Chris Young has signed a new record deal with Black River Entertainment, the longtime label home of Kelsea Ballerini.
Chris’ 19-year contract with Sony Music Nashville’s RCA Nashville ended in September, and he was a “free agent” before landing at Black River Entertainment’s Black River Records.
“I felt sort of like an athlete a little bit. I was prepared to take all these [label] meetings, and I went in and [Black River Records] were the first meeting,” Chris tells Billboard. “By the end of that meeting, I told them, ‘I want to be here.””
“Nineteen years is an amazingly long time to have a career, much less be at one place with one team,” he says of his tenure at Sony Music Nashville. “This is the next chapter for me and I couldn’t be more excited to be where I’m at.”
“[Black River] had done their research and they were like, ‘We want you to be part of this group. We’re ready to go to work immediately.’ And I gave them a dropbox with 20 songs in it,” Chris recounts.
“I really do think his music is the soundtrack to a generation of country music,” Black River Entertainment President and CEO Gordon Kerr tells Billboard. “I’ve heard some of the music that’s coming and he’s going to deliver on that.”
The “Gettin’ You Home” hitmaker adds, “I really do feel like it’s set up to be an incredible year. I’m really happy and excited for the beginning of next year, for everybody to hear all this.”
Other artists on the Black River Records roster include up-and-comers MaRynn Taylor, Scott Hasting and Pryor Braid.
Chris’ final album with Sony is Young Love & Saturday Nights, which arrived in March.
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