Issue No. 062 · Story 05 · October 7, 2026

Thomas Rhett Centers Recording Ownership in New Label Deal

Thomas Rhett and HYBE America's Blue Highway Records announced Fifty-One/Forty-Nine Records, an artist-led label that will serve as the home for his recorded music. Rhett said the partnership gives him the opportunity to own his body of work while retaining support for future recordings. The announcement did not disclose financial terms, the label's ownership structure, or whether the arrangement includes his earlier catalog.

§The partnership was announced October 6 and builds on Rhett's relationship with the company formerly known as Big Machine Label Group.
§Fifty-One/Forty-Nine already appears in the copyright line of his 2024 album About a Woman, released under an exclusive license to The Valory Music Co.
§His 2022 album Where We Started carries a Big Machine Label Group copyright line. The new announcement does not identify which older recordings are covered.

THE TAKEAWAY

The announcement separates the public promise of artist ownership from the still-undisclosed scope of the deal. A label partnership, a copyright credit, and ownership of an entire catalog are not interchangeable. The published details identify a new home for Rhett's recordings without establishing that every earlier master has changed hands.

Source: Music Business Worldwide

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