Big Machine Records

Big Machine Records

Parent company	Big Machine Label Group
Founded	September 1, 2005 (2005-09-01)
Founder	Scott Borchetta
Distributor(s)	Universal Music Group
Genre	Country
Country of origin	USA
Location	Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Official website	bigmachinerecords.com

For other uses, see Big Machine.

Big Machine Records, LLC is an independent American record label specializing in country music artists. Big Machine is based on Music Row in Nashville, Tennessee, and is distributed by Universal Music Group (UMG). The label was launched in September^[1] 2005 by former DreamWorks Records executive, Scott Borchetta, and initially became a joint venture between Borchetta and country singer Toby Keith.^[2] As of November 2014, the music company consists of 88 employees—in the areas of music publishing, management, and merchandising—and four office buildings. The business also oversees numerous imprints, including Valory Music, that are under Big Machine Label Group.

Among the artists signed to the label is Taylor Swift, whose most recent studio album, 1989, was released in October 2014.^[3] Swift's father owns a stake in the record label. Other artists include Tim McGraw, Reba McEntire, and Rascal Flatts.

History

Borchetta is originally from Los Angeles, California's San Fernando Valley area ("The Valley"), and he played bass guitar in punk rock bands in his younger years. Borchetta's father, Mike Borchetta, worked in Nashville as a country promoter who courted radio stations with music he transported in the trunk of his car. Mike Borchetta was married to an aspiring country singer at the time, as he had divorced Scott's mother. Borchetta did not leave Nashville after a 1981 visit.^[3]

Borchetta worked in the mailroom of his father's music company and eventually became a promotions staff member in 1991 for Universal’s MCA Records label. According to Bloomberg Businessweek, Borchetta was an "involved manager" at MCA, "choosing singles and dispensing advice." After he was fired from MCA in 1997, Borchetta accepted a role at the Nashville division of DreamWorks Records, but later decided to start his own label after Universal acquired the division.^[3]

Before he left DreamWorks, Borchetta approached Swift and her family after the musician performed at the Blue Bird Café in Nashville, TN. At the time, Borchetta had no infrastructure or financing, made an offer to Swift and her parents, whereby he would recruit her to the new label's roster after it was established. Swift eventually recontacted Borchetta around two weeks later, telling him: "I’m waiting for you."^[3]

After he formed the label in 2005, Big Machine released Swift's first ever recording, the single "Tim McGraw". Keith dropped his affiliation with the label in 2006, but he was reported as an equity holder in November 2014, alongside the Swift family and Borchetta (the latter reportedly owned 60 percent of the business at the time). In October 2012, Borchetta told Rolling Stone magazine: "Scott Swift owns three percent of Big Machine".^[2]^[3]^[4]

By March 2009, Big Machine artist Danielle Peck had left the label. The departure occurred during a downturn period for the overall U.S. music industry.^[5]

Borchetta signed a deal with Clear Channel, which later changed its name to iHeartMedia, in 2012 that ensures payment for Big Machine artists from terrestrial and digital radio airplay. Three years after the deal was signed, Borchetta said that the revenue streams were "very meaningful."^[6]

On November 3, 2014, Swift removed all but one of her songs from Spotify after indications of her disapproval of the streaming service emerged in July of the same year. Swift, statistically one of the world's most popular music artists at the time, had previously delayed the streaming of her 2012 album, Red.^[7]

Big Machine country music artists Justin Moore and Brantley Gilbert removed their music from Spotify on November 12, 2014. Like Swift, both artists allowed a single song to remain on the streaming platform.^[8]

In response to a claim that Borchetta was seeking a sum of US$200 million for Big Machine since the release of Swift's 1989, the label head refuted the claim in November 2014: "Every time we have a Taylor [Swift] record, they’re like, 'Oh, he’s selling the company'." However, Borchetta did not rule out a future change of ownership, stating that "the business is changing so quickly, and if I see a strategic opportunity that’s going to be better for our artists and executives, it’s going to be a serious conversation".^[3] Following the release of 1989, Swift's fifth album, her Big Machine contract requires her to produce one more full-length album for the label.^[3]

