Brad Paisley Signs With UMG Nashville
• Universal Music Group Nashville announces the signing of award-winning country music superstar Brad Paisley to EMI Records Nashville.
The signing reunites Paisley with UMGN Chairman & CEO Mike Dungan and President Cindy Mabe — Dungan was instrumental in signing Paisley to his first deal at Arista, and Mabe served as Paisley’s marketing point person through many of his early album cycles including his breakthrough projects, Mud on the Tires and Time Well Wasted.
Paisley commented, “There were two people that should get the credit that you even know my name — Mike Dungan and Cindy Mabe. I ran into Mike at the fishing department at Walmart after having met with several labels and he talked me into signing my first deal with Arista. They assigned this woman named Cindy Mabe to me — we graduated the same day at Belmont. I got to work with her on my first few albums and now I get to work with her at UMG.” Paisley added, “Cindy’s a genius and terrific human being. She heard what I was up to with the new music, and she pointed me further into the direction I was headed. I’ve never had this kind of enthusiasm and empowerment. She said, ‘Make music that matters.’ It’s an amazing thing to work with Mike and Cindy again. It’s great to know they believe in this music as much as I do.”
Mabe remarked, “Brad is a true creative. He has no boundaries to what he uses as his canvas. He has used his voice and his words as a gift to heal the world through his philanthropy, his song writing, his guitar playing, his entertaining, his music videos, his sense of humor and his heart. He has been a part of the Country music duo with Carrie Underwood that helped define Country music to the world. And getting to reunite with my friend and collaborator in his next creative adventure is something I’ve wanted for a long time. I cannot wait for him to share the music he has created with the world.”
And speaking of which… Paisley is finishing his next studio album, the first for UMG Nashville, expected later this year. This Friday, Feb. 24, Paisley will release a new song from that forthcoming album — “Same Here,” written by Paisley, Lee Thomas Miller and Taylor Goldsmith, and produced by Luke Wooten. Pictured, (l-r): Bill Simmons (The AMG), Brad Paisley, Cindy Mabe (UMGN), & Kendal Marcy (The AMG).
