After more than seven years, Tenille Townes has announced that she is parting ways with her longtime label, Columbia Nashville/Sony Music Nashville. On Wednesday (Aug. 21), the 30-year-old singer/songwriter took to social media to reveal that she has decided to leave her record deal and pursue an independent path.
Announces Departure From Longtime Record Label, Sony Music Nashville
The just over a minute-long clip feature the 17-time Canadian Country Music Award winner sitting in the driver’s seat of her car, opening up candidly about her new journey as she enters what she calls her “freedom era.”
“So I have an announcement… I have decided to fly free from my Nashville record label [and] this is not a sob story, this is a story of opportunity. It’s a big shift for me. We’ve been working together for over seven years now, but we’ve just not been seeing eye to eye on my path and my music,” Townes shared.
Townes continued to speak on the challenges she’s faced within the structure of being part of a major label. “It’s creatively been a struggle for me, like waiting on these green lights inside this corporate system that doesn’t make a lot of sense in the world we get to live in right now,” she continued. “I want the freedom to be able to write and record whatever music I wanna make and then be able to share it with you guys and put it out to the world.”
Moving Forward As An Independent Artist
She then went on to elaborate what that choice means for her and how it will align with her desire to take ownership of her creative vision and musical journey.
“Making this decision to fly free means that I can do that now. Like, at my core, I know this is the best thing that could have ever happened. I know I’m giving myself the freedom to create what I want and to take the ownership back into my own hands.”
While she revealed that it was an easy decision to make to gain back her freedom, she also admitted, “I still feel fear of not know what happens next, fear that I’m not good enough, [and I] still don’t know what I’m doing, but I’m going to do it anyway.”
The video concludes with Tenille Townes inviting her fans inviting her fans to join her on this new independent journey, where she will have the freedom to write and record the music she’s truly passionate about and share it with the world.
“This is me as a newly independent artist and a work in progress human, telling you that I am at the start of a new journey. I literally just got an email from the record label with a letter saying everything is legally done, and I’m free, so this is very fresh, but this is me learning how to bet on myself again, and I hope you’ll come with me.”
Columbia Nashville/Sony Music Nashville Served As A Launch Pad For Townes
Tenille Townes signed with Sony Music Nashville in 2018, which was five years after she moved to Music City to pursue her musical dreams. While signed to Columbia Nashville/Sony Music Nashville, Townes released four EPs, including Living Room Worktapes, Road To Lemonade Stand, Masquerades and Train Track Worktapes, as well as one full length album, The Lemonade Stand, which served as her major label debut.
She also earned numerous awards and accolades while with the label. Townes took home the award for New Female Artist of the Year at the 2019 ACM Awards. She also won Music Event of the Year that same year for her collaboration on “Fooled Around and Fell in Love” alongside Miranda Lambert, Maren Morris, Elle King, Ashley McBryde and Caylee Hammack.
Additionally, Tenille Townes has won 17 Canadian Country Music Association Awards (CCMAs) and is currently nominated for Female Artist of The Year at this year’s CCMAs. She is also set to take the stage at the CCMAs for a special performance.
Townes Independent Musical Journey Begins…
Now entering a new phase of her career, Townes will release music on her own terms, free from major label constraints. Tenille Townes is currently gearing up to embark on her headlining trek, The Thing That Brought Me Here Tour, which kicks off in October and runs through November.
While Townes has exited from her longtime record label, she is still working with WME for booking, Big Yellow Dog Music as her publisher and is managed from Shopkeeper Management, the same firm that manages Miranda Lambert, who also recently departed from Sony Music Nashville.
