Jason Aldean finds success with independent label
Jason Aldean has been performing since he was in high school, but it took years for the 31-year-old country singer to finally land a record deal, and even then he was nervous because Broken Bow, the label offering the contract, was independent.
“The history of independent labels and country music has not been very successful,” he said. “There’s been a couple obviously that have, but for the most part they haven’t really been around very long, and if they do have success, it’s for a couple of songs and then they’re out.”
But Broken Bow had a good distribution system in place, which impressed Aldean, and had already proven it could get radio play through another of its country artists, Craig Morgan.
“At the time, I had this independent label offering me a deal in one hand and nothing in the other hand,” Aldean said. “It was just a roll of the dice, and it was just something where I finally had the opportunity to go out and do something and it was going to be a little challenging, but everything else I had done in Nashville had been challenging, too.”
Going with an independent label turned out to be a good risk for Aldean to take. Since signing in 2005, he’s had five top-10 singles on the country charts and released two albums. His second album and current single, “Relentless,” sums up Aldean’s career so far.
“After we recorded the whole album, we just kind of looked at all the songs and said, ‘What’s a great title for this album?’ And that was just kind of the one that kept standing out for that reason,” he said. “That’s a very fitting title for the way my career is going, the pursuit of trying to get a record deal and trying to make this thing happen.”
Aldean is hoping his experience proves that the music business in Nashville has changed.
“We just went out and did our thing, and, luckily for us, it struck a chord with people and it worked out,” he said. “I think that we’ve kind of proven to people that you don’t have to be on RCA or MCA to go out and have success and sell records. If it’s the right song, then it can still work, no matter where you’re at.”
Aldean attributes part of his success to playing 200 shows a year in the early years of his career. He’s scaled back to about 170 shows this year, so he and his crew have the energy to put on quality shows through the final dates of the year, he said, but they are on the road about four days per week.
“People hear the songs on the radio and they see the videos, but when they come to a live performance, that’s when they start to get a sense of their personality and what kind of entertainer you are,” he said. “I think that’s where you ultimately end up selling the bulk of your albums is by going and playing your live shows and turning people on to not only the songs on the radio, but also other songs on the album they don’t normally hear.”
Years of experience playing in bars and clubs before getting a record deal has helped Aldean keep the crowd involved now that he’s playing large venues. If he sees a person who obviously is not having a good time, Aldean will pick him or her out of the crowd and do everything he can to engage them.
“If somebody’s sitting down with their arms folded and looks like they’re bored, then I’ll go out and sit in a chair next to them until they stand up,” he said. “I’ve always felt like people, especially now, are paying their money. You know they can spend their money on anything and they chose to spend it on a $20, $30 ticket to come see you play a show. I feel like it’s our job to go out there and not disappoint them and make sure they get their money’s worth.”
Stephanie De Pasquale can be contacted at (563) 333-2639 or sdepasquale@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.