Tim McGraw’s Move from Big Machine to Sony Is Surprising
There’s no need for conspiracy theories or the sounding of alarms or anything, but I have to say I was a bit surprised when the news came down that Tim McGraw had officially left Big Machine Records and signed with Sony Music Entertainment. Announced at the same time, Faith Hill has also left her label of Warner Bros. for Sony.
There are no specific plans for the country music power couple to record an album together. Their Sony deals are two separate contracts as solo artists, even though the signing is being announced right as Tim and Faith get ready for a concert tour together commencing in April. The Sony deals were announced Monday (2-13), after Tim and Faith handed out the Record of the Year and Album of the Year at the 2017 Grammy Awards, and posed for pictures with their new Sony cohorts at a Sony Grammy afterparty. Details of the deals were not disclosed, and more information is said the be coming in the spring.
What’s so strange about the news is Tim McGraw seemed to be doing so well on Big Machine after fleeing Curb Records. There was a lot of symbolism in McGraw moving to Big Machine after a lengthy court battle with Curb, which tried to keep him on the label indefinitely and was ruining his career. McGraw and Big Machine CEO Scott Borchetta initially signed their deal in 2012 at Nashville’s Greyhound bus station to symbolize a new beginning. Tim had arrived as a young man from Louisiana with a suitcase and guitar 20 years before at that same station. One of the first people in the music business McGraw met in Nashville was Scott Borchetta’s father, Mike. Mike Borchetta was the man responsible for signing Tim McGraw to Curb Records.
The next five years were a big success for Tim McGraw, Scott Borchetta, and Big Machine. After suffering an extended period where he was unable to release new music under Curb, McGraw was able to do something most artists in their mid 40’s are unable to: have a career resurgence.
Tim McGraw’s first Big Machine album Two Lanes of Freedom has now been certified gold. His next two albums have sold over 250,000 copies each, and McGraw saw four #1’s hits, and nine Top 5 singles on Big Machine, including “Humble and Kind,” which won the Grammy for Best Country Song during the Grammy Awards on Sunday for songwriter Lori McKenna.
“I just sat at a table and wrote a song for my kids one day, and Tim McGraw made a moment out of this little tiny simple prayer that I wrote,” Lori McKenna said in her teary acceptance speech.
That is what has been so remarkable about the Tim McGraw resurgence, not just that he’s defying Music Row’s systemic ageism, but that he’s doing it with great songs, and those songs are doing well both commercially and on corporate country radio. Though the hard line country music rednecks and rabidly independent Americana types will never admit it, Tim McGraw has played a role in righting the country music ship over the last couple of years, not just with “Humble and Kind,” but with other critically acclaimed singles like “Diamond Rings and Old Barstools,” “Meanwhile Back At Mama’s,” and his current single “How I’ll Always Be.”
And it was all accomplished under the auspices of Big Machine. But perhaps records and singles didn’t have as much to do with Tim McGraw switching labels as it did wanting to tour with Faith Hill. Since the new Sony deal has been announced, basically their upcoming Soul2Soul tour will be a Sony affair, not Big Machine.
It comes at a time when Big Machine isn’t on a losing streak by any stretch, but has seen a few stumbles recently, like the attempted launch of a country music career for Steven Tyler that went terribly awry. The Band Perry’s demise started while they were still on Big Machine before the Perry’s and Big Machine parted ways. Brantley Gilbert’s recent record The Devil Don’t Sleep saw a first week sales decline of 60% compared to his last record, from 211,000 to 66,000 copies.
Thomas Rhett is a bright spot for the label as he continues to launch hit singles, but as Big Machine continues to fill the rosters of multiple imprints, not many major hits are coming from them. Maddie & Tae are struggling, and Taylor Swift broke her usual cycle of releasing a record every two years, robbing Big Machine of a big cash infusion.
And now Big Machine has lost Tim McGraw, who has shown himself to be an age-defying artist still able to pack arenas and launch singles that don’t adhere to country radio’s trends, but defy them. It felt like a big deal when Tim McGraw signed to Big Machine, and now if feels like a big deal that he’s gone.
According to Billboard, the new Sony deals for Tim McGraw and Faith Hill were brokered with Sony Music Entertainment CEO Doug Morris, Columbia Records Chairman and CEO Rob Stringer, Sony Music Nashville Chairman and CEO Randy Goodman, and Sandbox Entertainment’s Jason Owen, who is also Faith Hill’s manager.
