Country music duo LOCASH has launched Galaxy Label Group in partnership with Studio2Bee Entertainment, founded by veteran Nashville music executives Skip Bishop and Butch Waugh.
BBR Music Group/BMG Nashville will distribute the label, Billboard can reveal.
LOCASH’s Preston Brust and Chris Lucas celebrated the newly-announced venture on Wednesday evening (Feb. 28) during an event in downtown Nashville, just as radio programmers descended on Music City for the annual Country Radio Seminar.
“We’re all blessed to be part of this music business and we have a chance to do what our passion is, and to have Skip and Butch back on the team with us, it’s great,” Lucas tells Billboard during a Zoom call with LOCASH and Bishop.
In launching the label, LOCASH, who formed in 2008, draw on nearly two decades of experience as artists and writers. In 2016, they earned a top 5 Country Airplay hit with “I Love This Life,” and followed with the chart-topper “I Know Somebody,” top 20 song “Ring on Every Finger,” and in 2019, earned another top 5 Country Airplay hit with “One Big Country Song.”
“We’ve talked about doing a label for years,” Lucas says. “Some of the best success we’ve had was when were have been more hands-on with it.”
Bishop and Waugh had previously worked on the campaign for “I Love This Life,” and the full-fledged staff that Studio2Bee has with marketing and radio reps, “seemed like a perfect match,” Bishop explains.
A nod to the label’s name, Brust says the ideal artist roster will include genres beyond country, though they haven’t signed additional artists just yet. The hard lessons LOCASH has learned along the way as artists and songwriters influence the business model for the new label.
L-R: PETER STRICKLAND, GENERAL MANAGER, BMG; KATIE KERKHOVER, VICE PRESIDENT, A&R, BMG; SKIP BISHOP, STUDIO2BEE ENTERTAINMENT; PRESTON BRUST, LOCASH;
CHRIS LUCAS, LOCASH; JON LOBA, PRESIDENT, FRONTLINE RECORDINGS, NORTH AMERICA, BMG; QUINN BAUDUCCO, SENIOR MANAGER, BUSINESS & LEGAL AFFAIRS, BMG; JOJAMIE HAHR, EVP, RECORDED MUSIC, BMG NASHVILLE
“The main thing that we’ve seen on some bigger labels is that sometimes some artists would be to the side because another artist was hot at that moment,” Brust says. “We’ve always talked about that and how it’s not fair, because there is so much talent in this city.”
Galaxy Label Group will also serve as home to LOCASH’s new music; BMG Nashville’s Wheelhouse imprint had previously released their albums. The duo has been in the studio working on their upcoming album, with their first single, “Hometown Home,” expected to release in the spring.
“This song just stepped into the roots of what Locash is about,” Lucas says. “It’s about hometown love and being the guy who says, ‘We could go anywhere in the world and start a new life together, but if you want to stay here in our hometown, that’s good with me too, because I just want to be with you.’ It’s one of those messages that is relatable and hits you in the heart.”
Beyond signing artists, Galaxy Label Group aims to aid songwriters. The duo says Galaxy Label Group will give songwriters a percentage of the master royalties (out of the label’s share) on every recording for the label, including Locash’s upcoming album. The commitment could mean a boost for songwriters, whose incomes have seen significant, negative impact in the steaming era. When physical albums sold regularly, songwriters would be paid on each album sold, earning a solid income regardless of whether their song was picked as a radio single. But with streams comprising the bulk of music consumption, songwriters are increasingly dependent on radio hits, losing out on the valuable income avenue physical records once provided.
The commitment follows in the footsteps of some smaller indie labels such as Facet Records and Good Boy Records, as well as individual artists such as Kip Moore, who in 2017 pledged an annual bonus for songwriters.
“We want to be fair,” Lucas says. “It’s one of those things where if we sit down and before the album comes out, we say, ‘This [percentage] seems fair.’ We could get down the road and if the single just goes into another realm, who knows? We could change a percentage at that point.”
Ultimately, Brust says, they hope to “create new revenue streams in this the industry.” He adds, “Nashville is built on the song. The best songwriters in the world—I would put us up against anyone. Nashville has it, period. There’s no one better than that. We want songwriters to have a fair chance. If someone’s getting 700 million streams and the songwriter’s barely seeing a dime, that’s not fair. We want to get a part of this ahead of the game and get a fair percentage for them. That’s what we’re most excited about right now—giving back to the community that has been there for us.”