Brad Paisley Signs Record Deal With Universal Nashville

February 23, 2023 8:45 am Published by Cheryl Johnstone

Brad Paisley has just scored a new record deal with Universal Nashville.

The signing reunites Paisley with UMGN Chairman and 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.

“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,” said Paisley. “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.”

The terms weren’t released, but it’ll kick off with his next album, which is expected to come out later this year.

The first single, “Same Here”, will be out on Friday, February 24th.

He shared the news on social media and playfully joked about his improved guitar playing.

Meanwhile, here’s a clip of Brad previewing “Same Here” in Scotland last summer.