February 15, 2017 @ 9:10 am
Recording music politics…could actually be a pretty interesting topic to dive into….I bet it’s a crazy world….
February 15, 2017 @ 9:28 am
“Humble and Kind” was beautiful. “…Back at Mama’s” was OK. The rest are just ehhh…I can take them or leave them. Isn’t Kenny Chesney still at Sony? Maybe that was one of the reasons, since they’re best friends. Either way, Tim has released some decent music, but nothing spectacular. Faith probably was let go. When was the last time she released anything?
February 15, 2017 @ 11:50 am
Faith released a single in 2011 and 2012, neither of which cracked the top 20 or lead to an album. Her last studio album was in 2005, but she released a Christmas album a few years after that (but given that such releases are largely padding, I don’t really count it). I’m thinking she was let go as well, it was just masked as an artist decision in that very music industry sort of way.
It’ll be interesting to see if she can mount the same sort of comeback as her hubby. I personally doubt it, given how hostile the radio environment has been to women as of late (all of them half her age or younger), but she was big once upon a time. Still, aside from a shout-out to “Mississippi Girl” and a rare reference to her freak out about Carrie Underwood’s award win a decade ago, there doesn’t seem to be much interest in her either way. A lot of younger country music fans don’t seem to know who she is outside of “Tim McGraw’s wife”, if that.
But, nobody expected Tim to come back the way he has, either, so there’s that. And she benefits from the exposure of their relationship (her prominently advertised vocals on “Meanwhile Back At Mama’s” wouldn’t have even bore mention if she were someone else, I’d wager). I expect to see some movement on her front while the iron is hot during this tour.
February 15, 2017 @ 11:54 am
Just from my gut, I feel like this move is all about trying to revitalize Faith’s career, and Tim McGraw is playing along. That’s the point of the tour, that’s the point of getting on the same label to facilitate touring together. Perhaps Big Machine didn’t want to sign Faith, and this was the second option. And hey, if that’s true, good on Tim for sticking with his girl like that.
February 15, 2017 @ 1:24 pm
Agree 100%
February 15, 2017 @ 12:39 pm
But Tim McGraw never really went away so he didn’t need a comeback as his issues were more on the label side. Plus, I could be wrong but Faith Hill never came across as a performer with strong convictions about who she was style wise. I’ve never really heard anything about her loves and influences (I’m sure they exist just doesn’t seem like it) so I’m not sure what would drive a comeback other than just for the comeback’s sake.
Just like any other profession it seems like music has some who absolutely live for it and others who treat it as a job and in many ways can take it or leave it and that is how Faith Hill has come across to me.
February 15, 2017 @ 12:45 pm
I think she bowed out because of the kids (just like Garth did). Two of the girls are now off to college, so it’s not surprising she’s thinking of her career again.
She was a force in her time.
February 15, 2017 @ 12:58 pm
You may be right. I guess it’s all personal preference as many performers keep their careers going while raising children (i.e. Martina McBride, Lee Ann Womack) while others like maybe Faith Hill and I guess Shania Twain totally drop off the radar.
But as was mentioned above it would seem for many reasons that any major success in a comeback are a longshot. At least from a mainstream country radio way. That is why I mentioned that she hasn’t shown any influences because something like a Faith sings Tammy Wynette or something could be really interesting but who knows.
February 15, 2017 @ 10:49 pm
Faith seems to care a lot about what other people think of her, and this would allow her to save face. And it will play very well with Tim’s female fan base that he is standing by his wife even when she gets older and her looks go. He’s been marketed as the perfect husband, and to keep that up as he gets older the wife has to at least show up from time to time, even if she doesn’t have another #1 hit in her career.
February 16, 2017 @ 8:38 pm
Ridiculous. I think it makes perfect sense. Tim clearly wouldn’t move into anything long-term after Curb and BMLG was a perfect transition for him. The announcement when he signed BMLG was all about the freedom Scott was giving him. They were photographed together at the Grammy’s, so I think they’re cool.
