This Feels Big: Carrie Underwood Exits Sony for Universal
Not many knew that Carrie Underwood was a free agent. Now she moves from one of the biggest power players on Music Row in Nashville to another, and the change could be titanic behind-the-scenes. Announced Tuesday morning (3-28), Carrie Underwood has left her label home of nearly 12 years, Artista Nashville—which is a subsidiary of megalabel Sony—for Capitol Records Nashville, which falls under the Universal Music tree. Underwood released five studio records with Arista, including her latest Storyteller in 2015.
The new deal brings Carrie Underwood full circle. In 1996, when Carrie Underwood was just 14, she had auditioned for Capitol Records. When the company was forging a contract with the fledgling star, the management at the company changed and the deal fell through. “I honestly think it’s a lot better that nothing came out of it now, because I wouldn’t have been ready then,” Carrie Underwood later told Biography Now. “Everything has a way of working out.” It was her win on the 4th season of American Idol that put Carrie Underwood on the national map.
The move is also interesting since for the last six years, many Carrie Underwood fans have felt like she’s been overlooked by Sony through their efforts to push Miranda Lambert instead. Lambert just exited a period where she won a dozen Female Vocalist of the Year awards from the CMA and ACM Awards in a row, while Carrie Underwood was locked out until recently winning the 2016 CMA Female Vocalist trophy. Carrie Underwood will clearly be the biggest female asset on the Universal Music Nashville roster.
“Already a top tier force in country music, Carrie’s vast talents and creative bravery show that she is an artist who is prepared to take on a wide range of artistic challenges,” Universal Music Group Nashville Chairman and CEO Mike Dungan says. “We are excited for the future, and honored by her decision to make Universal Music Group her label partner in representing this worldwide superstar in the next phase of her career.”
Universal Music Group Nashville President Cindy Mabe was part of the team that helped launch Carrie Underwood’s career and her first record, Some Hearts. “When I decided to take my position with Capitol Records in 2007, personally one of the hardest people for me to leave behind was Carrie Underwood. I am so proud and humbled that she has chosen to sign with Universal Music Group Nashville and that we will once again join forces as she writes the next chapter of her soaring career as a global superstar of enormous integrity and talent.”
The news comes as Carrie Underwood just celebrated another career milestone—making her 100th appearance on The Grand Ole Opry. While other mainstream artists continue to shirk their Opry responsibilities, Carrie Underwood remains committed to the institution. It also comes on the heels of Tim McGraw leaving Big Machine Records to sign with Sony along with wife Faith Hill. Tectonic shifts of talent have been one of the big stories so far on Music Row in 2017, with Carrie Underwood arguably being the biggest so far. Expect announcements for new music, and a new single from Carrie to follow, potentially tied to the upcoming ACM Awards on Sunday, April 2nd.
March 28, 2017 @ 8:42 am
Welp, there’s the death knell for Kacey Musgraves.
March 28, 2017 @ 9:51 am
Reason?
March 28, 2017 @ 11:19 am
Oops, my mistake. Kacey is on the Mercury imprint. I thought she was with Capitol. Carry on.
March 28, 2017 @ 12:41 pm
Either way, these label groups share resources, and the resources for female artists tends to be less because the financial reward is less, at least this is how the labels see it. It’s all about the bottom dollar.
March 28, 2017 @ 8:44 am
Will she still be with 19 recordings? Doesn’t Simon Cowell still get money from her recordings?
March 28, 2017 @ 9:05 am
This is super interesting, Carrie was arguably the biggest current country artist on Sony (Sony pushed ML for awards, but Carrie has sold more, and is the bigger headliner). When Tim left for Sony, one of the things I found interesting was that he was moving into a more crowded stable. With Carrie leaving, he is now arguable their biggest name (they also have Kenny and Brad, but those two feel like they are trending down). Even Tim though is more on the back half of his career. I would expect Sony to devote even more resources to Maren and Chris Young, as they need to develop more younger headliners. Currently the only one they have below 40 is Miranda.
March 28, 2017 @ 10:19 am
Your comment illustrates how so much of country music’s current mainstream talent is in the second half of their commercial arc. It’s almost becoming like rock where all the biggest-draming acts appeal to boomers. Even Florida Georgia Line feels like their days are numbered. Thomas Rhett is probably fine, but I was surprised Maren Morris didn’t take off with “80’s Mercedes.” Music Row still can’t develop new talent. Playing musical chairs with artists who are already 10-25 years into the business is not the way to keep the industry on stable footing.
