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Singer-songwriter Dalton Davis has signed a label deal with MCA/Republic Records. The North Carolina native, who is managed by Alex Lunt at Type A/The Familie, just released his new song, “Cows in the Front Yard.”
“The word that is often used to describe Dalton is ‘unique.’ He has a rare ability to blend timeless country storytelling with a modern edge that feels completely his own,” MCA president/CEO Mike Harris tells Billboard in a statement. “His songs are rooted in authenticity, and you can hear both the grit of his experiences and the heart behind his perspective. At MCA, we’ve always prided ourselves on championing artists who define eras and set the standard for what’s next. Dalton has that same kind of undeniable voice and vision — he’s not chasing a trend, he’s carving out a lane that feels fresh but also true to the heritage of our roster.”
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Of “Cows in the Front Yard,” Davis said the inspiration came from “a life of having less and wishing for more. I remember being in middle school when Rich Boy released the song ‘Throw some D’s’ and thinking to myself, ‘One day, I’ll be rich enough to put some fresh rims on a box Chevy.’ Now at 30 years old ‘Cows In The Front Yard’ is my ‘Throw Some D’s,’ my redneck dreams coming to fruition while still hoping and dreaming for more.”
Davis’s journey has taken him from being adopted by touring Gospel artists, to working with hip-hop engineers and producers. He’s opened concerts for artists including Midland, Ashley McBryde and Dwight Yoakam, and recently relocated to Nashville, following years spent refining his sound in Chattanooga, Tenn.
“Gospel music and Hip-Hop have played a major role alongside country music in the shaping of my artistry and I will forever be thankful for that,” Davis says. “From Gospel music I learned to write congregational music where a listener can find inspiration and sing along with you by the second chorus. From Hip-Hop, I learned to write conversational music that could be sung or read aloud in a conversation with a friend and fit fine in either setting. ‘Cows In The Front Yard’ is the perfect example of me bringing those together through the country lens that I sing and see life through.”
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His new song builds upon previously released tracks including “Sit Crooked,” “Blue Ridge Sky” and “So Far So Good,” which were released independently.
“The end goal is to make records that people from two different walks of life can pull up to a stop light jamming out to my music and neither party feels like they have to turn down the record,” Davis says.
Dalton Davis
Matthew Simmons
A mammoth first quarter of 2025 saw Interscope Geffen A&M (IGA) surge into first place in the current market share rankings of U.S. record labels so far this year.
Big records from the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Gracie Abrams, Billie Eilish and Lady Gaga propelled IGA to a 12.67% current share, up from 9.10% over the same period in 2024. That’s just enough to edge out longtime leader REPUBLIC, which rode a wave of releases by The Weeknd and Morgan Wallen and continued success from Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan to a 12.52% current share of the market through March 27, 2025, down slightly from the industry-leading 12.84% it held after the first three months of 2024.
Those two labels — IGA’s share also includes Verve Label Group, while REPUBLIC’s includes Island, Mercury, Big Loud and indie distributor Imperial — helped parent company the Universal Music Group (UMG) boost its year over year market share by nearly three percentage points, to a 36.82% current share so far in 2025 from 2024’s 33.90%. In doing so, UMG widened its lead over No. 2 label group Sony Music Group, which increased its own share year over year to 27.37%, up from 26.91% this time last year. That growth from those two companies largely came at the expense of the indie sector, which fell to a 19.92% current share by distribution ownership this year, down from 23.21% in 2024. (By label ownership, the indies are the biggest sector; see below.) Meanwhile, the third major label group, the Warner Music Group (WMG), largely remained static at 15.89% current share this year, down slightly from 15.98% last year.
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Given the reorganization of UMG last year — in which Capitol Music Group also reports through IGA’s chairman/CEO John Janick, while Def Jam reports through REPUBLIC CEO Monte Lipman — Interscope Capitol’s combined share would grow even further, to 17.23%, which would best WMG’s mark for the quarter. REPUBLIC’s share, in addition to Def Jam, would be 13.07%. Most notable among the labels under the REPUBLIC umbrella is Island’s continued growth. After a year in which Carpenter and Roan broke out as superstars, the likes of Lola Young and Gigi Perez are helping Island to continue to bloom: At 2.94% current share this year, Island would have been the eighth-biggest label if broken out on its own, and its share is up significantly from the 0.71% it posted in the first three months of 2024, when it would have ranked 20th.
