Randall King’s a “Big Deal” in Country, But Currently Not on a Label
Texas country traditionalist Randall King has got to be one of the most under-utilized tools in country music’s utility belt. With an excellent voice in an era when singing ability seems so secondary—and a traditional sound that’s ripe to ride the current insurgence to the top—he’s one of these guys who you sit back and watch, and are rendered stupefied how he’s not selling out arenas.
That’s not to say that Randall King should be regarded with the Sisters of the Poor. Compared to many country music traditionalists, he’s hit the big time, including drawing large crowds to the clubs he plays, currently sitting a 1.7 million monthly listeners on Spotify, and signing to Warner Records Nashville in 2019. It took Warner long enough, but they finally formally sent a single to country radio with “I Could Be That Rain” in August of 2024. It became the most added track of the week.
But “I Could Be That Rain” ended up never going that far on radio, and neither did Randall King on Warner Records Nashville. The label seemed to treat him like an afterthought instead of maximizing his star power at a time when neotraditonal country is a hot commodity.
On November 21st, Randall King released a new single called “Big Deal.” Some Randall King fans quickly noticed that on the copyright stamp of the single, Warner Music Nashville wasn’t mentioned. It simply said “Randall King.” Then they went snooping around Warner’s website, and noticed Randall was no longer mentioned.
Even though the press release, YouTube video etc. did mention Warner, on Tuesday (11-25), the publicist for Randall King confirmed that he is no longer on the label. “Randall has left Warner. This next batch will be songs he is releasing independently.” King also corresponded with a fan saying, “Sony is my publisher. No longer with Warner or with a label at all.”
No word if Randall left Warner voluntarily, or if he was dropped. But he’s not the only one who’s exited the label recently. Ian Munsick and Drew Parker have also left in the country realm. This all comes as Warner has been going through major restructuring in 2025, including numerous rounds of layoffs. Incidentally, Warner Music Nashville was the label that also dropped William Michael Morgan back in 2019—another promising and under-utilized country music traditionalist.
Though this leaves Randall King without a label at the moment, one wonders if this even really matters. For Randall King, it’s questionable what Warner ever really did for him, if they didn’t get in his way. They didn’t even try to work a single to radio until he’d been on the label for nearly half a decade, and you didn’t see him getting those big touring opportunities that could have put him on a more national stage.
Randall King is not a staunch country traditionalist with a niche audience. He’s a traditional country artist with an accessible sound and style that can appeal to a wide swath of listeners when given an opportunity. He is a “Big Deal” in the small pool of traditional country artists with the capability of breaking out into the big time. Maybe Randall King doesn’t need a label with the way you can go directly to consumers these days. But there might be a label out there that needs him to up the talent on their roster.
November 25, 2025 @ 11:48 am
I’d argue Zach Top wouldn’t be having nearly the moment he is without Randall Kind laying a lot of that groundwork. Doesn’t seem dissimilar to Sturgill dropping Metamodern at the height of bro-country, laying the groundwork for the alt-country resurgence that kicked up a few years afterwards. Luckily Sturgill ended up getting his flowers, and here’s to hoping Randall will get his too.
November 25, 2025 @ 11:51 am
I saw him here in Ohio recently
It was at a venue Cody Johnson used to play at.
We all decided he was about to start getting too big for that venue like COJO did.
Hopefully he can get a better deal now.
November 25, 2025 @ 12:04 pm
Into the Neon had some really solid songs on it. It is easily one of my favorites of this recent wave of 90’s inspired albums. It’s a real shame how horribly it was promoted by Warner.
November 26, 2025 @ 8:32 am
I guess this article explains what I’ve wondered for a while, how is this guy not bigger. Hope he gets more attention in this next phase of his career because his music has been excellent consistently.
November 25, 2025 @ 12:53 pm
Doggone
November 25, 2025 @ 1:22 pm
I saw Randall on Halloween at a small MPLS venue after passing on a show that had him opening for Tim McGraw in a previous year. I’m hoping he returns to MN because God knows, “I Could Be That Rain” would never make it this far north, even on national radio. Lackluster effort by Warner. Hopefully whoever he lands with, if he chooses to sign again, is ready to make a big push because he deserves that.
