Why Jesse Welles Just Released a 63-Song Album
#570.15 (Singer/Songwriter) on the Country DSS.
If you need any further illustration of the creative explosion that Jesse Welles has been the catalyst and accelerant for over the last year or so, appreciate that he just released a 63-song album encapsulating a six month time period between April of 2024 to September of 2024 called Under The Powerlines. The title makes reference to the clearing where Welles recorded many of his now viral videos over that time period.
The album collects the audio from those viral videos that have garnered Jesse Welles 1.1 million followers on Instagram, 1.2 million followers on Tik-Tok, and 370,000 subscribers on YouTube, and counting. It’s difficult to impossible to communicate the incredible level of interest we’re seeing in Welles, which has also translated to the live space where he’s selling out shows left and right. Jesse Welles is one of the hottest names in all of music.
But you might be asking, “A 63 song album? Really?” especially since it feels like music is currently in an arm’s race with acts like Zach Bryan, Morgan Wallen, Beyoncé and others releasing 27 to 40-song monstrosities that already make it difficult to impossible for fans to parse through and digest. How is someone expected to have the time to listen to a 63-song record?
With Jesse Welles, the explanation is much more practical. First, he wants to give fans the ability to stream any one of his viral songs they might fancy, and in their full versions, and at their fingertips. Releasing the audio to the videos gives fans that capability to do so on demand as opposed to having to go to YouTube and search up a video, which is a pain in the keister.
Most importantly though, the bigger issue actually has to do with intellectual property and theft. Welles was already becoming the victim of song thieves uploading the audio to his videos to Digital Service Providers (DSP) like Spotify, and making money off his songs. As Saving Country Music reported in April of 2024, performers are having their songs stolen and uploaded, even sometimes before they can release them themselves. One way to protect yourself is to get your songs up ASAP, even if you delay the release date.
There are other practical reasons for Jesse Welles releasing this album, like the ability to use the Shazam app to identify the songs and the artist, or for people to use snippets of the songs on Tik-Tok and Instagram in a way that Jesse gets credit for. And yes, you can probably expect more album dumps from Welles coming in six month intervals as he continues to churn out tracks commentating on and lampooning current events at an incredible pace.
Some have already criticized Jesse Welles’ output as being too much, and this batch of previously-releases songs won’t help his case. But what Jesse Welles is doing defies all conventional norms. No artist or songwriter has ever been responsible for such a voluminous amount of output that still resonates widely with the public like Welles does. It’s unprecedented territory that calls for extraordinary measures to chronicle it, like releasing a 63-song album.
Who knows how long this will continue or where Jesse Welles goes from here. But cataloging his songs over this incredible period seems imperative, no matter how intimidating trying to dive into his music might be, especially if you’re just starting now. And all indications are that Jesse Welles isn’t slowing down and allowing any of us to come up for air any time soon. If you want to know where to start, chances are Jesse Welles has a new song coming out soon.
If you want to hear a more produced, curated, full band release from Jesse Welles, check out his album Middle. To listen to Under The Powerlines on Spotify, CLICK HERE.
March 21, 2025 @ 12:03 pm
I appreciate this article detailing the issue with an artist needing to put this out there just to keep the credit for stuff. Well explained the nuances of eBay’s going on there. Weird issue that never existed before the most recent of times. This popped up on my Spotify today I tried to give it a listen. Still not hitting for me but that’s okay and not really what this article is about
March 21, 2025 @ 12:24 pm
Voluminous output, especially in Jesse’s case ≠ quality.
: D and, of course his music is lauded in certain sectors of the population.
March 26, 2025 @ 3:31 pm
I’m an older woman and I appreciate his method, music and messages. Been waiting for someone like him to come onto the scene
April 18, 2025 @ 2:56 pm
Yes, we had those 60’s protest artist. They are raw and full of the emotion and observation.
March 21, 2025 @ 12:30 pm
I am a big fan of what Mr. Welles is doing and appreciate SCM too.
Anyone got an opinion on place to support artist via digital download purchase? I am leaning toward Qobuz, but looking for best artist supporting option. Thanks!
March 22, 2025 @ 8:42 am
Qobuz is good. Good ol’ iTunes is probably fine as well. I don’t know if Tidal supports digital download, but I think they have some kind of “Direct Payment to the Artist” option for users.