Borchetta’s group has always seemed a bit too “Lookin For That Girl” for Tim. He and Faith are both turning 50 this year, so I doubt anyone is expecting a huge comeback for Faith. Splashes maybe, but not much more in the country music industry. Faith was already set to change labels after the release of Deep Tracks a few months ago and it would make zero sense for her to go with BMLG.
Their tour isn’t just this year – they announced that they will do Europe and Australia in 2018, so two big touring years ahead. Plus, they have been recording songs together – a half a dozen or so that I have seen – so at least one duets album can be expected soon.
February 15, 2017 @ 9:40 am
I thought it was odd as well, Tim was a big dog at BM, Sony has a crowded label. I had thought that Faith would go to BM as well (since everyone knew she was leaving Warner) because it makes sense for them to be on the same label. Maybe BM just wasn’t willing to offer enough to Faith.
February 15, 2017 @ 10:29 am
Yes, Faith to Big Machine was my bet. We’ll just have to see how all of this shakes out.
February 15, 2017 @ 10:56 pm
What made you think Big Machine would want her? I recall that she tried to go the pop route with “Cry”, then came running back to country with an ok album, and most of all how quickly she was then dethroned by Carrie Underwood. She quickly became obsolete except as Tim’s husband. Most middle aged female music artists with that kind of career trajectory don’t have another comeback left in their careers. And that all happened at least 10 years ago.
February 15, 2017 @ 10:57 pm
Oh i meant as Tim’s wife. But with what has happened to marriage these days, sometimes I get wives and husbands mixed up …
February 15, 2017 @ 11:41 am
I had an inkling that Faith was going to “leave” WB after having ten years of downtime and a few radio flops in the early 2010s that never led to a new album. But how long had this been gestating? Last time I looked I couldn’t find any information on her label prospects, but it’s been a while.
February 15, 2017 @ 12:44 pm
I suppose it’s possible that maybe McGraw is difficult to deal with. Not defending Curb at all but sometimes we place all the blame on one party in a dispute when in reality the truth is more complicated.
Sort of like the guy with five divorces. After awhile it may be you that has the issues.
February 15, 2017 @ 12:53 pm
I’ve had three encounters with Tim and walked away from all three meetings thinking “he is the nicest guy I’ve ever meet.”
I’ve always wished I could get into his music more, because he comes across as the nicest guy.
February 15, 2017 @ 1:03 pm
Yeah that may be I’ve never met him but I also have known people that are really nice and cool in a social setting but are real hard asses in the business realm. As long as you honest and ethical there really isn’t anything wrong with that but sometimes it leads to conflicts and bouncing around from job to job which this sort of is.
Obviously I’m just speculating as it seems to be a somewhat questionable move for his career but if it’s being driven by his wife’s career then that’s perfectly understandable.
January 14, 2018 @ 10:12 pm
After the situation with Ed Sheeran and SONY I bet Tim and Faith probably wished they would have started their own label! It is too bad really because I have encountered Tim a few times over the last 16 years and I bet he won’t cover any other songwriters than who he has worked with in the past (Billy Lawson, Warren Bros. etc.) because of the recent plagiarism accusations!
February 15, 2017 @ 2:04 pm
pretty good stuff this week. I got handed an old pedal steel guitar from my friend who couldn’t keep it anymore, crash bandicoot is coming back out with a release date and new trailer tomorrow, I just discovered Wesley Dennis’ music, this is happening. 2017 is already a bright year.
February 15, 2017 @ 3:00 pm
I really think WB bungled Faith’s comeback efforts ~5 years ago. If you listen to the performances of the songs she presumably recorded for the album, they had a much different sound than ‘Come Home’ and ‘American Heart’. She recently released ‘Deep Tracks’ – mostly favorite album tracks with 3 unreleased songs – as a way to end her WB contract.
As someone mentioned above, I think a large part of her absence over the last decade has been because she was focused on their family. Both parents promoting separate high profile music careers would not exactly make for a stable home life. The only tours/residencies she’s been a part of since 2000 have been the 3 Soul2Soul tours and the Vegas show. All things they’ve done together. The only solo headlining tour she did was in 1999 between the Faith and Breathe albums. And to answer a statement someone made about other female singers touring while raising families – they weren’t married to Tim McGraw. She could afford to take the time off.
All of this to say – I know too much about Faith Hill and Tim McGraw and I really think her break was largely to be a stabilizing force for their family.