March 28, 2017 @ 10:59 am
True, although Sam Hunt seems to be off to a decent (sales wise) start for his second album and first headlining tour too. Brett Young is seeing some success, John Pardi! etc. Chris S is a fascinating case, because a little like Luke actually, he’s had a late start to his commercial/headlining career. Kelsea and Maren are both young. 80’s mercedes btw had horrible call out research, it just didn’t connect.
March 28, 2017 @ 10:25 pm
I don’t expect either Kelsea or Maren to have big album sales numbers in the next few years. Neither one stands out, either for their music or for their personality. And the female country market just isn’t what it was a few years ago.
I recall that in the mid to late 1990s much of country radio was soft rock/romantic ballads with a little bit of fiddle and steel guitar mixed in. That sound brought the suburban mothers, then the younger girls were exposed to mainstream country, which created an environment where Carrie and Taylor’s careers took off quickly. I don’t think that environment exists today. The fundamentals of the market will be very challenging for female artists for some time.
March 28, 2017 @ 11:02 am
(but yeah, it seems like it’s time for another turn-over, otoh this is what fans of older artists complain about…..it would be nice if music row/radio could do a mix, of well anything ever, but everything is always whole hog)
March 28, 2017 @ 9:11 am
That explains the lack of a fifth single, so much for taking a break in 2017…
March 28, 2017 @ 9:19 am
I kind of felt that “The Fighter” her duet with Keith Urban was her next single. Kind of like Eric Church’s final single from Outsiders was his duet with Urban “Raise them Up.”
I doubt Carrie would have signed off on Urban releasing the song if she had another song to push.
March 28, 2017 @ 3:44 pm
Raise Em’ Up was on Urban’s record.
March 28, 2017 @ 9:27 am
So that could explain the timing of releasing “The Fighter” with Keith Urban, who is also on Capital. Terrible song. However, I am waiting for that “career” album from Carrie that defines her as an artist. She’s grown into a fantastic performer, but there’s still too much over-done production on all of her past albums. Too much filler, not enough strong songs. I thought she deserved Entertainer of the Year from the CMAs last year…wasn’t sure if her 2017 was going to be as strong, because touring is a big factor when choosing nominees for that award. But excited to see where this leads her.
March 28, 2017 @ 9:37 am
I think her strengths are Christian songs and covers of country classics. Other than that she has mostly released shitty singles, from her first album to her most recent one, trying to be everything to everyone. I think 70% of the songs she has released have been a big waste of her vocal talent. I would like to see a shift in direction with her new label but am not optimistic. She’s had a few good songs over the past 12 years, but I can probably count them on the fingers of my right hand.
March 28, 2017 @ 10:19 am
I agree with your point about her trying to be everything to everyone. That’s really true. Carrie seems to be the go-to superstar in music when events/award shows/charities etc. are looking for a country star to add power to something. She’s extremely visible….but I don’t think she has that catalog that people are going to look back years from now and be astonished. She’s an act that brings together parents and children at a family-friendly show, impress music fans with a classic traditional country cover, doesn’t offend grandparents at the Opry (usually. depends on the outfit. lol. according to my grandma), and is afavorite of the causal radio lover. She’s safe. I’d love to see her find a signature sound and add more to her legacy than vapid singles.
March 28, 2017 @ 9:38 am
Can’t necessarily say I’m surprised. Now being on Capitol, she’s the only truly established solo female artist. (Mickey Guyton, who is also great, is signed too but she’s only released an EP and a couple singles thus far.) I’m anxious to see what the future holds for her and how much her 6th album will differ from her albums released with Arista.
March 28, 2017 @ 9:50 am
Great Move. Always felt like Sony hitched their wagon to Miranda no matter what Carrie did. Say what you want about her singles but Jesus Take The Wheel, Before He Cheats, Blown Away, and Two Black Cadillacs stack up pretty well to anything released by a female in the last decade and I think they all will stand the test of time.
