if anyone remembers, but last year there was a huge concern and legal battle over a new restriction from the Justice Department that would basically make it impossible from artists from ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC to work with each other. Basically you could only write within your own rights organization. Right now that’s caught up in legal mumbo jumbo, but that could factor in somehow with Johnson’s move to SESAC.
March 3, 2017 @ 10:58 am
Oh no, I hadn’t seen anything about that – that sounds like a disaster, with a chilling effect on collaborations.
March 1, 2017 @ 10:31 am
I gave up holding my breath on that one long ago
March 1, 2017 @ 10:32 am
This sounds great to me.
We can sure use some new material from Jamey.
March 1, 2017 @ 10:39 am
As a huge JJ fan, having been to over 30 shows, the point of singing covers is not a valid one. Jamey has plenty of material to sing at shows, he just chooses to pay tribute to some of his favorite artists and tunes. His “this Land” redendention is much better than the original folk song. Jamey definitely put his stamp on it and every time I hear it, I get chills. In addition, Jamey is not the first artist to sing covers as you call it. I guess the first covers I ever heard live was from the great late Merle Haggard. He did many tributes to Bob Wills, Jimmy Rogers, and Lefty Ferzell, but I never heard anyone accuse Merle of not having enough material to do at a concert. As long as Jamey is performing sell out shows and pleasing his audience, not having a new CD is fine with me and probably him. After all, all he ever wanted to achieve was performing on stage night after night, and he has already achieved that. Actually right now he is busy promoting his great friend Alison Krauss’ new cd. The first solo album she has put out in 17 years I believe.
March 1, 2017 @ 2:26 pm
When I pay money to see Jamey Johnson, I’m paying to hear HIS songs, not “I Ain’t the One,” “John Deere Tractor,” “My Dixie Darling,” “Tulsa Time,” “Make the World Go Away,” …. If I wanted to hear those songs, I’d save $100 and sit at home and listen to them and drink my own bourbon and piss in my own pot.
And the most vogue thing to do today is cover “This Land Is Your Land.” I first heard Johnson do it in 05, then realized everyone was covering it. My favorite version is Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings.
Johnson used to be a top 5 favorite artists of mine. I’m not sure if he even makes the top 50 today. I’ve been burnt by his cover band twice now, which now includes (I guess) members of Krauss’ band – wind crimes, bongos, bells, a triangle.
March 1, 2017 @ 3:15 pm
I’d pay to hear Jamey sing the phonebook. Going to one of his shows in late April. Will be my first time seeing him live. Maybe I’ll change my mind after that one, but right now I’ll take what he gives.
March 1, 2017 @ 3:24 pm
No one from Alison’s band actually play with Jamey. She performs with him on occasion. The brass section is a group from Alabama that he has known for quite some time. He’s had two drummers for years. One of his current percussionist is the great Tony Coleman of BB King fame. I very much enjoy his shows, but if you don’t that’s fine.
March 1, 2017 @ 4:17 pm
Sunfish Queen
Thanks for clarifying that up about the band members! I guess I blame Alison Krauss for everything (smiley face).
But it does bring up a good point: What would new Jamey Johnson material even sound like today?
Maybe I’m wrongly blaming Krauss for his new sound and band arrangements and all the covers. Maybe, his sound evolved.
March 1, 2017 @ 8:57 pm
If anything he has changed her sound.
March 1, 2017 @ 2:50 pm
Jamey Johnson sings covers at his concerts because he’s tired of singing his own material that hasn’t been refreshed in seven years. It doesn’t mean he’s not also paying tribute to the old greats. I think he loves singing those old songs, and that’s why he does so. But if you want to be taken seriously as a performer, you can’t sit up there and sing 50% covers every night. You can pay tribute with a few smart covers, and still sing your own songs. You can also pay tribute with original songs that embody the spirit of the classic songs.
Comparing Jamey Johnson’s live sets to Merle Haggard is ridiculous. Yes Haggard and all the old greats paid tribute to the artists before them. But they didn’t sing 50% to 75% covers every night for half a decade. I understand you’re a Jamey Johnson fan and that excellent, but don’t make excuses for him. He’s said himself he’s not motivated to write new material. He admitted this again in his quotes tied to this SESAC signing.
“As long as Jamey is performing sell out shows and pleasing his audience, not having a new CD is fine with me and probably him.”
Exactly. And that’s why he’s not motivated. This has nothing to do with Jamey’s live show. It has to do with him writing songs, which is what songwriters like Jamey Johnson are supposed to do.
