Zach Bryan Slams Label: “Why Is ‘Pink Skies’ on Pop Radio?”

Zach Bryan is currently in the midst of an amazing run. Few artists have had the type of growth he has over the last few years, and he is understandably pissed off after a recent decision from his record label to submit his latest single, “Pink Skies”—a great song—to pop radio as opposed to country radio.

When you get into this sort of situation, when you’re this massive artist, there’s an army of people behind you in record labels, management, touring, and it’s a full company, essentially, whether you as an artist ever intended for it to be that way or not. It just progresses to that point, so it could understandably be frustrating when decisions are being made and, likely, he wasn’t consulted on that choice. So, he is taking to social media to voice his frustrations.

But in addition to this specific song, it seems like there’s some tension between Zach Bryan and his record label, Warner, in particular. What’s interesting here is that Zach Bryan’s rise to prominence has really been one that was grassroots. He just caught on with the fans; he just has that “it” factor. He’s got superstar qualities to him. He’s a hell of a songwriter, and he’s just entertaining in general. He also has a great live show and is just selling out shows all throughout the US. The shows keep getting bigger and bigger.

So, the question is whether or not the record label was responsible for most of that growth. We’ll see, but it sure seems like Zach Bryan doesn’t feel that way. So, let’s take a look at what he had to say about this decision to send “Pink Skies” out to pop radio, not country radio.

Zach Bryan shared this post from Whiskey Riff and wrote, “This is effed. I never approved this. Why is ‘Pink Skies’ on pop radio?” Some fans in the comments had some feedback for him, and from there, he just kept responding. Understandably frustrated, when you have your label kind of trying to define what genre you’re a part of, and you as an artist don’t feel like you get to participate in that defining, it’s kind of antithetical to the creative process.

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From my standpoint, I don’t know. What do you think? Let me know in the comments.

This fan wrote, “Zach, let it be, man. I get upset, but none of us can classify your art form. It just is. It’s been a long time since there was a singer-songwriter quite like you, and we’re all just enjoying the hell out of it. If pop wants to listen, cool. Music is for all.”

Zach Bryan also retweeted this message: “Guitar and lawn chair is all we need, old son.” This fan wrote, “I would for sure consider you country, indie country if we’re pushing it.” And Zach goes, “Then why is it on pop radio? Exactly.”

Now, there seems to be something much bigger going on here, with Zach Bryan seemingly being frustrated with the record label. He’s alluding to the end of his record deal, and he could go independent, where he makes 100% of the revenue from his music, whether it’s on streaming or album sales. That would be for any new music that he releases, and I bet he would do very well. But there is also probably going to be a massive bidding war from other labels that are going to try to bring him in, and maybe he could set some favorable terms for himself there.

But this is what Zach Bryan said, alluding to maybe some deeper issues going on with the label. He made it clear here: “‘Pink Skies’ is not a pop song,” in all caps, before continuing.

Now, one thing you got to know about record deals is they are typically structured by how many albums you’re required to produce for them. And Zach Bryan, because he’s so good at songwriting and he can just churn them out, says, “I have one record left after ‘The Great American Bar,’ which is his upcoming album that is finished and due to drop at any time.” And he says, “Uh, if it’s acoustic, don’t mind it.” Sounds like maybe, you know, you’re just putting out an album real quick just to get out of that record deal possibly.

And it seems like Zach Bryan is definitely the person who is responsible for his success, not one of these situations where the label really did a lot of building with him. So, I can understand his frustration when, at the end of the day, you’re probably not making as much money from your recorded music as you should be. But who knows? I don’t know the terms of the deal, but it seems like Zach Bryan’s not happy with that.

But he’s got a lot of reasons to be happy because “Pink Skies” is out, he’s got this new record coming, “The Great American Bar Scene,” his shows are selling like crazy, and really the future is in his hands. He’s got just one album left on this deal, and I’m looking forward to what comes next from one of the most exciting artists in all of music.

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