Hailey Whitters Signs a Record Deal – On Her Own Terms
Fiercely independent Nashville songwriter partners up with Big Loud Records and Nicolle Galyon’s Songs & Daughters to launch her own Pigasus imprint
The dog and pony show just wasn’t doing it for Hailey Whitters.
After her self-released, heartbreaking ode to the cruel realities of the Nashville music business, “Ten Year Town,” took off while she was waiting tables, Whitters found herself doing the usual rounds to major labels — singing a few songs, going through the motions, hearing the excuses for why they wouldn’t be able to sign her after all. She’d dress up just to get let down, and, 12 years into a 10-year town, the experience was still living up to the myths she was singing about.
“It was always very noncommittal responses and misogynist excuses,” Whitters says, calling from the East Nashville home where she’s been spending her quarantine. “Excuses like ‘We already have a lot of girls’ or ‘girls are more expensive.’ Just really stupid stuff. I have no problem with someone telling me they don’t like my music, but this didn’t seem to be about the music at all. All the major labels felt very fear-based, and it seemed they would rather sign an Instagram influencer over an actual artist who spent a decade honing their craft.”
Instead of wasting more time knocking down doors that might never open, Whitters decided to stay independent. She formed her own Pigasus Records and released her terrific LP The Dream, assembling a team, including managers Matt Graham (Midland) and Chris Kappy (Luke Combs), that supported her decision to only partner with a label when, and if, the symbiosis was right.
Read the full article on Rolling Stone : https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/hailey-whitters-nashville-record-deal-1013525/