Also – I’ve read elsewhere that Borchetta is selling BMLG, so that may be motivation for Tim to leave.
Sources for the songs from Faith’s unreleased album:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGsbCorEAyk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWQbFkCGI84
February 15, 2017 @ 4:00 pm
I was the one that referred to other performers and their careers and I never mentioned touring. I just said ‘careers’. It is entirely feasible to record an album while raising a family even if you are married to Tim McGraw as one doesn’t spend 24 hrs a day with their children. There are such things as families with two working parents. I agree touring would be more difficult but it’s kind of a silly to think it can’t be done by a multi millionaire power couple.
Now if she didn’t want to do that then more power to her but to pretend that she couldn’t do it is just not accurate.
February 15, 2017 @ 4:30 pm
For sure. I wasn’t saying it CAN’T be done, just giving my opinion on why I think she made the choice to step away. Based on interviews and things I’ve read she seems more family focused rather than career. It works out that she has been able to stay somewhat in the spotlight because of her husband.
February 15, 2017 @ 4:38 pm
And good for her and her daughters because they are probably better off for it. But it’s a fact that it probably was a death blow to her mainstream career as taking many years off and then trying to stay relevant as a 50 year old is very difficult. Life is full of tradeoffs though and hopefully she is comfortable with hers.
February 15, 2017 @ 11:05 pm
I am not convinced that it would have made a big difference in her career in the last 10 years if she had focused less on her family and let nannies raise her kids. Faith’s career peaked in the late 1990s when she was a fast follower, playing Nashville’s #2 girl trying to keep up with Shania Twain. When Faith was overshadowed by younger and prettier Carrie in 2005-2007, it was quite clear to me that it was probably over for her as a top tier commercial music artist. Mainstream music audiences just aren’t that excited about middle aged women in the 40s who have been followers for most of their career. She just didn’t stand out.
February 16, 2017 @ 4:36 am
She was obviously at her peak earlier in her career, but she had a lot of success with the Fireflies album. I think she could have had maintained a somewhat commercially successful career if she had wanted. Maybe it’s just that I’m not completely dismissive of one of the few women who continued to have success through the mid-2000s.
February 16, 2017 @ 6:15 am
This is such a condescending post, its funny because you could say the same thing about Carrie now right? She is being replaced by a younger and prettier Maren, its not a nice statement right? From the few interviews I have seen of Tim Mcgraw it was clear his addictions got the best of him, they were probably way worse than the public knows. If that is the case it would seem that Faith decided it was best for her to be home with the kids, in a household with an alcoholic parent the other has to be the rock that keeps the family intact. She should not be judged for taking the time off, I don’t see that Garth took that much heat. Faith’s voice is one of the most soulful voices out there and her fireflies album was by far her best work. I personally am looking forward to new music from Faith Hill!!!
February 16, 2017 @ 7:37 am
Yes, I had thought about Tim’s alcohol issues, which he has been open about. Like you say, I think there is much more there than they make public though. All singers have their time of peak success and that’s no secret. Tim and Faith are the same age, and he isn’t at his commercial peak right now either. I didn’t see any mention of his fading looks in that condescending comment though…
February 16, 2017 @ 10:39 pm
I understand that my post might sound condescending. However I am simply describing the situation as I see it. In 2005-2007 the music industry in Nashville acted like a guy going through a midlife crisis who dumped his middle aged wife for a younger girlfriend. Do I think it is fair? No. Nor was the bro country craze of 2011-2014 fair to many talented music artists. But it was the market reality at the time.
“Fireflies” was a decent album. But the timing of its release was terrible. It was released in between Carrie Underwood being crowned American Idol and Carrie releasing her 7X platinum first album. Faith found herself competing directly with Carrie for the same kinds of fans. And in a head to head contest, the commercial reality is that younger and prettier with the support of American Idol will win. Since she ran into a commercial juggernaut, a decent album was not good enough to save her career. At that point even if she had released another album like “Breathe” in 2005 she would not have outsold Carrie.
The downturn of Faith’s commercial career was partly due to poor decisions of her own making. A big part of the reason for Faith’s success in the 1990s was her all American girl image. Her 2002 album “Cry” exposed her as a phony who was trying too hard to be popular. She would never again be America’s sweetheart after “Cry”. Rushing out a lousy pop album to beat Shania to the punch was a tactic, not a long term strategy or an artistic identity. Her screwup with “Cry” made her vulnerable to an up and coming competitor.