The bottom line on this stuff is purchasing directly from the artist is probably the best option to support the artist – or just stay away from Spotify (for a variety of reasons).
March 22, 2025 @ 9:57 am
Thanks Mike.
Doesn’t look like Mr. Welles had purchase from artist, so Qobuz is where I will go. Personally, I avoid Apple, Amazon, Spotify, etc…
Have a great weekend!
March 21, 2025 @ 12:38 pm
8/10? or 8/63?
March 22, 2025 @ 4:41 am
I was told there would be no math.
March 21, 2025 @ 2:17 pm
Been a fan for a good while. Problem is, most of these songs are too topical and straightforward for me to have any real interest in listening to them more than a couple times. I mean, these tunes ain’t Bob Dylan’s Hurricane. But as I stated, I am a fan and wish him well.
March 21, 2025 @ 2:47 pm
I remember distilling the catalogs of so many country artists. Giving 7 listens at least to every tune available from DAC and then keeping the gems and tossing the tampons was quite the chore. It makes it far more difficult when song factories like him, Ryan Adams, and Bright Eyes can write and record a song per day
March 21, 2025 @ 3:03 pm
What did you toss from Coe?
March 21, 2025 @ 3:30 pm
Let’s just say that The Purple Heart is nothing compared to Bright Morning Light. With every catalogue there is variation in quality, but taste is subjective to a degree.
March 21, 2025 @ 3:34 pm
I have 100’s of Coe songs on my playlist and I just let them play. I have to say that Coe and Lynyrd Skynyrd are like that for me. I just let it play. My buddy swears that Skynyrd is the universal unifying band when you have a group together who likes rock, country, bluegrass, etc. They appeal to all my people.
Apparently, I’m still in moderation, years after my grievous offenses..
March 21, 2025 @ 3:55 pm
There you go!
Here is my hit list (just in case you are missing any of these and want to ding them). Sorry about capitalization.
The fish aren’t biting, I’ve got something to say, Juanita, bright morning light, take it easy rider, please come to Boston, Jody like a melody, whiskey and women, rolling with the punches, seven mile bridge, love is just a propoise, spotlight, a sense of humor, 33rd of August, drink Canada Dry, drink my wife away? And just to prove my love to you.
March 21, 2025 @ 4:21 pm
Are those the songs you jettisoned?
March 21, 2025 @ 4:21 pm
For the record, most people’s comments go to moderation these days as we deal with an exceeding amount of spam comments trying to get through. Some people are singled out for their comments to be moderated. But just because your comments are moderated doesn’t mean that’s you. I’m not happy about it either because it’s extra work for me as well.
March 21, 2025 @ 4:24 pm
If so, I implore you to listen to Compass Point as an entire album. I liken it to Looks Like Rain by Mickey Newbury. You have to listen to the entire album in one listen. You can’t pick individual songs. It needs to be considered as one work.
March 22, 2025 @ 4:50 am
Heck no. Those are my favorites
March 21, 2025 @ 3:55 pm
Give the man a guest post/column already!!!
March 21, 2025 @ 5:47 pm
Maybe I will once we get married.
March 21, 2025 @ 5:09 pm
63 songs recorded over 8 months is an average of about 2 songs a week. He also released an album of studio recordings in that time. Dude is prolific. He’s sure hit a nerve with a lot of folks. I hope he keeps at it.
March 21, 2025 @ 7:38 pm
He didn’t write all those songs in that time frame though. This Is Not My Song was from his Dead Indian time and he performed That Can’t Be Right on TV in September 23. I wouldn’t be surprised if he wrote many of his other “indulgent” songs before he started going viral.
March 22, 2025 @ 8:32 am
Still, that’s a lot of output. I’ve been writing since I was a kid, I’ve had a creative spurt that added 80 songs in a year… but they weren’t all songs I’d want to post online, maybe 1/3rd of them were keepers, and 10 of them are something I’d put on a record, myself.
Jesse gets at least one “oh, crap, I wish I’d come up with that” on almost every song he releases. I get that NOBODY can be 100% classics, but they guy is figuring it out better than most. If he keeps his mouth shut and doesn’t do a lot of press, he’ll keep this “quiet flame-thrower” mystique, and there will be a million kids under powerlines with phones on Temu tripods and yard-sale guitars. And I’m here for it.