March 1, 2017 @ 4:01 pm
You must not have been to many Jamey Johnson shows or you would know he doesn’t do 50 or 75% covers. He sings his heart out for at least 2 hours a variety of songs.
As far as the comparison to Merle Haggard, I compared who I knew. My husband is one of the biggest Merle fans on earth, so we have seen Merle perform many times. A Merle show was one of our first dates when I was just a teenager almost 40 years ago.
Jamey is indeed a song writer. He co wrote at least 2 songs recently, one with George Straight and one with Willie Nelson. But he is not just a song writer, he’s a great performer, a great humanitarian, and a great man. I am a 2 time cancer survivor and a transplant recipient. He has spoken such kind and encouraging words to me many times to keep my spirits up. I will always be a huge Jamey Johnson fan.
March 1, 2017 @ 4:22 pm
The last time I saw Jamey Johnson he did one original song – In Color. That was it. So it was 90% covers that night.
You can check his setlists on setlist.fm to see the number is > than 50%.
March 1, 2017 @ 5:06 pm
Hmm, I must not have been there bc I have NEVER heard him do all covers except In Color. In fact, in the early days we used to count the songs he did and the ratio to covers. It was never even close to 50%.
March 1, 2017 @ 8:51 pm
Sunfish Queen,
In the early days, sure he didn’t play as many covers because he didn’t need to. I’m talking about more recently.
Look, I’m not necessarily criticizing Jamey, I’m just explaining the situation. I think he is very frustrated with the music business, and I can’t blame him. From all accounts they worked him over and it’s broken his will to be productive. My only point is that if he’s waiting for an act of Congress to make songwriting more lucrative before he starts writing and releasing records again, it may be another 7 years or longer before we see another original album from him. Hopefully this SESAC deal gets him started back in the right direction.
March 2, 2017 @ 1:40 pm
I’ve seen Jamey damn near 30 times and almost all shows he’s played no less than 12 originals. His shows are probably 50/50 originals/cover, probably closer to 40/60 covers lately. 12 originals, 12 to 16 covers of Hank, Waylon, Willie, Jones, Haggard, Lefty, Paycheck, Gosdin, and Don Williams…. 2 1/2 hours of great hardcore country music at every show. Shit you can complain about that if you want, not me…
March 2, 2017 @ 2:18 pm
I personally don;t have a problem with Jamey Johnson playing classic covers at his shows. It’s great to keep that music alive. I only used that as an illustration of how he hasn’t produced any new music recently.
March 1, 2017 @ 4:35 pm
And awesome job on kicking cancer’s butt twice! You sound like someone I’d like to buy a beer for at a … Willie Nelson concert.
March 1, 2017 @ 5:08 pm
I like Willie too and many more! My all time fav is John Mellencamp. I’m an old rocker at heart! ?
March 1, 2017 @ 8:52 pm
Here here!
March 1, 2017 @ 11:12 am
“being saddled with a bad publishing deal that kept him earning significant money from his songs”
Did you mean “kept him from earning…”? This is not meant to nit pick, I just don’t know much about this artist, and want to make sure I understand this correctly. Thanks for the article, either way.
March 1, 2017 @ 12:11 pm
gonna play me some JJ on the Jukebox tonite!!
March 1, 2017 @ 2:17 pm
Come on, all you ever talk about on this site is Sturg–oh, wait.
March 1, 2017 @ 4:38 pm
JJ had more than a hundred songs published with BMI that he never recorded for a record label! Many of them are great songs that fans would love if they ever were recorded! I checked with SESAC yesterday, only three songs published there: FLY AWAY, WATCH THE REDNECKS FIGHT and YOU’RE A MAN. I sure do hope that he will give a try @ songwriting again… and he has some projects going… with Emmy and some other artists. Let us pray for a fresh new album on BIG GASSED RECORDS later this year!
March 1, 2017 @ 5:13 pm
Hey, Hans! We are in the FB Jamey Johnson Fan Page. I’m Meredith.
Thanks for adding the stats.
March 1, 2017 @ 5:26 pm
Rolling stone says he’ll appear on Waylon Jennings tribute cd/DVD alongside Sturgill, Willie nelson, Christ Stapleton, Shooter Jennings, lacey Musgrave, Eric church and a bunch of others. That sounds pretty cool, looks like he’s doing highwayman.
I think the reason he is doing covers is he is a little ahead of the curve, already burned out on the direction country is going with americana influence. He doesn’t fit that mold well, after a year or so we will all be heading back to the classics and waiting for something else like metamodern to happen.