Below the top two labels come a pair of WMG companies in Warner Records (6.17%, which includes Warner Nashville, Warner Latin and Rhino) and Atlantic Records (5.58%, inclusive of 300 Elektra Entertainment and 10K Projects). Warner’s mark is down from the 6.41% it enjoyed in Q1 2024, when it kicked off the year with breakout singles from Benson Boone and Teddy Swims; while Atlantic’s number is up from last year’s 5.14%, as it shifts into a new era following a leadership shakeup last September.
In fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively, are a trio of labels separated by just over a half a percentage in market share: RCA (4.83%, down from 5.13% last year), Capitol (4.56%, down from last year’s 4.71%) and Columbia (4.25%, up big from last year’s 3.71%). Capitol’s market share includes Virgin Music, Motown/Quality Control, Capitol Christian Music Group, Astralwerks and Blue Note; Columbia’s includes some labels from indie distributor RED.
Following Columbia, in eighth place, is the other big story of the year so far: Alamo Records, which posted a 2.91% current share, up significantly from its 2024 mark of 1.53%, driven by the success of Drake and PartyNextDoor’s Some Sexy Songs 4 You album, among other releases. (Alamo also operates an indie distributor, Santa Anna.) Another trio of Sony labels follows: Sony Latin in ninth (1.89%, down from 2.38%), Sony Nashville in 10th (1.83%, down from 2.08%) and Epic Records just outside the top 10 (1.56%, down from 2.99%).
In overall market share — which combines all of a label’s output in the marketplace, whereas current refers to music from the most recent 18 months — Interscope’s deep catalog and current surge sees it secure first place, at 10.81%, up from last year’s 9.84%. REPUBLIC slipped to second, despite slightly increasing its overall market share to 9.95% from last year’s 9.94%, while Atlantic’s formidable catalog sees it leapfrog Warner Records up to third in overall share, at 7.67%, relatively steady from last year’s 7.65%. Warner, similarly, is almost the same as last year, as its fourth place showing of 6.73% is in line with last year’s 6.72%; Capitol and Columbia, in fifth and sixth, are down a small amount year over year (6.05% from 6.14% for Capitol; 5.38% from 5.79% for Columba), while RCA in seventh is also essentially static, at 5.19% from 5.20%. Epic, meanwhile, jumps to eighth (2.42%, down from 2.81%), while Sony Nashville (1.95%, down from 1.97%) and Def Jam (1.80%, down from 1.97%) round out the top 10.
In terms of catalog — all titles older than 18 months, which generally favors labels with a lengthy history of hits — the top eight are the same as in overall market share, with IGA, REPUBLIC and Atlantic leading the way. In ninth, Def Jam’s 2.19% sees it move up, while Concord’s 2.05% moves it into the top 10, with Sony Nashville (1.98%) dropping down to 11th. Concord and Sony Nashville grew their shares year over year, while Def Jam’s is down slightly.
Those figures are all by distribution ownership, whereby Universal, Sony and Warner also receive market share credit from their owned independent label distributors. By label ownership, however, the independent community is by far the largest sector of the business, racking up a 37.87% current market share so far this year, down from 38.25% in 2024; and a 36.03% overall market share this year, down from 36.82% last year.
Memphis rapper Key Glock is officially joining Republic Records. As he continues to tease his upcoming album, Glockavelli, Republic announced exclusively with Billboard that Glock will be joining their roster. In addition to this new partnership, he’ll also remain under the late Young Dolph’s label, Paper Route Empire (PRE). The signing marks an exciting new […]
The REPUBLIC Collective, which includes Island Records, Def Jam Recordings, Mercury Records and Republic Records, has announced several executive promotions and new hires.
Recently, Jeffrey Remedios, former Universal Music Canada chief, was appointed president of strategic development. In his new role, Remedios oversees high-priority growth initiatives for Republic’s labels, focusing on international A&R, Republic recording studios, brand expansion, and more, reporting directly to REPUBLIC Collective CEO Monte Lipman and COO Avery Lipman.
Key promotions across departments include Joe Carozza as executive vp and global media officer, Brittney Ramsdell as evp of creative sync, Julie Vastola as svp of creative, and Zoë Briggs as vp of global marketing. Gary Spangler revamped the Audience team, elevating Natina Nimene to evp of urban audience and artist relations, Lucas Romeo to evp of pop audience, Brett Dumler to svp of pop audience, James Brown to svp of urban audience, and Roya Raji to vp of touring.
