Grammy award-winning Zac Brown Band has signed a new global licensing agreement with BMG to release its next studio album this summer. The news comes as the band prepares to kick off the second leg of its successful Down The Rabbit Hole Live Tour in March, then The Owl Tour in May.
The upcoming still-untitled release will be marketed through BMG and BMG’s Nashville-based recordings business, BBR Music Group, through its Wheelhouse Records imprint.
The new set will likely include track “Someone I Used to Know,” which incorporates dance-inspired production into their Americana roots-based sound. “That song is really personal to me. I had an awakening last year and just wanted to dedicate my time to all the things that really add value to my life and analyze the things that didn’t,” Brown told Billboard in an interview last week from Atlanta after playing a Super Bowl event. “It’s a song born out of strength and born out of being something better than you were; getting to reinvent yourself. That’s something we all can relate to and some people can hopefully use.”
The song helps set the tone for the new set, Brown says: “There’s some really personal songs on the record and some other ones that are pretty heavy. Then there’s some other ones that aren’t. There’s some songs that are so personal and so real that some of them I couldn’t even imagine having to play six months ago when we were writing them. There’s some songs that we wrote and perform that still just tear me up.”
Related
The switch to BMG follows the band’s 2017 album, Welcome Home, released through Southern Ground/Elektra. “We’ve always approached our work and music in our own way, only doing what feels right for us,” said Brown in a statement. “We’re excited to have BMG as a new partner, they understand our vision and sound and will help shape this next chapter in a way that’s uniquely ours.”
Thomas Scherer, evp, repertoire & marketing, Los Angeles, said, “The entire team is thrilled Zac Brown Band has chosen BMG as their new home and we welcome them to our family. We look forward to working together, as both our BMG recorded music and Wheelhouse Records teams deliver this exceptional release to his eagerly awaiting fans around the world.”
Jon Loba, evp, BBR Music Group, said, “Zac Brown Band is a musical phenomenon. Not only are they world-class musicians who have achieved 15 Number One radio singles, they are one of the very few acts in any genre that can sell out stadiums. We have long admired Zac not only for his music, but his philanthropic efforts through his music.”
Since forming in 2002, Zac Brown Band has sold more than 30 million singles and 9 million albums, according to BMG.