After more than 10 years, Kip Moore is leaving his longtime label MCA Records.
The Georgia native put out five albums with his former label, including Up All Night (2012), Wild Ones (2015), Slowheart (2017), Wild World (2019) and most recently Damn Love (2023), but in a post on Instagram earlier, he shared that they have parted ways.
In a lengthy caption, Kip thanked everyone on his team at MCA who has supported and helped him build is music career, adding that he doesn’t quite know where he’ll end up with a new label, but he is currently having those discussions.
Most exciting for me as a longtime fan, though, is that Kip also noted that he plans on putting out a record “completely independently” for the very first time and album #6 is on the way soon:
“I’ve been extremely grateful for the opportunity to make records on a label like MCA over the last 10 plus years. They’ve been such a top notch team and I’ve been so lucky to have had the freedom through the years to do it my way.
Promo team…I can’t say enough about the rock stars each one of you are. You work tirelessly and you don’t get thanked enough. I almost stayed cause of that bond alone. Luke, Mike, Cindy…thank you for everything. Forever grateful. Brian & good hair Joe thank you. All the staff behind the scenes…digital, marketing, video, Sarah (Obama)…. I appreciate all you do and did.
I’m not sure where I’ll end up (currently having those discussions), but in the meantime, doing a record completely independent for the first time in my career has been something can’t put into words. Get fucking ready Slowhearts….#6 is coming.”
I know I’ve said it before in previous posts here, but I’ve always felt like Kip would do really well as an independent artist, especially considering the very large, dedicated fan abase he’s built for himself over the years, both here in America and overseas (he has a ton of fans across the pond).
It remains to be seen if he’ll sign with a new Nashville label, or potentially even stay independent for a little while, but it feels like Kip doing his own thing without record executives or anyone else making decisions, especially from a creative standpoint, would serve him well.
He’s always done things his own way (as much as you can with a record deal), and I really think this could open up a whole new world for him in terms of his country music career. Now more than ever (in large part due to streaming), artists are being rewarded outside of the mainstream world, and I don’t see why this wouldn’t be a net positive for him.
Personally, I’m really excited to hear what he has coming on this new, independent record, especially because Damn Love was kind of a miss for me in terms of his larger catalog, which is so solid and good. Only time will tell, but I have a feeling this new music will be as good, if not better than, fan-favorite albums like Up All Night and Wild Ones.
Stay tuned…
Kip will join Hardy as an opener on his Quit!! tour this summer, as well.
Quit!! tour dates:
May 30 – Rogers, Ark. – Walmart AMP ♠*◎
May 31 – St. Louis, Mo. – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre ♠*◎
June 1 – Noblesville, Ind. – Ruoff Music Center ♠*◎
June 6 – Toronto, Ont. – Budweiser Stage ♠*◎
June 7 – Saratoga Springs, N.Y. – Broadview Stage at SPAC ♠*◎
June 8 – Buffalo, N.Y. – Darien Lake Amphitheater ♠*
June 14 – Charlotte, N.C. – PNC Music Pavilion ♠*✭
June 15 – Raleigh, N.C. – Coastal Credit Union Music Park ♠*✭
June 20 – Holmdel, N.J. – PNC Bank Arts Center ♠*✭
June 21 – Mansfield, Mass. – Xfinity Center ♠*✭
June 22 – Gilford, N.H. – BankNH Pavilion ♠*✭
June 27 – Camden, N.J. – Freedom Mortgage Pavilion ♠*✭
June 28 – Bristow, Va. – Jiffy Lube Live ♠*✭
July 25 – Cincinnati, Ohio – Riverbend Music Center ♠*
July 27 – Tinley Park, Ill. – Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre ♠*
♠ Kip Moore
* Travis Denning
✭ Ella Langley
◎ Stephen Wilson Jr.