March 21, 2025 @ 5:43 pm
I’m expecting a song by song review on this one Trigger
March 21, 2025 @ 7:16 pm
I’m curious but I’m going to have to talk myself past the Band Perry haircut.
March 21, 2025 @ 7:42 pm
I think its more of an un-haircut, what happens when you just don’t cut your hair for years.
March 22, 2025 @ 1:41 pm
Seems more like a John Fogerty/70s Waylon haircut to me.
March 23, 2025 @ 5:44 am
This is the second comment on here about his looks being a turn off of his music. If you’re looking for a beauty pageant you’ve come to the wrong place. Who cares what he looks like. You’d probably like that show “The Voice” the popular karaoke show on TV. Some pretty ones there, none of em can write a damn song though.
March 22, 2025 @ 4:44 am
Would that be a quintuple album?
The man’s a heckuva songwriter.
March 22, 2025 @ 4:56 am
I thought Blues/Rock artist Richie Kotzen was crazy when he released a 50 song album, 50 for 50, a couple years ago. 63 song? How do you even digest all that? It’s like releasing your career box set at the beginning of your career.
Do you have to release all your songs in order to copyright them?
March 22, 2025 @ 7:12 am
You don’t have to upload your songs to copyright them. But if you don’t upload your audio recordings, somebody else will. And then due to the wild way many DSPs work, the onus will be on YOU the artist to prove those are your recordings, which can be a very time consuming process.
The whole reason I wrote this article was to explain this. It just happens that Jesse has a lot of the recording that need to have this done. If his videos weren’t going viral, perhaps it wouldn’t be an issue. But it is. I think you’re going to see more of these kinds of releases moving forward as artists look to protect their live works.
March 22, 2025 @ 4:42 pm
I know it’s a different age where everyone uploads videos of themselves playing their songs, but it seems many artists go awhile doing gigs and playing their music before ever releasing an album or single. Just seems crazy there is no way to protect your music without releasing it.
Thanks for the explanation.
March 23, 2025 @ 4:33 pm
You can protect your songs, copyright each one. Use the PA form, it expensive $65 bucks per song but it’s worth it. Also join BMI or ASCAP, attorneys are expensive.Cheers.
em………*
March 23, 2025 @ 4:38 pm
Copying or publishing your songs will not help with song thieves who are stealing the actual recordings, uploading them before the original creators, and then putting the onus on the original creators to prove they have ownership over them as opposed to the original uploader. This is something that has happens daily. You don’t have to necessarily release the songs. But once you have finished recordings, it’s smart to upload them, even if you keep moving back the release date. That way if someone steals them, the DSPs will flag the stolen track as a duplicate, not yours.
March 24, 2025 @ 5:18 am
Thanks Earl and Trigger. I’m not a professional musician, so these things don’t apply to me personally. I was just curious about why someone would have to release a 60+ song album to protect his music. I think I was confused at first thinking someone was watching Wells’ videos and then recording the songs as their own. Then Trigger explained that people would actually steal the recording itself and upload it as the rightful owners.
It’s a crazy digital world these days where sometimes it seems there are more scammers and bots than real people. Good luck to all you actual musicians out there trying to figure this all out and make a living.
March 30, 2025 @ 11:46 pm
Any “creative work” is protected by copyright the moment it is put into a permanent medium, you don’t even have to put copyright notice on it anymore. Proving that you are indeed the author is a different matter, I don’t know much about that. The old “mail a certified letter to yourself” method might work–ask an attorney. I copyrighted all of my songs 20 years ago–I should be so lucky that someone wants to steal them.
March 24, 2025 @ 8:15 am
Hi Trigger, a couple of things. You can copyright a song with nothing more than an acoustic guitar and vocals (lyrics) when you go to the copyright website do a PA form you will be required to submit a digital copy of your song. When it comes to publishing, join BMI or ASCAP. Unless you’ve sold your publishing, create your name for your publishing company. Mine is at BMI Liquid Lady publishing, So whenever I play a gig and play one of my original songs listed with BMI, I notify BMI. I get paid from BMI because the venue pays dues, if the venue doesn’t pay dues they get in trouble. It’s allot of work, but if you play original music it’s well worth it. Cheers.
em……..*
March 24, 2025 @ 2:32 pm
Hey Earl,
I completely 100% understand how the copyrighting of a song works. That’s not really relevant to this conversation at all. As soon as someone upload a piece of audio to a DSP (Spotify, Apple, etc), that piece of audio is LOCKED in ownership to whoever uploaded it. If someone else tries to upload that audio, even if they’re the copyright holder, the DSPs will reject it. Then you have to go through a rigorous process to reclaim your own audio. I have reported on this numerous times.