The Zac Brown Band announced on January 12, 2015, that it had finalized a four-way strategic partnership involving the Southern Ground Artists record label, Big Machine Label Group, Republic Records and John Varvatos Records for the release of its fourth studio album. The terms of the deal state that Zac Brown Band will work with Big Machine Label Group for marketing and distribution, while Southern Ground Artists will work on radio promotion, Republic will provide support in the area of non-country radio formats and international promotion, and Varvatos will oversee branding and styling. Borchetta was quoted in the Big Machine press release as saying that there is "literally no ceiling" to what can be achieved by the new partnership, and also spoke of "moments when our best artists hit a global stride and a deeper sense of engagement that speaks a clearer musical language".^[9]

In a February 2015 interview, Borchetta refused to comment on the status of the label's distribution deal with UMG, which was up for renegotiation at the time. He confirmed that the label would release the next American Idol album, in partnership with 19 Entertainment and UMG—Borchetta would be one of the mentors on the reality program's next series. Borchetta also disclosed that Swift agreed to the withdrawal of her catalog from Spotify after he first suggested the idea to her, and that he would remove the music of all Big Machine artists if it was within his power.^[6]

Spotify issue

After Swift and Big Machine withdrew her catalog from Spotify in November 2014, the streaming service launched a social media campaign to persuade Swift to return and, in a statement on its website, claimed that 16 million of over 40 million users had played her music in the preceding 30-day period.^[10]

In mid-November, Borchetta disputed figures released by Spotify that claimed that Swift would receive US$6 million annually from the streaming site—Borchetta said in a TIME magazine interview that Swift was paid a total of US$500,000 over the previous 12 months. Spotify responded to Borchetta, by clarifying that Swift had been paid US$2 million for global streaming over the year-long time frame. Spotify further explained: "We [Spotify] paid Taylor [Swift]’s label and publisher roughly half a million dollars in the month before she took her catalog down".^[10]^[11] According to Borchetta, the amount Swift earned from streaming her videos on the Vevo site was greater than the payout she received from Spotify. He said to TIME:

The facts show that the music industry was much better off before Spotify hit these shores ... Don’t forget this is for the most successful artist in music today. What about the rest of the artists out there struggling to make a career? Over the last year, what Spotify has paid is the equivalent of less than 50,000 albums sold.^[12]

Borchetta then clarified in a February 2015 interview that Swift's catalog would be permitted on a streaming service "that understands the different needs that we [Swift and Big Machine] have," whereby "the choice to be [on the free, ad-supported tier] or not" is provided. Borchetta argued that Swift's musical oeuvre is "arguably the most important current catalog there is" and stated that the streaming issue is "about each individual artist, and the real mission here is to bring … attention to it."^[6]

Imprints

Valory Music Co.

In November 2007, Big Machine Records founded a subsidiary imprint called Valory Music Co. Acts signed to this roster include Jimmy Wayne (who was formerly signed to Big Machine), Jewel, The Mavericks, and Justin Moore.^[13]

By the end of November 2008, the Valory imprint entered into a partnership with Midas Records—promotion, sales, marketing, production, publicity and distribution—for Canadian acts Adam Gregory and Emerson Drive.^[14] The announcement that Reba McEntire would join Valory was also publicized in November 2008. McEntire's debut single on Valory was scheduled for 2009, with her new studio album scheduled for the northern summer of the same year.^[15]

Republic Records Nashville

Big Machine joined with Universal Republic Records in June 2009 to found a new label, Republic Records Nashville.^[16]

Dot Records

In March 2014, Big Machine announced the revival of Dot Records and, as of February 2015, the imprint is run in partnership with Republic Records.^[17]

Nash Icon Music

In 2014, Big Machine announced a partnership with Cumulus Media to create Nash Icon Music, a Big Machine imprint serving as an offshoot of Cumulus's Nash FM brand, focusing on active country acts who achieved mainstream fame in the 1990s and early 2000s. Cumulus also operates Nash Icon-branded radio stations with a similar focus.^[18]^[19]

On October 21, 2014, it was announced that McEntire would be the first artist signed to Nash Icon Music.^[20]