March 28, 2017 @ 10:58 am
Carrie has the hit singels, album sales, tour sales. I would like to know why they pushed Miranda so hard? She sells well but she’s not radio friendly and her tour numbers are very shady when they release them once in a blue moon. I don’t think she even made the top 200 tours last year did she? Critical acclaim is big but Carrie should’ve been the one they pushed out of the two just because she’s a full package.
March 28, 2017 @ 11:25 am
Because Carrie didn’t need the push. Labels/Agencies/Tour folks want more headliners. Pushing Miranda for awards means they created two headliners. It’s the same reasons Dierks is all of a sudden nominated for a bunch of awards, they’re trying to increase his brand/name.
March 28, 2017 @ 11:53 am
Good point. Ugh Dierks. Might as well push a wet paper bag.
You have to feel for Carrie though. I’m sure she knows how the awards work but it sucks not being recognized for the work you do while you out perform your rivals. Her departure also makes me curious how they’re going to handle Miranda. Can’t live on critical acclaim alone.
March 28, 2017 @ 11:57 am
I noticed on today’s new Billboard Country Album chart that Miranda’s album has already fell out of the top 25 after only 18 weeks. I don’t think it’s selling like they thought it would. Meanwhile, Urban’s ‘Ripcord’ moves back into the #1 spot in its 44th week on the chart, probably based on the Underwood duet.
March 28, 2017 @ 1:25 pm
I wonder if the price is affecting sales? The core fans bought it and the rest are waiting for it to go on sale. It dropped like a log on iTunes looking at all genre. Her career really intrigues me. I’m not a huge fan of hers so didn’t keep track. I was really surprised at how few radio hits she has. Now that I’m starting to pay attention a bit more to numbers, Miranda not making it onto boxscores leaves me even more perplexed. She’s arguably the second biggest female country star behind Carrie. I never expected there to be such a gap between them.
March 28, 2017 @ 3:10 pm
I think this gap you’re referring to is the “critically-acclaimed” bubble that Miranda was in with her first three albums; sure, Revolution got her name in the upper echelons, but not until “The House That Built Me” hit #1, which was a few singles into the album cycle. Carrie was shot out of a cannon into the stratosphere thanks to her AI win, and has always had numbers and (some) acclaim, primarily based on her vocal abilities and overall production value. Thanks to the “bubble”, Miranda will always have the acclaim, but not the numbers to match. She’s definitely the kind of person that’s always cared about the latter instead of the former, though. I honestly think Carrie would not mind having more clout in the “critically acclaimed” world compared to numbers, but she didn’t really have that much control over her first few albums, compared to Miranda, who had a definitive hand in hers.
An excellent example outside of music is the show “30 Rock” – it always had the critical acclaim from the press, but the ratings were never great, even after 7 seasons.
March 28, 2017 @ 11:58 pm
I think Carrie has had difficulty focusing stylistically and that makes it harder for her to stand out in the eyes of critics. Since she released her first album she has dabbled in Christian music, country classics, teen country, party songs, and songs with darker themes. No artist can realistically expect to be successful with all of those styles. Most successful artists can do one of two things well enough to stand out. Carrie was good at a couple of styles and mediocre at several others. Unfortunately the weaknesses in her song selection detract from the overall perception of the quality of her work as a music artist.
March 28, 2017 @ 11:36 pm
I agree that Jesus Take The Wheel was a good song for her. But I disagree about Before He Cheats. It was commercially a very successful single, but I think it was good for her in the short term and bad for her in the long term. Perhaps she meant it in jest, but it was the wrong image for her. A new artist has to quickly define her identity and her brand, and this single defocused her identity.
In 2005-2007 America wanted a “good” girl. That was just the right role for Carrie. She had the right look, the right background, and she was in the right place at the right time, having just been anointed by reality TV’s biggest show. And Taylor Swift took the role of “America’s sweetheart” from her between 2006-2009, thanks to poor choices of singles on Carrie’s part, such as “Before He Cheats” and “Last Name”. She failed to cover her flank with the teen market in the first few years of her career, but she didn’t really focus on the adult country market either. Her less than magnetic personality in the early years of her career didn’t help her either.
March 29, 2017 @ 8:03 am
This comment makes no sense. Neither JTTW or DDTRM would have have been directed to teens so how could BHC ruin her relationship with the teen market? She has sold the most singles out of every country artist since the soundscan era starting in 1991 so I don’t think “poor” singles hurt her?