March 24, 2025 @ 3:41 pm
Hi Trigger, thanks for the info on digital uploads that’s good to know. I have another question, if you don’t mind. How does someone get a copy of the unreleased song? I suppose it could just be someone in the studio, just curious. Cheers.
em……..*
March 24, 2025 @ 7:22 pm
That’s the big question. When this happened to Grant Langston and I reported on it, he had no idea. There’s been hundreds of these kinds of stories.
https://savingcountrymusic.com/grant-langston-suffers-digital-song-theft-ahead-of-new-album/
With these Jesse Welles songs, the answer is simple. Anyone can capture the audio and upload them, change the name of the artist and song, and then all of a sudden, the songs are theirs. In fact, that already was happening with Welles. That’s why they released this album.
March 22, 2025 @ 7:59 am
Never heard of this clown but he looks like a reject from a John mellencamp tribute audition. You cover such lousy music on here.
March 22, 2025 @ 8:34 am
Have we heard of you? Are you somebody?
March 22, 2025 @ 8:36 am
Then why do you come back?
March 22, 2025 @ 8:40 am
In hopes he will cover some good people like Vern gosdin, trace Adkins, MC Carpenter , Kathy Mattea , Mark Chesnutt etc. or for a new group Jamestown revival . Usually to no avail though as I am met with fawning articles about Zach Bryan or others of that ilk.
March 22, 2025 @ 10:50 pm
Liar
March 23, 2025 @ 5:48 am
“Never heard of him”, then proceeds to judge a musician you’ve never heard of by their looks. This ain’t ET TV, if you’re looking for the Kardashians singing karaoke you’ve come to the wrong place. Whomp whomp
March 25, 2025 @ 9:06 am
well I listened to some of his “music”. I got through about 30 seconds before I had to change it. His music is even worse than his appearance . I say a disheveled clown banging away on simple chords while droning on with a bad singing voice and no semblance of melody
March 22, 2025 @ 8:48 am
I remain generally “meh” on Welles output. My overall opinion is that some of the critical acclaim he gets in spaces is more he is one of the few artists in the County/Americana/Electric Folk genre so blatantly and repetitively touching on social issues in his music.
Which – hat tip to him for doing so – but I just haven’t been wowed yet. Much like Zach Bryan, he would be better suited editing himself and letting songs bake longer rather than focusing on timeliness and/or raw output.
The album Welles put out a few weeks ago had 1-2 bangers on it for me, but the rest felt like he was trying too hard to be heartland rock with Dylan’s lyrical gravitas and not nailing either attempt.
March 22, 2025 @ 11:16 am
“Much like Zach Bryan, he would be better suited editing himself and letting songs bake longer rather than focusing on timeliness and/or raw output.”
And much like Zach Bryan, if Jesse Welles did this, nobody would know who he is right now as opposed to being one of the hottest names in all of music. Zach Bryan is selling out stadiums in 8 minutes at the moment. His entire career critics (including myself) have been telling him to slow down and get a producer. He never complied, and only continued to grow. Jesse Welles is doing the exact same thing. For every person he leaves behind, he gains 10 more. This is the new musical paradigm.
But the whole point of this article was to explain that really, none of this has to do with why he released a 63-song album. At this point it was simply a logistical necessity. If anyone actually listens, that’s gravy.
March 22, 2025 @ 4:24 pm
All of those people (and more!) have been covered here. This is just part of The New World Order: ‘It’s gotta be about me me me anywhere and all the time, and I’ll whine like a baby when that doesn’t happen!’🙄
March 22, 2025 @ 8:27 pm
We’ve come a long way from the poor artists mailing a notarized recording of themselves to save on the fees of registering for copyright! But it’s all the same in the end, and I totally support Welles trying to fight the jackels.
