New Nashville label starts with Sunny Sweeney aboard
Friday, June 5, 2009 – A new Nashville label was announced today, started by the heads of Universal Republic in New York and Big Machine in Nashville.
Monte Lipman, President and CEO of Universal Republic and Scott Borchetta, President and CEO of Big Machine Records, formed Republic Nashville, which will be based in Nashville. The imprint will be headquartered on Music Row and utilize the combined resources of Big Machine Records and Universal Republic Records.
Republic Nashville's inaugural roster will include Texas honky tonker Sunny Sweeney, who had one album on Big Machine, and new country duo Fast Ryde.
The two labels already had a relationship because Big Machine's Taylor Swift was pitched to pop radio through Universal Republic.
Former Capitol Records Promotion executive Jimmy Harnen was named president of Republic Nashville. Harnen worked with Borchetta in a previous capacity at DreamWorks Nashville.
Lipman said, "Scott Borchetta and his great team at Big Machine and the Valory Music Co. continue to tower over the country music landscape with a tireless commitment to their artists and a visionary approach to discovering new talent that has become the benchmark of Nashville. We're thrilled to expand our relationship with them, and welcome Jimmy Harnen as he steps into this key role at a crucial juncture in our two companies' unique history together."
"Monte and I have been searching for a way to expand our business relationship, and I believe we have found the perfect compliment in the creation of Republic Nashville," said Borchetta. "This venture is an opportunity to utilize the best of our Nashville resources and the best of Monte's New York resources to create a powerhouse entertainment company. It also affords me the opportunity to bring Jimmy Harnen into the family in a presidential role. Jimmy's tireless ambition, leadership, trend-spotting, A&R tastes and shared vision for this cutting-edge new company is going to prove to be very successful and a helluva lot of fun."
"Reuniting with Scott is fantastic in so many ways," said Harnen. "As a friend and a colleague, it's been a thrill to see him and his incredible team achieve such great success these past few years. I relish the opportunity to join the environment he has created that epitomizes the cutting edge of Nashville and the entire music scene. I'm also looking forward to working with Monte Lipman, one of the most respected executives in our entire business, as we combine our resources to make Republic Nashville a productive and unique success story."
Previously, Harnen was Senior Vice President of Promotion for Capitol Records, Nashville. In 2006 he was Vice-President of Promotion for the company. From 2000 to 2003, Harnen was co-National Director of Promotion for DreamWorks Records in Nashville, working closely with Borchetta, who was a DreamWorks executive at the time.
More news for Sunny Sweeney
CD reviews for Sunny Sweeney
Concrete
If the name Sunny Sweeney seems vaguely familiar, there's good reason: the Texan and her sassy brand of country music have been bouncing around country music circles for years now, thanks to the collective buzz of her 2006 debut "Heartbreaker's Hall of Fame" and a four-song EP released earlier this year.
But while the singer has floated around the Texas club circuit and flirted with radio airplay, she didn't enter the mainstream vernacular until single From a Table Away »»» |
EP
In the past, Sunny Sweeney has professed herself to be a lover of "old school country." Her debut release was shot through with that sensibility; based on this EP preview of her upcoming full-length, that is no longer the case, for good or ill. But then, to expect anything else would be naive. Sweeney is now on a major label, where success is measured in chart position and units moved; the fact that not one of the three singles from her first record, "Heartbreakers Hall of »»» |
Heartbreaker's Hall of Fame
Sunny Sweeney's signature saying is "get your honky-tonk on," and that's exactly what she does on her debut. You'd never know that Sweeney is a newcomer from listening to it; she sounds for all the world like she arrived fully formed, as accomplished and confident as any veteran.
It doesn't hurt that she's chosen strong material to buttress her own fine originals - a couple of Jim Lauderdale tunes (including "Please Be San Antone," which she simply »»» |
Editorial: Walking the talk –
When names like Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Waylon and the Hag are invoked, you're talking hard core country. These are the touchstones of country , the guys who made country music what it was and still is (or maybe can be). When these folks would sing about being down-and-out and the rough-and-tumble, they knew of what they were singing about. Fast forward a few years to the country singers of today. »»»
Concert Review: McGraw has plenty of fight left –
Despite the fact that Tim McGraw is five years sober, fit as a triathlete and touring behind a number one album, he is still in an unenviable position. As he approaches 50, McGraw has to stay a step ahead of the current crop of young country hunks with TV shows, cross format radio airplay and wider appeal. But as he proved at First Niagara's... »»»
Concert Review: Steve Earle doesn't rest (on laurels) –
If you didn't realize Steve Earle had a new disc out, "The Low Highway," it would have been no problem realizing that quite and quickly.
That was because Earle started the two-hour show with three straight tracks from "The Low Highway," and he would not be done for the night. The title track of was a midtempo effort... »»»
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