Zach Bryan is making moves, and it sounds like we may have a few more major label studio albums in the works.
For fans curious where all of these projects he’s promised have been, the finalization of this deal might have something to do with it, but it’s no secret that Zach Bryan doesn’t exactly operate like the conventional recording artist. He generally releases music whenever he wants, his production quality might be rather low, and after touring like a madman over the past couple years, he’s often said that he’s done doing full scale, multi-city tours.
Zach Bryan has also told fans that he is planning to release his final major label album when he teased a “Motorbreath” film project.
“This is not a film about a band, this is a film about a boy from Oklahoma. A boy who joined the Navy, with a love of writing. That writing connected with people, a lot of people.
This film is about a group of best friends taking a two-week motorcycle ride across America, while recording one final major label album. Oh, and the title of the film you ask? ‘Motorbreath.’”
However, it sounds like he owes Warner at least 2 more albums…
According to Variety, Zach Bryan has finalized a deal with Warner Records for at least 2 more albums, and that he “separately, either has sold or is in the process of selling his publishing catalog.” The total value of the deals is said to be $350 million.
That’s a lot of dough…
The Hollywood Reporter, which broke the news of his re-signing, reported that Bryan is selling the catalog to a new company, Merrit Group, headed by Cameron Strang, who ran Warner Chappell until 2015 and Warner Records until 2017. It was also confirmed that Universal Music was after Bryan, but Warner definitely ponied up some cash to keep their golden goose on board.
For those who might have just read all of this and are cross-eyed with confusion, let us give you a quick and dirty breakdown. A typical record deal involves an artist signing with a record label, which works to fund, market, distribute, and promote the artist’s music. In return, the label usually owns the master recordings, which are the original recordings of the songs… that means they control how the music is used and monetized. The label owns all the rights and is responsible for licensing the music to movies, commercials, and more. The artist earns a percentage of this revenue, but their catalog remains an asset of the record label if they own the masters.
Because the label owns the catalog, labels can re-release the songs via box sets, greatest hits compilations, and more. But this also allows them to sell the catalog at their will. Of course, there are also exceptions if an artist signs after becoming established (like Zach was), they might have a more nuanced deal that allows them to retain a percentage, if not all, ownership over their masters and have more creative control over their music. Prior to these two deals, Zach seemingly owned his masters via his own Belting Bronco Records.
Anyone else feel like they just ran a marathon reading that? Because same…
At the end of the day, there are a lot of ways to structure music deals, and all that really matters for us fans is that Zach is under contract to make a few more albums and perhaps under contract to tour some more… and he got a big ol’ bag of money. Everybody wins.
Bryan is easily one of Warner’s most prominent artists (maybe their largest), selling out massive stadiums, including Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. According to the Detroit Free Press, the event will be the largest ticketed event in United States history, with Bryan selling 112,000 tickets in 2½ hours.
Zach Bryan also closed his deal right on the heels of another country music megastar, Morgan Wallen, whose label Big Loud sold a stake in his catalog for a massive $200 million.
For Zach Bryan fans, this deal confirms that he’s giving us new music, and hopefully, now that the pen has been put to paper with this deal, we get something soon. He’s been teasing music, what feels like every day, and has shared he’s “recording like a crazy person,” so hopefully this was the final piece in the puzzle for fans to get new music.
Fire up his latest single, “Dear Miss,” before you go.
Zach Bryan 2025 Confirmed Tour Dates:
Stagecoach – Friday, April 25, 2025, Indio, CA
Phoenix Park – Friday, June 20, 2025, Dublin, IE
Phoenix Park – Saturday, June 21, 2025, Dublin, IE
Phoenix Park – Saturday, June 22, 2025, Dublin, IE
BST Hyde Park – Saturday, June 28, 2025, London
BST Hyde Park – Sunday, June 29, 2025, London
MetLife Stadium – Friday, July 18, 2025, East Rutherford, NJ
MetLife Stadium – Saturday, July 19, 2025, East Rutherford, NJ
MetLife Stadium – Sunday, July 20, 2025, East Rutherford, NJ
Golden Gate Park – Friday, August 15, 2025, San Francisco, CA
Joan C. Edwards Stadium – Saturday, 30, 2025, Huntington, WV
Notre Dame Stadium – Saturday, September 6, 2025 Notre Dame, IN
Michigan Stadium – Saturday, September 27, 2025, Ann Arbor, MI
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