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Kevin Lipson expanded his team with strategic hires and promotions, including longtime Capitol Music Group svp of streaming strategy Jeff Temske coming over as evp of global research and analytics, and Colin Yost elevated to vp of innovation and gaming partnerships. Additionally, Brian Sutnick was promoted to evp of global replay strategy, Ryan Stevens to svp of commerce, Charlene Thomas to svp of global replay strategy, and Blair O’Brien to vp of commerce.
Monte Lipman praised these recent advancements, calling them “hard-earned and well-deserved,” and emphasized the collective’s commitment to artist development and finding “generational talent.”
The executive changes follow another record-breaking year for REPUBLIC Collective, which topped Billboard’s major year-end label rankings for the fourth consecutive year. In 2024, the collective amassed 72 albums on the Billboard 200, including 13 No. 1s, and 209 songs on the Hot 100, with eight chart-toppers, reinforcing its dominance in the music industry.
Hit songwriter Savan Kotecha has partnered with Universal Music India, Republic Records and Represent to launch an initiative aimed at discovering and developing India’s first globally impactful pop boy band. The nationwide talent hunt seeks to redefine India’s pop landscape by creating a group that reflects the country’s diversity, while also “igniting an unprecedented wave of fandom and paving the way for the Indian Teen Pop economy,” according to the announcement.
Kotecha, a Grammy, Oscar and Golden Globe-nominated native of Texas, has played a pivotal role in shaping modern pop music over the last 15-plus years. His extensive catalog includes hits for Ariana Grande, One Direction, The Weeknd and Maroon 5. With a career that took off in Sweden alongside mentor Max Martin, Kotecha has contributed to chart-topping songs like Grande’s “Problem,” 1D’s “What Makes You Beautiful,” The Weeknd’s “Can’t Feel My Face” and Maroon 5’s “One More Night.” He also served as executive music producer for Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga.
Kotecha believes that India has long looked outside its borders for pop and teen idols, and this initiative aims to change that. “Boy bands have shaped generations around the world—now, it’s India’s turn,” he said. “We want to create a group that represents India’s dreams and sparks an unprecedented wave of fandom.”
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Universal Music Group India & South Asia managing director Sanujeet Bhujabal emphasized the project’s significance. “Our i-Pop strategy has focused on cultivating a Gen Z and Gen Alpha-driven sound in India. Partnering with Savan, we’re taking this vision global by launching India’s first true pop boy band. This will be the biggest talent hunt India has ever seen, and we are committed to building a long-term teen pop economy.”
Aayushman Sinha, founder of Represent, echoed this sentiment: “We’re stepping into a new era of talent development, something India has never seen before. More importantly, this project is about fostering sustainable careers for young artists and establishing pop music as a dominant cultural force.”
To shape the eventual band’s identity, the project has also partnered with Jugaad Motion Pictures.
Aspiring musicians can audition by following @greatestindianboyband on Instagram and submitting their entries on the contest’s website. To apply, candidates need to upload a video showcasing their talent and answering a few select questions. After a month-long selection process, shortlisted contestants will advance to the next round, with the final five then participating in what’s described as a “training bootcamp” ahead of their official debut.
Universal Music Group, the owner of Republic Records, has reached a settlement to resolve a trademark lawsuit the music giant filed against a music investment platform called Republic.
The deal will end a case in which UMG accused the smaller company of confusing consumers by expanding into music royalties investing – a move UMG warned could dupe people into thinking Republic Records was involved in the project. But a judge later ruled that the case would be difficult to win.
In an order last week (Dec. 13), the federal judge overseeing the lawsuit said that all claims had been “settled in principle” and ordered the case dismissed. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, and neither side immediately returned requests for more details.
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Launched in 2016, OpenDeal Inc.’s Republic platform lets users buy into startups, cryptocurrency projects and other investments across a wide range of sectors. In October 2021, the company announced it would start allowing users to invest in music royalties by purchasing NFTs (non-fungible tokens), calling itself the first to “bring music investing to the masses.”
That quickly sparked the lawsuit from UMG, which acquired Republic Records in 2000 and now operates it as one of its top imprints, home to Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Drake, Post Malone and many others. In a November 2021 complaint seeking an immediate injunction, UMG called OpenDeal’s new service a “wanton effort to usurp plaintiff’s Republic name and trademarks for itself.”
“The artists, labels, managers, agents, and fans who currently know of plaintiff’s Republic label would be presented with two different companies offering identical services under identical names in the same industry,” UMG’s lawyers wrote at the time. “Confusion is inevitable.”
