I’ve reviewed all kinds of artists from all across the world of country music and Americana. From all corners of the United States, to Canada, Europe, Australia and everywhere in-between I’ve listened and reviewed music here on Country Perspective. But today we’re going to do something a little different. Today I’m going to review the major country labels of Nashville. This is an idea I’ve had for a while and quite frankly is overdue. While it’s easy to bash the likes of Luke Bryan and Sam Hunt, we have to also remember they have a label behind the scenes pulling a lot of strings and really causing a lot of the problems in the genre today. They deserve a lot of blame for why there’s so much bad music because at the end of the day they don’t care about quality. All they care about is money and they will do anything to get you the consumer to fork over your hard-earned dollars. This includes pushing artists who have no business in the genre and are only here for a quick cash grab. So let’s take a look at the major country labels and grade them for their rosters they put out.
Sony Music Nashville
Good
- Dolly Parton
- Carrie Underwood
- Brad Paisley
- Cam
- Miranda Lambert
In-Between
Bad
- Dee Jay Silver
- Old Dominion
- Lanco
- Jake Owen
- Chase Rice
- Kane Brown
- Tyler Farr
- Kenny Chesney
Unknown/Irrelevant
- Kix Brooks
- Luke Combs
- Seth Ennis
Analysis: Well looking at the good, it’s pretty much the ladies club with Paisley as a plus one. In fact all of the women except one on the roster fall under good, which is no surprise. You have a legend in Dolly, two stalwarts in Lambert and Underwood and promising young talent in Cam. Paisley appears to be on the right track again with his music. Young and Morris land on the in-between space because Young has turned into the country Daughtry (h/t to reader Nadia) and Morris is only country sometimes. The bad has some absolute doozies. Old Dominion are the poster boys for douche bands everywhere, Kane Brown thinks he can be the country Bieber, Lanco sounds like a bus stop and Chase Rice was a semi-finalist in our worst country artist tournament earlier this year. The bad ultimately outweighs the good, so I can’t give Sony Music Nashville a positive grade. But the good artists are good enough to save it from a failing grade. Grade: C-
Big Machine Records
Good
- Tim McGraw
- Jennifer Nettles
- Maddie & Tae
- Drake White
- Reba McEntire
In-Between
- Zac Brown Band
- A Thousand Horses
- Ronnie Dunn
- Martina McBride
Bad
- Danielle Bradbery
- The Cadillac Three
- Rascal Flatts
- Eli Young Band
- Brantley Gilbert
- Justin Moore
- Thomas Rhett
- Florida Georgia Line
- Cassadee Pope
- Brett Young
- Tucker Beathard
- Aaron Lewis
- Steven Tyler
- Hank Williams Jr.
Unknown
- Breaking Southwest
- Trent Harmon
- Lauren Jenkins
- Midland
- The Church Sisters
- Tara Thompson
- Ryan Follese
- Kalie Shorr
Analysis: Big Machine is a large roster mostly full of crap. Of the handful of good artists they have, they’re pretty good and a mix of different styles. McGraw has become one of the leading proprietors of great music on the radio, Reba is a living legend, Nettles is one of the most underrated vocalists of the genre, Maddie & Tae have unlimited potential and Drake White impressed me with his debut album. Zac Brown Band will be back in good graces once they follow through on their promise for the next album. Dunn has left a sour taste in my mouth with the music he’s set to release, including an Ariana Grande cover (why?!). The bad is pretty self-explanatory with some of the worst pop chasers in the genre here to represent. I know people will disagree with Lewis and Hank Jr. under bad, but I will firmly stand by it. Lewis is a panderer and Hank Jr. put out a horrible album earlier this year (he isn’t trying anymore). There’s just so much terrible on this roster that is completely overtakes the good. Grade: D
Warner Music Nashville
Good
- Ashley Monroe
- Aubrie Sellers
- Charlie Worsham
- William Michael Morgan
In-Between
- Frankie Ballard
- Chris Janson
Bad
- Blake Shelton
- Big Smo
- Brett Eldredge
- Cole Swindell
- Dan + Shay
- High Valley
- Hunter Hayes
- Jana Kramer
- Michael Ray
- RaeLynn
Unknown
- The Last Bandoleros
- Ryan Kinder
- The Railers
