RaeLynn Reveals The Reality Of Artist-Record Label Relationships In Candid Interview

RaeLynn gave a candid look into the reality behind life as an artist who’s signed to a major music label, and the grueling day-to-day work that comes with having to maintain those relationships. 

The songstress opened up about her experiences while joining Troy Cartwright as a guest on the Ten Year Town Podcast, which aims to give an unfiltered voice to songwriters and members of the community while also spreading knowledge on what it’s really like to be working in the music industry.

What Happens When An Artist’s Team Of Champions Are No Longer With The Label?  

During their discussion, she explained that an artist will generally choose to sign with a label because they see them as a team of believers who will help support and grow their careers. However, things become much more difficult once those champions are no longer around. 

“You don’t realize they’re on a contract, they’re on a salary. It’s their job,” she explained. “To keep everybody believing, it’s such a job.”

In a way, RaeLynn has played a game of “musical chairs” with record labels throughout her career. Following her time on The Voice in 2012, the “Funny Girl” singer signed her first music publishing deal with the joint venture between Scott Borchetta’s Big Machine Music and Dr. Luke’s Prescription Songs. Then in June of 2016, it was announced that RaeLynn had inked a new record deal with Warner Bros. Records/Warner Music Nashville after parting ways with Big Machine Records in May of that year. 

Looking back, she says that the pressure started to pile on when she realized that all her supporters who were there at the start of her journey at Warner had left within a year of her being signed. 

She continued, “I’m having to excite people that weren’t there when I got signed, and I was okay with that, but that’s a hard thing to have to. We’ll just pop in and it’s good for them to see your face and go over and pop in and play ’em a couple songs. I’m like, I have to get these people excited about me. I’m already signed here. Why do I have to go into this label after writing all day when I want to go home out and hang out with my husband?”

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Losing Motivation

As a result of this weight being added onto her already stressful days as a growing singer/songwriter, RaeLynn admitted she started to lose her “fire” and was at risk of turning into something she wasn’t.

“You’re not as committed because you don’t want to stay in and play this game all damn day, every single day. And I’m all about working hard, but also it’s like, when does it stop a little bit? When can we all just be like, ‘okay, everybody’s talented. Let’s focus on this song. Let’s do it guys.’ I felt like it was just such a dog and pony show all the time, and I was like, for all the reasons that you signed me, the reasons that I’m different, you literally want to change, and you want to make me this cookie cutter country artist that looks and sounds like everybody else. Make that make sense.”

“I felt like it was trying to make someone that had decided to marry me, be in love with me again. I was like, what happened just now? How did we just get back to here,” Cartwright added. 

RaeLynn Becomes An Independent Artist

After feeling lost within the confines of being on a major label, RaeLynn is now an independent artist who is in charge of how she spends her days and the type of music she presents to the world. Plus, she is also a mom to her two-year-old daughter Daisy Rae Davis. 

RaeLynn will get the chance to bring her music to fans in stadiums across the country as she joins Kane Brown as a special guest on select dates of his In The Air Tour in 2024.

Additionally, she has a slew of headlining dates scheduled as part of her Funny Girl Tour.