March 29, 2017 @ 9:09 am
Songs like Before He Cheats and Last Name might well have connected with teens, but they had a negative message, thus they were “off message” for Carrie considering that she was generally portrayed as a “good girl” and not a badass. Whereas Taylor’s early work was very much on message about defining her identity in the eyes of the younger fans.
Carrie’s first three singles went in very different directions. Jesus Take The Wheel was a Christian song. I recall that her second single “Don’t Forget To Remember Me” was one of those “innocent girl” teen country songs, sort of like an early Taylor Swift song. And she tried to play the role of a badass on Before He Cheats; it was closer to Miranda’s image, but less country. Artistically I think sometimes it is good for artists to branch out and experiment. But unfortunately it often is not helpful to an artist to branch out too much at the beginning of their career.
March 29, 2017 @ 9:31 am
Read a comment from Brandy Clark yesterday about how if men did those revenge songs, they would be skewered. She’s totally right. Only women can sing about murder and property damage in the mainstream. It’s considered cool. If a man does it, it’s seen as libelous.
March 29, 2017 @ 1:10 pm
Not sure if I agree with Brandy on that one. Wasn’t “Redneck Crazy” a big hit?
March 29, 2017 @ 10:20 pm
Trigger, I agree Brandy has a good point, there are some double standards that apply to males and females. But even if a female artist can get away with revenge songs, it is not necessarily good for her career in the long term.
There are three kinds of Christian girls in mainstream country: those who go to church on Sunday, those who spend their Sundays recovering from hangovers, and those who spend Sundays and the other six days of the week praying that her crush would ask her out. I don’t think I need to name names; we can refer to them as “C”, “M”, and “T”. C’s can sometimes also be T’s, and vice versa. But it is hard for either a C or a T to be a M and have it come across as authentic.
I recall that back in the early years (2006-2008) Carrie and Taylor overlapped heavily, both in terms of their fan bases and their musical styles. Carrie was portrayed as a young an innocent girl, and Taylor sometimes mentioned God in her songs. But I recall about five years ago, Carrie seemed flustered that she had been losing the youth market to Taylor and didn’t want to be compared to Taylor. Around the same time she started releasing more songs with darker themes, in the album “Blown Away”. Now I don’t see anything wrong with songs with dark themes, but in Carrie’s case the persona doesn’t fit her very well. I think when she tries to hard to pretend to be a badass it just starts to sound ridiculous, like lead without the gunpowder. She doesn’t pull off that type of image nearly as well as Miranda, and should stop trying to.
March 28, 2017 @ 12:05 pm
I wish she could leave her husband for me.
That would be a big move!
On the whole, I hope the move works out for Carrie.
March 28, 2017 @ 12:26 pm
Carrie, 34 yrs old, 5 studio albums.
Miranda, 33 yrs old, 7 studio albums
Leann,, 34 yrs old, 11 studio albums.
I know Leann had an earlier start to her career, and Carrie is way more $ successful, but Carrie needs more product in the pipeline.
March 28, 2017 @ 12:45 pm
That might have been part of the impetus for the move. She did take some time off to have a child and that included two new singles and a Greatest Hits release, but I am surprised how few records she has released.
March 28, 2017 @ 4:29 pm
Miranda has 2 Pistol Annies records as well.
March 28, 2017 @ 1:47 pm
Carrie is awesome
March 28, 2017 @ 4:35 pm
Sony has Miranda, Cam, Maren & Faith maybe Carrie wanted more attention. She will be main female star over there. Crossover is definitely in the works for Pop.
March 29, 2017 @ 5:17 am
Carrie has stated that she’ll never do pop. Let’s face it she’ll be a small fish in a big pond…
March 31, 2017 @ 11:33 am
Probably not on her own records. But she has done a fair amount of it outside the purview of the country music industry, as she did in 2014 at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony, when she did “Different Drum”, the 1967 folk-rock classic that launched the career of one of that year’s R&R HOF inductees, Linda Ronstadt:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NF_KASYNYN0
March 28, 2017 @ 4:51 pm
This Feels Big…lmfao.
March 28, 2017 @ 5:50 pm
A website called “Saving Country Music” should not be raising Carrie Underwood onto a pedestal. Her music is undeniably watered down pop passed off as “country.” Sorry Trig, but as much as I love this site this reeks of hypocrisy.