Analysis: Only having four good artists is pretty pathetic. But they are pretty good of the four. Monroe and Sellers are two of the best on a major label, Morgan is a traditionalist that has a lot of people excited and Charlie Worsham is an artist more people need to know (listen to his debut album). I would like to put Janson in the good, but I don’t know if he won’t fall back into the bad songs trap. Ballard is the type of artist that never wows you, but has decent enough music. The bad on Warner’s roster is pretty horrific, led by racist tweeter and the King of Petty Shit Mountain himself Blake Shelton. By the way if you say anything bad about Warner’s golden boy you won’t get the promised early copy of William Michael Morgan’s new album from them because Warner is run by assholes. Trust me I know. The rest of the bad artists aren’t even worth getting that angry about because they’re boringly bad and barely worth discussing. This is definitely a label in need of more substance for sure. Grade: D-
Broken Bow Records
Good
- Craig Campbell
- Kristian Bush
In-Between
- Thompson Square
- Trace Adkins
Bad
- Jason Aldean
- Dustin Lynch
- Jordan Rager
- Adam Craig
- Lindsay Ell
- Randy Houser
- Parmalee
- Chase Bryant
- Joe Nichols
- Granger Smith
Unknown
- Kristy Lee Cook
- Jackie Lee
- James Wesley
- Brooke Eden
- Runaway June (their first single is pretty good, but I want to hear more before putting them in good)
- Walker McGuire
Analysis: Geez we’re getting worse with each label. Only two good artists on this label in Campbell, a traditionalist, and Bush, a singer-songwriter type who put out a solid debut album. Thompson Square and Adkins are pretty inoffensive and basically irrelevant. The bad artists don’t seem so bad until you really think about it. A majority of the bad artists need radio gerrymandering to even get airplay, which gives you a pretty good idea of how bad they are. At the same time they aren’t the absolute worst, so they have something going for them. Aldean is their only major artist and while his music has been inoffensive as of late, you can’t forget his past singles either. Grade: D-
Universal Music Group Nashville
Good
- Jon Pardi
- Eric Church
- Brothers Osborne
- Alan Jackson
- Vince Gill
- Kip Moore
- David Nail
- George Strait
- Kacey Musgraves
- Chris Stapleton
- Josh Turner
In-Between
- Dierks Bentley (before his latest album he was easily in the good)
- Mickey Guyton (her latest single makes me question her)
- Charles Kelley
- Little Big Town
- Darius Rucker
- Gary Allan
- Eric Paslay
- Hillary Scott
- Lauren Alaina
- Billy Currington
- Shania Twain
Bad
- Luke Bryan
- Keith Urban
- Lady Antebellum
- Haley Georgia
- Clare Dunn
- Sam Hunt
- The Band Perry
- Easton Corbin
- Canaan Smith
Analysis: Here’s the perfect example of a label that plays it safe, while also hedging their bets. There’s a lot of great artists on this label, probably the best group of good artists out of all the labels reviewed here. But there’s about an equal group of bad artists and in-between artists. UMG Nashville could easily get over the hump if a few of the in-between artists put out better music, but could easily tank if they go the opposite. The great (Church, Musgraves, Stapleton, etc.) ultimately cancels the horrible (Bryan, Urban, Hunt, etc.) out. Grade: C+
Curb Records
Good
- Mo Pitney
- Wynonna & The Big Noise
In-Between
- Lee Brice
- Ruthie Collins (despite her EDM version of a Hank song, she’s quite talented)
- Rodney Atkins
- Love & Theft
Bad
- Jerrod Niemann
- Dylan Scott
Analysis: First off Curb’s artists section on its website is an absolute joke. So if I missed any of their artists, please let me know. Mo Pitney is a hands down the best artist on this label and it’s unfortunate how much they’ve mishandled him up to this point. Wynonna is a great veteran artist to have on any label. The in-between artists are an interesting bunch. When Brice tries he can be good, but he’s put out his fair share of crap. Collins is another one they’re mishandling. Atkins has been MIA for a while. The bad is pretty easy to breakdown: Niemann’s career peaked with his EDM-influenced country and will never reach those heights again. He’s a has-been, while Scott is a never-was and a never-will be. Why this guy is pushed so hard by Curb I will never understand. Scott couldn’t even properly cash-in on the bro country trend because he failed to garner a hit in the bro era. Remember when Curb had Tim McGraw? Grade: D+
So that’s my thoughts on the major country labels and their rosters. Let me know what you think of each of the labels and if I missed any artist please let me know.