But in July 2022, Judge Analisa Torres ruled that that UMG was unlikely to be able to prove such allegations in court. She said the evidence of potential confusion was “extremely minimal,” since the services and consumers of the two companies “differ significantly” — and that a shared connection to the music industry was “not enough.”
“It is conceivable that there may ultimately be some overlap between the parties’ consumers—for instance, fans of a popular artist may both purchase that artist’s music through Republic Records, and make crowdfunded investments in recordings by that artist through the Republic Platform,” the judge wrote. “But, such scenarios remain hypothetical.”
That ruling – denying UMG’s request for a so-called preliminary injunction that would have forced OpenDeal to change its name while the case was litigated – was not a final decision on the case. But it indicated that UMG was unlikely to win, and such trademark cases often settle after such early skirmishes.
After that decision, UMG later filed an updated version of its allegations, and the case proceeded into discovery – the process of exchanging evidence in a civil lawsuit. But the lawsuit has largely been paused for more than a year as the two sides engaged in settlement talks that ultimately resulted in last week’s agreement.
Republic has announced the promotion of Kevin Lipson to the newly created position of chief revenue officer, effective immediately, as touted by president and COO Jim Roppo.
In this role, Lipson will lead revenue strategies for artists across Republic Records, Mercury Records, Def Jam Recordings and Island Records through the Republic Corps. Collective. He’ll oversee teams involved in streaming, e-commerce, data, retail, gaming, sports marketing, media planning and catalog initiatives, while also driving innovation campaigns to boost audience and revenue growth.
The New York-based Lipson is a 28-year veteran of Universal Music Group, having held senior management roles at Republic, Island, Def Jam and Universal Music Group Distribution in both LA and New York. His tenure at Republic — most recently as evp of global commerce and digital strategy — has seen the label earn titles such as Billboard 200 Label of the Year and Billboard Hot 100 Label of the Year, and achieve the industry’s ten biggest streaming weeks of all time.
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His team has delivered successful albums for artists like The Weeknd, Metro Boomin and Morgan Wallen, among others. In mid-2022, Lipson’s marketing rollout strategies for Post Malone’s Twelve Carat Toothache album earned him a hat-tip as Billboard‘s executive of the week.
The expanded role, but not title, for Lipson — encompassing revenue strategy at the label group — was initially announced in March as part of the formation of the East Coast-based Republic Corps, designed to compliment UMG’s Interscope Capitol Labels Group out west.
Roppo praised Lipson as a “tenacious” and innovative, adding, “with a fresh perspective, he’s constantly looking for unconventional ways to break new artists and maximize global repertoire revenue for our roster of superstars.”
Lipson thanked Republic’s leadership for their backing and emphasized the collaborative nature of the team. “They support their people here first—which inspires everybody to compete at the highest level while breaking historic industry records,” he noted. “Our team is involved in many different facets of the label, which is inspiring to all. It’s not exclusive to marketing, sales, and data; it’s all-encompassing. Even with all of the incredible success, we’re constantly trying to evolve and better ourselves while staying humble.”
Republic has appointed Mary Catherine Kinney as executive vp of artist & label strategy. Based in Nashville, Kinney will support artist and label strategy for the Republic Corp Collective, which includes Republic Records, Island Records, Mercury Records and Def Jam Recordings. Kinney will also lead business strategy for the group’s labels, further reinforcing their Nashville presence.
Prior to her new role at Republic, Kinney was head of artist partnerships at Spotify, having joined the company in 2018. At Spotify, she led the team responsible for artist and manager relationships, as well as genre marketing initiatives. The team’s projects included partnerships with artists including Taylor Swift, Karol G and Zach Bryan, as well as introducing Spotify House at CMA Fest, Spotify’s Billions Club series and Casa Spotify in Puerto Rico.
Prior to her work at Spotify, Kinney’s career included time at Sony Music Nashville and Universal Music Group Nashville.
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Republic Corps president/COO Jim Roppo said in a statement, “Mary Catherine is one of the music industry’s most inspiring leaders. She’s widely respected across the business and in Nashville. Her reputation and work ethic have uniquely positioned her to flourish supporting the labels at REPUBLIC. She’s the perfect executive to seamlessly facilitate our expansion in the market.”