If I put on my marketing hat I can think of a couple of ways in which Faith might have had a few more years of mainstream success. 1) If she had the vocal and stylistic chops (think Reba in the 1990s) she could have carved out a sizable market of more mature country fans, and avoided having to compete directly with Carrie for young country fans. 2) She could have let Shania have the pop market in 2002-2004, and focused on releasing a couple of strong country music albums. She would have had an opportunity to be the dominant female country star for a few years, the “queen of country”. In that case, Carrie’s label might have pushed her down the Taylor Swift teen idol path, instead of having her compete directly with Faith. Which could have allowed Faith to have a couple more platinum albums. But that’s not the way it turned out.
February 17, 2017 @ 6:30 am
Adrian, this post was initially about Tim moving to Sony and you made it about Faith vs. Carrie…..why? The Faith vs. Carrie thing was almost 10 years ago, you need to move on. Younger performers replacing older performers happens in all aspects of entertainment industry (music, film, modeling) and everyone knows this but you are making it personal no? You are obviously a Carrie fan (who holds a looooong grudge) and that is cool but there is no reason to make derogatory statements about Faith in a Tim related post. Why can’t we be fans of all three women, why does it have to be a competition? Maybe that is why females are having such a hard time in country music right now, some of the blame lays directly with the fans. The disgusting tweets I have seen b/w Carrie and Miranda fans are downright gross. You don’t see this kind of nasty fighting b/w the male fans.
Since this is a Tim related post why didn’t you make the argument that a younger and more handsome Thomas Rhett is ousting a older and ageing Tim? Why when you wrote your post did you focus on looks and not focus on the talent of both women? I will tell you why. Because you know that all women are inherently insecure about getting older and losing the looks of their youth. You hit Faith where it hurts. The thing is now Carrie is in the same position and those comments will be said about her, not going to be a good day for you.
And if we really want to go low, you refer to Carrie as younger and prettier. When I hear people describe Carrie’s looks they use words like pretty/beautiful. When I hear people describe Faith’s looks words they use words like “Gorgeous” “Beautiful” and “Stunning”. I think Faith may win in the looks department even though she is almost 50. So your petty little statements about looks are incorrect.
And are you kidding me with the pop bull**it, 95% of what Carrie has put out is pop? Carrie must be a phony too bc she started with country sounding music and now her sound is mostly pop. Maybe they just record music that speaks to them at that time?
Adrian, I get the impression through your negative and mean words that you are not in a good place in your life or you are just a miserable person. Try being more kind with your words it will feel much better I promise.
February 17, 2017 @ 9:41 am
You have very strong opinions about Faith Hill’s career choices.
It’s not a zero sum game. Things probably would have played out differently if she hadn’t gone full on pop with Cry, or if WB had marketed differently instead of releasing 3 ballads. Fireflies sold very well for the time. Not many artists can maintain the sales of Breathe or Some Hearts. Carrie has taken a very different career path than Faith has. Releasing albums every couple years for a decade. Faith only did that with Take Me as I Am/It Matters to Me & Faith/Breathe.
I really doubt anyone is expecting Faith to have the success she had in 2005. Or 2000. Or 1998. And so on and so on. She’s at a different point in her career right now. That’s Fine. Carrie Underwood will be there at some point too. Both are great singers who have had success most can only dream of. For that matter, Tim’s latest album’s total sales are a fraction of what the opening week sales of his peak career albums. I don’t you mentioning throwing him by the wayside because he’s 49 years old and can’t even get a gold album anymore.
February 17, 2017 @ 10:16 am
Bob, yes I have strong opinions about Faith’s career decisions.
I thought her first three albums (the ones she released before “Breathe”) were pretty good. She had some good songs in the early days, from “Take Me As I Am” to “The Secret of Life”. After that the quality of her music went downhill fast. I think that was a direct result of her fashionably late trend following. There were some decent songs on “Fireflies”. But I recall that her last #1 single was “Mississippi Girl” from that same album, and I could not stand that song. It was too blatantly gimmicky and reminded me of what I liked least about Faith.