March 28, 2017 @ 6:33 pm
Oh fuck me. The only hypocrisy is you click baiting for ‘likes’. He’s covering a major story. Stuff your ego in a bag and ship it somewhere else.
March 28, 2017 @ 7:14 pm
Yes, I can’t live without people liking my comments on a country music news and blogging site. That’s why I post on here soooooooo often.
March 28, 2017 @ 11:17 pm
Pgwenz,
I appreciate your feedback.
First off, writing an article about an artist switching labels is in no way putting them on a pedestal, it is reporting on an important doing in the country music industry, and it’s my job. Yes, other people reported the story as well, but as an independent website, I’m able to add facts and context other industry outlets cannot. If you want my opinion on Carrie Underwood’s music, go read my last album review of her. I’m sure you will be pleased to find that it is not very favorable.
I am going to do something I normally don’t do, which is peel back the curtain a little bit. What I’m about to say will be taken as arrogance by some, that’s why I normally don’t speak on these matters. Saving Country Music doesn’t have the biggest readership in the country music industry, but it has a very important one. It might surprise you who reads this website on a daily basis. It’s not just music fans looking for recommendations, or purists looking for me to pounce on the next pop country act. Managers, label executives, publicists, professional songwriters, and other industry types all up and down Music Row read Saving Country Music on a daily basis. They are obsessed with it. Some read it because they find it interesting. Some because they hate it but can’t look away. One of the reasons they read is because they know this is the last place they can see and honest opinion. Because of this, it gives this website an important influence in country music that if I only covered independent and underground country music and none of the important issues and topics of the day in the mainstream industry, that influence would never exist. This influence is not only important in helping to enact fundamental change within the industry, it is also a conduit for raising awareness of independent artists by the industry at large. This is the Saving Country Music formula, and I have been doing it for going on 10 years now. Though some will tell you I’ve sold out recently (which people were saying 7-8 years ago), the truth is I have always covered mainstream topics.
I understand some folks may not want to read about Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, or whomever, and that’s totally cool. I won’t be offended if you don’t read these stories. And if I had a nickel for every time someone told me, “Why complain about the bad stuff, just push the good stuff” I would be a much richer man. But there is a reason Saving Country Music was able to help launch the career of Sturgill Simpson. And it’s not because I’ve made a habit of preaching to the choir.
March 29, 2017 @ 5:03 am
That’s well put. I’ve always felt Ca4rie had talent to burn which was being wasted on syrupy, over-produced pop singles like Good Girl and Last Name. She is the embodiment of the Nashville machine cramming bad music down our throats and telling us it’s good. I suppose that is why this item irked me.
In addition, I can lend credence to your claims about who reads this site. When I was music director at WATZ a lot of music promoters knew what SCM was – some liked it and some didn’t. Also, you’d be surprised how many promoters knew they were pushing bad songs but basically said they had to do it. It really makes you jaded about the music industry.
March 28, 2017 @ 7:19 pm
I’d love for this to mean something, but it won’t. She’ll go to Capitol, release more pop singles that Nashville tells us are “country,” and everybody wins but good taste and real country music.
March 28, 2017 @ 11:19 pm
I don’t think this will have any fundamental effect on Carrie Underwood’s music. But it could have profound effects on the industry, which could ultimately affect the music in important ways.
March 28, 2017 @ 11:52 pm
Trigger, I’m curious as to your thoughts on what it will take to bring female country back to the mainstream in a big way. Do you think it is just a matter of finding the right artist? Or do you think the mainstream country audience has fundamentally changed in a way that will make it very difficult for female artists to find an audience?
March 30, 2017 @ 7:44 pm
I could see Carrie going pop like Taylor. I felt like “Dirty Laundry” on the CMAs and “Fighter” on the Grammys this year were pop songs and she was putting country behind her. I think several female artists who can perform across genres do so because rock and pop sells more and that is the point of having a major label record contract-to sell as much music as possible. That is why bro country has done the same. Carrie is “sis country” compared to the likes of Nikki Lane, Margo Price, Elizabeth Cook who are all on much smaller indie labels.
My sense is Miranda started off being marketed as The Sassy Redneck Party Girl Who Luvs Bass Pro Shops and post Blake Shelton divorce, she has taken a more dour, serious turn, which Sony is struggling to market as effectively..