BMLG, Hard 8 Launch Hard Working Record Co.
• Big Machine Label Group, a subsidiary of HYBE America, and management company Hard 8 Working Group announced The Hard Working Record Company. This new label venture, forged by BMLG President/CEO & Founder Scott Borchetta and H8WG co-Founders Dirk Hemsath and Rich Egan, along with partners David Conway and Mike Bachta, will expand each of their creative scopes and open doors to discover, develop and publish Pop acts and beyond.
Having previously worked together on Brantley Gilbert and Kidd G, the union of BMLG and H8WG was a natural progression for the team. Based in Nashville, the new imprint under the BMLG umbrella combines the resources of both powerhouses to launch and amplify new artists and their music. Borchetta said, “Our continued growth and dominance depend on quality and visionary A&R in all genres. Rich, Dirk and the Hard Working team live for artist discovery and development and they’re bringing in heat from the onset.”
The creation of The Hard Working Record Company is not the first time Borchetta has pursued this kind of innovative enterprise — in 2017 he launched Rock venture Big Machine/John Varvatos Records, and in 2022 established a partnership with Blac Noize! to sign and develop Hip Hop and R&B acts globally. Hemsath remarked, “Rich and I had been toying with the idea of starting a label again, since that’s the world we both came from. We had been working closely with Scott and Big Machine on the artist Kidd G, and Scott mentioned he wanted to start a more Pop-leaning imprint, and that’s the world we’ve been in heavily for the last few years, most recently building pop star Tate McRae.”
The Hard Working Record Company has also brought on LJ Stoll to serve as General Manager and VP of A&R. Stoll joins the team from Se Lavi Productions / Rebel Music where he led A&R and oversaw the streaming equivalents of 40 million singles.
Pictured, standing, (l-r): BMLG’s Mike Rittberg, The Hard Working Record Company’s LJ Stoll, & BMLG’s Andrew Kautz; Sitting, (l-r): Hard 8 Working Group’s Dirk Hemsath, BMLG’s Scott Borchetta & Hard 8 Working Group’s Rich Egan. [Photo credit: Nick Rau]