I thought Taylor Swift’s statement a couple of years back, about how if you try to chase two rabbits you lose them both, was perceptive. I wonder if she was thinking about what happened to Faith’s career when she said it.
February 17, 2017 @ 5:59 am
Carrie replaced by younger and prettier Maren? It’s not gonna happen. Maren only had a top 10 hit, the next one (80’s Mercedes) just didn’t take off. Carrie is a major force with a big fanbase, and every single song she released reached country radio’s top 3.
If Maren keeps going down the pop-diva road she will never win over country music fans.
Not to mention Carrie has the voice and she’s way hotter than her. Oh, and she’s only 7 years older than Maren.
February 17, 2017 @ 7:10 am
In response to CountryGirl:I commented about Faith’s career to follow up on a discussion where other posters including Trigger suggested that Tim’s move was about revitalizing Faith’s career. The careers of these two spouses have been tightly coupled.
I am not a big fan of Carrie’s either. I think she has released a few good songs, her Christian songs in particular come to mind. She has also released many subpar pop influenced songs, starting with singles from her first two albums and continuing through her latest album. I have been critical of her music when criticism was deserved. I think Carrie suffers from some of the same weaknesses as an artist as Faith. Neither one has a very strong artistic identity and both have a tendency to try to be everything to everyone. It is mostly a difference in timing, Faith’s career peaked in the 1990s and Carrie’s career peaked 10-15 years later.
I think Carrie’s problem has been not being able to focus enough to develop a strong artistic identity of her own. I saw this going all the way back to her first album. Her first three singles were a contemporary Christian song (“Jesus Take the Wheel”), a Taylor Swift-like teen country song (“Don’t Forget to Remember Me”), and a rock influenced song that I thought was bad for her image (“Before He Cheats”). She went in three different directions in the first year of her mainstream career. Young Christians loved her first single (and her more recent hit “Something In the Water”), but she did not leverage that market as much as she could have. And she did not protect her flank with the teen country market in 2005-2007, which allowed Taylor to quickly capture that segment. So Carrie spent many of the prime years of her music career squeezed between Taylor on the left and Miranda on the right, while recording what I would agree was mostly mediocre music. I think she might have another 5 years as a top mainstream country artist (and no, I don’t think Maren is a strong competitor), before losing her mainstream appeal like Faith has. Time takes its toll on all of us, heck I’m not in as good shape as back when I was 25 either, that’s just a fact of life.
February 17, 2017 @ 12:44 pm
You must be one of those nasty fans….now your pitting carrie vs maren…. pathetic!!!
February 15, 2017 @ 3:18 pm
This is pretty cool, I like because all the cool opening acts they are bringing along are less likely to sell their souls to Big Machine. Haven’t had a problem with Tim since Indian outlaw, this just raised my opinion of him a little more.
February 15, 2017 @ 4:57 pm
I am surprised that Tim McGraw move to sony. He was doing good with Big Machine. I wrote to Trigger two days ago about that and he was surprised too with that move. He wanted to be with his wife on a samelabel just like Garth and Trisha with RCA few years ago.
February 15, 2017 @ 7:10 pm
One thing that I wonder about Tim is where do you think he is positioned one day for a Hall of Fame perspective. He has 25 #1 hits and 3 times has had the song of the year in country(It’s Your Love, Just to See You Smile and Live Like You Were Dying) according to billboard year end charts and non of them were gimmick songs, all solid county music songs. Has he done enough, especially with this solid run over the last 5 years to move himself ahead of a few others in his generation for entry one day into the hall of Fame or does he still have some work to do? He really had a good thing going at BM, so hopefully it continues at Sony.
February 15, 2017 @ 7:51 pm
He’s a dead solid lock. Probably in about five or ten years.
February 16, 2017 @ 5:16 pm
I don’t think BMLG wanted Faith Hill. That’s the only possible reason I can imagine Tim leaving. Or if they were willing to take her, they wanted her on NashIcon and she didn’t like that. I was also very surprised, and actually disappointed, when this was announced. I don’t think Tim will do as well on radio under Sony as Big Machine.
March 2, 2017 @ 1:11 pm
I turn the channel or turn it off if McGraw the hipocrite comes an go shoot my guns Never Forget Hipocrite him an his wife to