Six months after announcing his departure from his longtime label home, MCA/Universal Music Group Nashville, country singer-songwriter Kip Moore has signed a worldwide deal with label services company Virgin Music Group.
The first track from the new deal will be “Live Here to Work”, which will be released on September 20. Of the song, Moore says, “It pushes the envelope a little bit, but we wanted to come out swinging.” The teaser posted by Moore on his Instagram shows him playing a guitar lick on the rock-oriented song.
“I was excited to make this record as a truly independent artist, but I wanted to remain open to working with a group if and when it made sense,” says Moore. Bulletin board. “I loved getting to know the Virgin team and their tenacity, passion and focus on a global plan made this feel like the next best step.”
“I've been a fan of Kip's for years now. The universal themes of his music transcend genre and appeal to a huge variety of music fans,” he added Jacqueline Kronospresident of Virgin Music Group North America and executive vice president of global artist relations, in a statement. “Along with his music, his commitment to non-stop touring has helped him build a strong global fan base. We know this next phase of his career will be amazing.”
Four of Moore's five albums released through MCA reached the top 5 Bulletin boardon the label's Top Country Albums chart and scored five top 5 songs on the Country Airplay chart, including 2011's No. 1, “Somethin” “Bout a Truck.” His most recent set was in 2023 Damn Love.
The heavy-voiced singer's career hasn't been driven by country radio, but he adds, “Virgin is equipped and ready for a radio campaign if we decide that's the best way to go.”
Additionally, he says it's too early to gauge the difference of signing with Virgin as opposed to a Nashville-based company. “I think it's fair to say, apart from maybe the very initial releases, none of my career has been 'traditional',” he says. “We've seen a real growth internationally from touring there in recent years, so it was only natural to go with a team that has tentacles in many different areas, particularly the countries I've toured extensively. UMGN was really great… UMGN always let me search for my own vision. Sometimes it's just time for a change and right now this new situation feels good. They are willing and want to do the work. I guess I'll know the differences once we're off and running.”
Moore has developed a particularly strong following in South Africa as a live draw and will headline the inaugural Cape Town Country Festival on October 26-27 at Cape Town, South Africa's 60,000-capacity DHL Stadium. In 2023, Moore's three shows in Cape Town and Pretoria, South Africa sold 44,000 tickets. Before Cape Town, Moore has gigs in New Zealand and Australia this month. The Cape Town show will be followed by the US leg of his Nomad World Tour, which kicks off November 11 in Columbia, SC
