What Could Be Next for Miranda Lambert After Leaving Her Sony Music Nashville Label
On March 15, Miranda Lambert announced her plans to leave the Sony Music Nashville label. The country singer began releasing music through Sony Music with her first studio album Kerosene. Here’s a breakdown of what Lambert could do next following her decision to leave Sony Music Nashville.
Miranda Lambert decided to leave her label
Sony Music Nashville is part of Sony Music Entertainment and is the label’s branch that is dedicated to releasing country music. Lambert first signed with Epic Records, a label owned by Sony Music, in 2003.
After Sony Music Nashville was restructured, Lambert released her 2011 album Four the Record and her following studio albums through RCA Nashville, another label that is part of Sony Music.
On March 15, Lambert posted on social media announcing that she decided to leave Sony Music Nashville.
“Since I was 19-years-old, Sony has been my home in Nashville. Over the last 20 years Together we have released albums that allowed me to share my story with the world, and we’ve reached heights I’d never even dreamed were possible. I’m so thankful for our time together and everything they made possible for me, yet I wouldn’t be true to myself if I wasn’t constantly looking for the next challenge and a new way to stretch my creativity. With that in mind, I’ve decided to say goodbye to my Sony family. I can’t wait to see what the next adventure holds,” Lambert wrote on Instagram.
In total, Lambert released eight solo studio albums with Sony Music Nashville:
- Kerosene
- Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
- Revolution
- Four the Record
- Platinum
- The Weight of These Wings
- Wildcard
- Palomino
Lambert also released a collaboration album called The Marfa Tapes and multiple albums with the music group Pistol Annies through the label.
Why Miranda Lambert possibly left Sony Music Nashville
Some fans might be wondering why Lambert would leave Sony Music Nashville after decades of making music with the label.
When it comes to label contracts, artists typically agree to release a certain number of albums for a label. Once the artist reaches that number, contracts must be renegotiated. If an artist and label cannot agree on terms, the artist will part ways.
In order to figure out what Lambert might do next, one must first speculate why Lambert felt the need to leave Sony Music Nashville.
Looking at current artists signed with labels under Sony Music Nashville, a great deal of them seem to be up-and-coming artists or rising stars in country music.
Luke Combs, Elle King, and Maren Morris are signed with Columbia Nashville. Kane Brown is signed with RCA Nashville along with multiple recent contestants on The Voice. Ryan Hurd and Nate Smith are signed with Arista Nashville.
While chart-topping artists or artists who rose to fame through social media are signed with different labels under Sony Music Nashville, big names in country music have left for different labels over the years.
Country powerhouse Carrie Underwood left Sony Music Nashville in 2017, and Brad Paisley signed with a new label in 2023. Kenny Chesney left the label in 2018, and Tim McGraw has parted from Sony Music Nashville multiple times.
Miranda Lambert could be focusing on more creative projects
Looking at who is currently signed with Sony Music Nashville versus who signed new record deals, it looks like Lambert is in a major career shift.
Her past two albums, The Marfa Tapes and Palomino, have been critically acclaimed as some of her best work and received nominations for Best Country Album at the Grammy Awards. While the albums performed well on music charts, they were not exactly commercial hits.
In 2022, Lambert won Entertainer of the Year at the Academy of Country Music Awards, one of the most prestigious awards of the night. She also launched a Las Vegas residency in September 2022 called Velvet Rodeo which is set to continue through December 2023.
Both of these accomplishments show Lambert as a mainstay in country music, and The Marfa Tapes and Palomino allowed Lambert to tap into different storytelling and recording methods.
Because of this, it seems like Lambert could be looking for a label that will focus on creative output and longevity versus releasing radio hits. This is not to say that Lambert will never have a No. 1 song or album again, but as Lambert said in her statement, she is looking to “stretch” her “creativity.”
Going forward, fans of Lambert can probably expect more experimental work or passion projects over following music trends with promotion schedules that cater to Lambert and established fans of the singer and country music.