November 25, 2025 @ 1:36 pm
I’m not entirely sure how Zach Top has blown up and Randall King hasn’t. Two equally gifted vocalists with great retro sounds. It doesn’t really make a lot of sense to me. Hopefully a year from now we’re talking about both at the top of the country music world. Aside from that, radio needs more men who can actually sing. Lots of crappy male vocalists on radio these days. For some reason, the women have to be world-class singers (or breathe through all their singing in some sort of horrible Halsey impression) in order to make it big.
But the men don’t.
Makes no sense.
If he can’t sing, he shouldn’t be on the radio.
More Randall King, less [insert frat bro here].
November 25, 2025 @ 2:28 pm
The next?, fantastic single by Kylie Frei, a co-written duet with Randall King, “Fort Worth” could be a follow up to her current number #1 hit “Always Flowers.” Takes us back a couple of decades with ample swinging steel guitar and fiddle. Glad to see it released, one of the highlights this year.
November 26, 2025 @ 2:31 pm
That’s such a fun song. I don’t spend near as many calories on single of the year relative to song of, but that one belongs on the short list for sure.
Like those two well enough but this is a “greater than the sum of the parts” effort. Very glad to have it.
November 25, 2025 @ 2:57 pm
Warner Bros could and should have done more for Randall King. I hope he finds a label and the success his voice and his music deserves. I rate him highly.
November 25, 2025 @ 2:58 pm
Dude’s been one of the best on the scene for years now. It’s not due to the material or a lack of talent that he hasn’t got bigger so something’s gone wrong somewhere. I assume with marketing/promo.
November 25, 2025 @ 4:20 pm
Randall may need one breakout hit to,well,break out.
November 25, 2025 @ 6:01 pm
Well, I’d rather have no record deal than a lousy one.
Don’t Randall and Cojo have the same management?
November 25, 2025 @ 7:33 pm
I knew a guy who was signed to Warner Nashville for close to a decade. He told me it was like being in the witness protection program (Curb Records used to be described the same way).
November 25, 2025 @ 9:57 pm
As much as I want to hate Warner for this, I think it’s time the traditionalists embrace their independence in the same way some of the folk-country artists have. Some of my favorites are RK, William Michael Morgan, Jon Wolfe, Jake Worthington, Kevin Denny. Would be a dream to be able to see these artists do some touring and play semi-intimate rooms but maybe that’s just not feasible or realistic for 5-8 piece traditional country bands. Luckily I got to see Randall King for the 2nd time recently and it was just that. A smaller/mid sized club type of venue with about 200 people. Was a stellar show.
November 27, 2025 @ 7:11 pm
Dan, you rule! As a fellow Wisconsinite, i can’t wait to see you play soon in the southeast part of the state. Great win by the Pack today!
November 26, 2025 @ 5:16 pm
I’ve been beating the Randall King drum for years (as I’m sure others have too). Warner did an awful job with him. There’s no reason why CoJo, Zach Top, and others have gotten such huge bumps in their career, but Randall hasn’t despite being on a major label. What’s even more weird is that he even just got his first gold record with “You In a Honkytonk”. So obviously there was a decent amount of success with his songs.
I’ll be streaming his songs a ton to help support him and get his numbers up in hopes a label will see that. I hope others will do the same. The dude is prime to breakout!
November 27, 2025 @ 4:18 pm
I am a fan of Randall.King and the Texas sound. He is heavy on my.playlist. i like Zach Top but Randall King has a better voice.
November 27, 2025 @ 9:21 pm
Big fan myself, seen him multiple times when I lived in Colorado Springs then saw him at Greune Hall and last year at Tuffy’s Music Box in Sanford, Fl. He changed his sound a little at last years concert trying to be more mainstream. Hope he goes back to his bread and butter, really thought he had the potential to be the next George Strait. I don’t understand why these labels waste their time signing guys like this but do nothing to promote them. Hang in there Randall King, move back to Texas and never look back towards Nashville again.
December 10, 2025 @ 11:47 am
After the Texas Monthly I thought he was gonna be huge and I believe he will be. Big fan. King has a lot of appeal and is far better than many that are huge stars.