AWAL, Kobalt’s recording company, has inked a worldwide partnership with Round Here Records, a newly-formed label created by Florida Georgia Line’s Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard (pictured).
Founded as a new branch of Kelley and Hubbard’s Tree Vibez Music (TVM) publishing house, Round Here Records and its new partnership with AWAL will launch Canaan Smith, the artist behind the 2014’s No.1 Country hit, Love You Like That.
As part of the deal, AWAL will provide Smith with a full range of services, including global marketing, campaign coordination, synch licensing and worldwide distribution.
Tree Vibez Music was founded by Kelley and Hubbard in 2015.
So far, the TVM writers have penned nine No.1 songs for artists like Jason Aldean, Kane Brown, Blake Shelton and Mitchell Tenpenny.
Canaan Smith earned his first Top 10 hit as a songwriter with Love and Theft’s 2009 debut, Runaway. He’s also co-written hits by Jason Aldean, FGL and Cole Swindell as well as Big Loud Records/Atlantic Records artist Mason Ramsey.
As an artist, Smith’s co-written 2014 platinum single Love You Like That hit No.1 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart, and his track This Night Back has racked up over 30 million streams.
“Brian and Tyler are incredible musicians, renowned songwriters and extremely business savvy.”
Ron Cerrito, AWAL
AWAL North American President, Ron Cerrito said: “We continue to grow our presence as well as our commitment to the Nashville music scene.
“Brian and Tyler are incredible musicians, renowned songwriters and extremely business savvy.
“They are a true creative force in the industry that is surrounded by an incredible team – their business model and artist-first approach are a perfect match with our global capabilities and core values.
“Canaan is an amazing artist with hundreds of millions of streams and a No.1 radio hit, and we’re proud to welcome him to the AWAL family.”
“Round Here Records feels right and we couldn’t be more excited to partner with AWAL.”
Tyler Hubbard
Hubbard added: “We’ve been jamming to all the songs the TVM writers have been cranking out. BK and I believe that great songs are the fuel behind every great artist, and every successful label, so we figured since our TVM family has the fuel – let’s light the fire.”
“Round Here Records feels right and we couldn’t be more excited to partner with AWAL.”
“We’ve seen first-hand Canaan’s pure talent both in the writing room and out on the road. Tyler and I couldn’t be more proud to have him lead off Round Here Records. Let’s go!”
Brian Kelley
Kelley said: “We are always pushing ourselves to be creative, elevate our business ventures, and continue to pay it forward.
“We’ve seen first-hand Canaan’s pure talent both in the writing room and out on the road. Tyler and I couldn’t be more proud to have him lead off Round Here Records. Let’s go!”
Music Business Worldwide