March 2, 2017 @ 11:24 am
Neat. I believe I also see Robert Earl Keen, Kris Kristofferson Jerry Jeff Walker, Toby Keith, Allison Krauss, Sturgill Simpson, Lee Ann Womack, and perhaps some others that I should recognize but do not.
http://www.rollingstone.com/country/news/see-eric-church-jamey-johnsons-waylon-jennings-tribute-w469763
March 1, 2017 @ 5:27 pm
I’ll believe it when I see it. Sorry, I’m a big Jamey Johnson fan, but I have become increasingly convinced the guy is less concerned about his publishing deal and more concerned that he may have writers block. Especially since the couple songs he put out a few years ago when he supposedly was “freed” from bad contracts were met with a lukewarm response.
Hope I’m wrong, but let’s keep in mind that we are talking about a guy who basically went into self-imposed solitary confinement for 6 months after his divorce. He’s a different cat….
March 1, 2017 @ 7:55 pm
i just bought tix for his july show in tn. ive thought,for quite some time, that its been writers block over any other issue. nothing he has done or stated has convinced otherwise. a true artist will find ways to get their art out , but his silence and minimal output has shown nothing. i am coasting in lonesome song and guitar song…hope the covers are at a minimum.
March 1, 2017 @ 8:15 pm
I too have given up on Johnson. I remember probably ten years back my brother and I were making a joke one night that we should be musicians who don’t actually cut any tracks but instead just appear on all of the constant tribute albums and show up for tribute concerts. Since then it’s almost as though he had the exact same idea – there isn’t a tribute that goes by, from Jones to Waylon to even the Band, that he doesn’t somehow end up on.
March 1, 2017 @ 8:55 pm
He’s the Sheryl Crow of country in that respect.
But one of the reasons he’s at all the tributes is because he’s well-liked and well-respected.
March 2, 2017 @ 1:58 pm
lol he was friends with Jones, Haggard, Willie, Kris, Randy Travis, and Waylon’s family and they were great influences on his music. He is extremely well respected and asked to perform, why would he not? Don’t mention he helped Randy Travis take care of his horses and went to see him multiple times in the hospital… Forget he helped cover for Hag on Willie’s tour when Hag was sick and dying. Forget he devoted his time at CMA fest to Jones and his teams booth after Jones death.
Don’t mention his covers are always one of the best at all of these tributes.
March 3, 2017 @ 7:45 am
I’ll grant that, I suppose like alot of others on this thread I’ve grown tired of waiting for new music and in my case have gotten cynical at his availability for any and everything that comes down the pike. But if you don’t do anything with your own career for closing in on a decade, it’s hard not to see it as coasting.
You’re also right about some of those covers he does – in fact, I feel like others on this thread that all too often his songs and performances are too low key, dirge-like, but his versions of “La Grange” and “This Time” on the ZZ Top and Waylon CDs awhile back were pretty up-beat and I’ve wished he do a few more as a contrast to his slower stuff.
March 1, 2017 @ 11:31 pm
AT the risk of heresy…i saw JJ live with a large band s few months ago and it was honestly a very low energy performance minus two numbers. I am a fan of his, no doubt he’s talented but i was shocked at how boring the show was as a whole compared to his peers that I have seen live. His bsnd took the stage for what seemed to be 25 minutes before he did. . Anyone else have this experience recently or was it maybe just a bad night?
March 2, 2017 @ 9:45 am
I have been saying for years that Jamey Johnson puts on a low-energy show to the ire of many Jamey Johnson fans. And honestly, I feel very similar about his recorded music. Great writer, great, true country sound. But there is just no energy behind any of it. Frankly I’m not surprised that we’re hearing about the motivational issues behind Jamey Johnson’s output. I would expect it.
That said, he was very productive, and had more enthusiasm behind his music early on, and I can see if he’s looking at his royalty statements each month and feels like he’s getting hosed, how this would take away from his energy to write. But you’re right. If your motivation to write songs is to make money, then man, you got into the wrong profession, especially if your specialty is traditional country. Because that’s never going to happen, especially now.
March 2, 2017 @ 7:14 am
If he needs the prospect of a better financial deal to motivate him, how good is his new music going to be? It doesn’t sound like the right motivation to me. I’ve never liked JJ, but hopefully for his fan’s sake, he’s been writing songs and just waiting for the financial prospect to be there before releasing them; although, that doesn’t sound like the case.
March 2, 2017 @ 9:21 pm
Please!
March 7, 2017 @ 3:46 pm
Jamey Johnson starts at 02:07:00 – The ultimate quality show! HD https://livestream.com/MusicCityRoots/live/videos/78345410?t=1457215239958