Kinney added, “I’m thrilled to join Republic to build with each label team on their unique mission and work with such a phenomenal roster of artists. For over a decade, I’ve called Nashville home and I’m honored for the opportunity to steward Republic vision within this vibrant, ever-growing creative community. I have deeply admired Monte, Avery and Jim as visionaries and esteemed leaders for many years; I thank them for this extraordinary opportunity.”
Republic has spearheaded some of the biggest releases to dominate the Billboard 200 over the past year, among them Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department, Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time (Big Loud/Mercury/Republic), Noah Kahan’s Stick Season (Mercury/Republic), and Post Malone’s F-1 Trillion (Mercury/Republic). Meanwhile, Jelly Roll and BMG recently teamed with Republic to distribute Jelly Roll’s upcoming album, Beautifully Broken, out Oct. 11.
Jelly Roll has a new duet partner. Through his home label, Stoney Creek/Broken Bow Records Music Group/BMG, he has entered into a worldwide deal with REPUBLIC, effective with the CMA Award-winning artist’s next album, including new single, “I Am Not OK,” which comes out tomorrow (June 12).
The partnership will focus on expanding Jelly Roll’s music across multiple genres, as well as marketing the artist into new territories.
Additionally, Jelly Roll, who owns his masters, has extended his deal with Stoney Creek/BBR and BMG Music Publishing.
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Jelly Roll’s current album, Whitsitt Chapel, which came out last June, entered Billboard’s Top Country Albums at No. 2 in June 2023 with the largest week — 90,000 equivalent album units in the United States — for an initial entry since the survey transitioned to a consumption-based methodology in February 2017.
The album’s “Halfway to Hell,” which tops the Country Airplay chart right now, is his fourth consecutive No. 1 on the chart following “Son of a Sinner,” “Need a Favor” and “Save Me” (with Lainey Wilson).
“I couldn’t have accomplished what we’ve done with Whitsitt Chapel and all that’s happened in the last year without the support and belief I’ve had from [BMG CEO] Thomas Coesfeld, [BMG president of frontline recordings, The Americas] Jon Loba and the rest of the team at BBR,” Jelly Roll said in a statement. “Being able to now also work with Republic, [REPUBLIC co-founder/chairman] Monte [Lipman] and his team — I’ve never been more inspired musically and I am looking forward to releasing this new music with great partners.”
“Jelly Roll is a global icon who’s rewritten the rule book and continues to smash traditional boundaries, all on his own terms. His strength, determination and creative vision is that of legends. We’re honored to join his strategic partnership with Stoney Creek Records, BMG and trusted hitman and consigliere John Meneilly,” added Lipman, jokingly referring to Jelly Roll’s manager, Meneilly.
Loba, who signed Jelly Roll to Stoney Creek/BBR in 2021, said, “Jelly Roll embodies artistry and independence. His authenticity is the key to his success. He continually uses his platform to not only captivate audiences with his music but also to uplift communities. As an artist, he is a true trailblazer. As a human being, he has left a legacy of both talent and kindness, winning over fans all around the world. We are proud of everything we have accomplished together and look forward to achieving even more success in the future.”
Aside from expressing their universal love for Jelly Roll and his talent, Loba and Lipman are keeping details close to the vest in the deal that has been rumored for months, including how the partnership came about and its duration, the division of duties, if Republic was involved in the A&R process for the upcoming album and which formats the new single will be pushed to.
Jelly Roll has already proved to be a cross-format artist. In addition to his No. 1s on Billboard’s Country Airplay and Country Songs charts, his songs have topped the Mainstream Rock chart and Rock chart.
The past three years have been a whirlwind for the Antioch, Tenn. native, who first came to prominence as a rapper having garnered more than 1 billion streams before signing with Stoney Creek. Among the awards he has taken home are the CMA Award for new artist of the year and ACM Award for musical event of the year. In addition to Wilson, on record and stage he has duetted with Eminem, Jessie Murph, Wynonna and more.
The deal is Republic’s latest move into the country space following expansion of its deal with Big Loud to distribute all of its acts (after initially starting with Morgan Wallen and Lily Rose), as well as signing Miranda Lambert in a partnership with Big Loud.
Singer-songwriter-actress Tanerélle has signed with Republic Records. In tandem with that exclusive announcement, the R&B outlier is set to release her label debut, the EP Electric Honey, this Friday (May 31). “Tanerélle is a forward-thinking artist with a well-defined vision, sonically and aesthetically,” says Ken Jarvis, Republic’s senior director of A&R. “Working with an artist who is […]
