Country icon Tim McGraw has announced his return to the Big Machine Label Group, revealing the surprise news today (February 21) during the 2020 Country Radio Seminar in Nashville.
Speaking alongside Big Machine founder and chief executive Scott Borchetta during the BMLG Luncheon, McGraw framed the move as a new business partnership and the rekindling of an old personal relationship.
“I missed you,” he said to Borchetta with a chuckle, as he waved to radio attendees from the stage.
“We had such a great run together and I’m so proud that we get to go back after it again,” Borchetta replied. “The energy is amazing, and the new music is incredible. My team loves your team … this is real! I’m so pumped to have you back in the family.”
“Scott and I go back a long way,” McGraw continued. “We go back 25 years to when his dad signed me to Curb Records a long time ago, so I have a special place in my heart for the Borchetta family. It’s good to be back with Scott, and I know we have a lot of work to do.”
McGraw began his career with Curb Records in 1990 and first came to Big Machine after a highly publicized split from Curb in 2012. The hit maker released three albums there and enjoyed renewed success before switching to Sony’s Arista Records in 2016, releasing the collaborative album The Rest of Our Life with wife Faith Hill.
According to Billboard, McGraw’s “first release on Big Machine will be Here on Earth, a previously announced album that shares its name with McGraw’s headlining arena/amphitheater tour that kicks off July 10,” and Borchetta hints that a new single will be “coming sooner than later.”
The announcement follows a similar surprise from yesterday, when fellow country icon Reba McEntire announced her return to the Universal Music Group.