March 23, 2025 @ 3:41 am
…”out of the woods bowl” jesse welles vs oliver anthony: 63 – 1
March 23, 2025 @ 5:33 pm
Just like in other comments this release popped up on my Spotify today so I though I’d come to SCM to see if it has been mentioned. I chose correctly! I thought the album Middle was pretty good, he’s obviously a talented wordsmith and not scared to approach topical subjects. Here comes my issue not with Jesse or any artist in particular. Not all of us consume music through TikTok, YouTube and other similar means. Jesse came to my attention again via you, SCM, so why would those who don’t know his music from those other places be interested in 3hours 15mins (63 tracks) of newly released material. Who actually has time for all this, have you managed to listen to them all Trigger? No point actually reviewing, how can it be possible to review this. I’m still dumbfounded by Wallen and Bryan releasing umpteen tracks on their albums. Good luck to him, but unfortunately, he’s put me right off, so I won’t be listening. I’d rather be listening to all the other shorter and much easier to consume releases coming out every week.
March 23, 2025 @ 9:03 pm
Did you read the article Craig? All of this is explained. That’s why I wrote an explanation of what’s happening here as opposed to a review.
March 24, 2025 @ 6:35 am
Trigger, I obviously read the article. He can give whatever reason he likes, I’ll not be listening. You said there were two reasons he has done this. This first reason was so his fans can have access to the audio from his popular viral videos at their fingertips. I’m not someone who has come to his music from this angle/perspective so it is indeed 63 songs from my viewpoint. The second reason you mentioned was the intellectual property. It’s just the music equivalent of info dumping. This just seems to be the negative side of artists gaining recognition and popularity through viral videos. For me, artists shouldn’t be uploading such a huge volume of material in to the public domain, at least stick most of it behind a paywall or subscription service. If he is as popular as some are suggesting then there are subscriber options available through YouTube and other services or he could have released the content via Patreon. Also why class it as an Album, why not just upload tracks in a playlist. I think that’s the main issue for me that he’s actually calling this an Album. An Album to me should be a collection of tracks with some kind of connection, cohesion, fluidity, order, thought process, sometimes a concept but here it’s just one big dump of music so to me it’s not an Album.
March 24, 2025 @ 2:34 pm
“Also why class it as an Album, why not just upload tracks in a playlist.”
I kind of think that’s what he did. That’s why there are dates in the title. There will be no physical copies of this.
March 24, 2025 @ 2:50 pm
You seem quite confident there’ll be no physical copies, yet it’s already available for download on Itunes, Amazon, UK 7 digital and no doubt other places. I think along with giving fans better access to audio and looking after the intellectual property we should also add making a few more bucks! Maybe he’s just waiting for the gold plated vinyls to be pressed…
March 24, 2025 @ 7:24 pm
Not sure why they wouldn’t make it available for download if it’s also streaming. Not sure why that would have anything to do with physical product being available in the future.
The reason I’m confident there will be no physical product is because Jesse Welles’ peeps told me there won’t be. They also told me why they uploaded these songs. That’s also why I reported on it. I’m 100% confident because I got the information directly from the source. And of course they’ll make money off this. But better Jesse does than pirates who steal the recordings and upload them themselves.
March 23, 2025 @ 7:46 pm
We all have to make a living but this is what Spotify/Itunes etc makes you do – you can’t make money anymore unless you literally get millions of streams…I feel sorry for young musicians that have to do a TikTok video every day and track their followers and bring their numbers to a record label. I really liked Jesse until I saw him on a reel everytime I opened my facebook app – then it all kinda started sounding the same.
March 23, 2025 @ 10:29 pm
Throw back memory to the Arlo Guthrie, Pete Seger, John Prine era.
Let the expressive young man alone.
Give the young’n some time to season like good firewood. I’d love to see what he’s putting out 5 years from now.
March 23, 2025 @ 10:34 pm
Magnetic Fields released their 69 Love Songs album 25 years ago and I had no problem parsing through all of that. Maybe it’s just that people’s attention spans nowadays are akin to that of a fruit fly.
March 31, 2025 @ 12:03 am
Y-all might want to consider that old fogies like me don’t listen to streaming music much, although that is how I discovered Jesse. I want a CD in my hand. And there are quite a few of us, friend. As for the quality of his songs–if it doesn’t grab you, don’t listen to it. I saw him in SF last night. I’ve heard Dylan, Prine, Fogarty, R. Newman, J, Browne live…and he’s as good as any of them.