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The country star extends his relationship with the company for at least two albums.
By Ethan Millman
Music Editor
Zach Bryan is staying at Warner Records, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. The singer-songwriter has extended his deal with the label for at least two albums, sources say, with the deal closing over the weekend.
Bryan first signed with Warner Records back in 2021 and is the perhaps the biggest artist on Warner’s roster, which has also had successes from the likes of Teddy Swims and Benson Boone. Bryan helped turn the label’s fortunes around as Warner morphed from a sleepy legacy label into one of the hottest companies in the business. His success in country music outside of the traditional Nashville system has inspired coastal labels across the industry to grow much more invested in the genre.
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The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to reps for Bryan and Warner for comment.
Sources say Bryan’s team was in discussions with Universal Music Group as well, perhaps an unsurprising development as Bryan carries significant leverage, and his reps are looking to secure the strongest deal possible. Bryan has a strong relationship with Warner heads Aaron Bay-Schuck and Tom Corson, which would make a Warner departure difficult to imagine. Still, UMG has made several key moves in the country space as of late. Mike Harris and Dave Cobb took the helm at UMG Nashville back in February, and the company just rebranded as the Music Corporation of America.
Interscope, meanwhile, just revived the famed country label Lost Highway Records, and Bryan — a storytelling country act who has thrived outside the Nashville establishment — would seem like a perfect fit at the label. As THR first reported this week, Kacey Musgraves, who duetted with Bryan on their Number One hit “I Remember Everything,” signed on as Lost Highway’s first artist this week.
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