Country superstar Kenny Chesney has departed Warner Nashville to join an independent label, Hey Now Records, that he is co-founding with his longtime manager, Clint Higham, the former head of Warner Nashville, John Esposito, and one of the former top executives at Big Machine, Kris Lamb.
Said Esposito, ex-chairman and CEO of Warner Nashville, in a statement, “Hey Now Records was born out of conversations Clint, Kenny and I had about the increasing lack of focus that artists are getting as rosters increase while staffs shrink. When Kris joined our conversations, I knew we would be lucky to have him at the helm of our operation. I’m thrilled to be in the role of co-founder, advisor, mentor and cheerleader for Kris as he leads the Hey Now Records operation.”
Lamb, had been at Big Machine Records for 15 years and was elevated to the role of EVP/general manager at the beginning of 2024. Esposito had stepped down as chairman emeritus of Warner Music Nashville in the spring of 2023 after 14 years running the company. Higham, who has been voted manager of the year by the Country Music Association, was and remains president of Morris Higham Management.
The new imprint is named after Chesney’s boat, immortalized in the song “Happy on the Hey Now.” It’s described in a press announcement as “”featuring a focused team spanning promotion, streaming, marketing and A&R, working together to recognize different kinds of musical magic and create a boutique environment where every artist receives specialized focus from the very beginning.”
Said Chesney in a statement, “When Clint, Espo and Kris came to me with the idea of creating our own team, I was curious. A label like this can be all-in, lets-make-stuff-happen — and I have always been about making things happen. Creating and exploring what’s possible inspires me, and this is a moment where we can realize ideas in a matter of hours.”
Chesney added that he looks forward to being at a label where “we could have the kind of fun that used to be such a part of our business.”
“We have always believed in finding the best people for what an artist needs,” said Higham. “That philosophy has seen us super-serve our clients to create more meaningful opportunities and connections. In today’s flooded marketplace, Espo, Kris Lamb and I looked at this moment and saw an opportunity to super-serve a handful of talented developing and established artists by using that same perspective. By being laser-focused on the music, artists and right next moves, we can accelerate the artist development process through targeted and specific execution.”
Added Lamb, ““Having the chance to create something from the ground up means the options are wide open. In a world where structure blocks creativity, Hey Now is a place where whatever we can conceive, we can realize. This is more than a dream; this is a gateway to creating an entirely new form and reality of artist development.”
English (US) ·