Brett Young
Date Signed: May 2015
Label: BMLG Records
Type of Music: Country
Management: Van Haze - Red Light Management
Booking: Barrett Sellers - WME Legal: Josh Brackin - Greenberg Traurig LLP
Publicity: Charlotte Burke - Big Machine Label Group, [email protected]
Web: BrettYoungMusic.com
A&R: Laurel Kittleson - Big Machine Label Group
There are plenty of people who can play great guitar licks, plenty who can belt out a hot vocal. But a talented songwriter is rare and highly valued in Nashville. Which is why Brett Young moved there. “I moved from L.A. to Nashville three years ago to pursue songwriting, and I planned to keep my publishing,” he admits. “But when we’d pitch the songs to labels, A&R guys would say, ‘Who’s the guy singing the demo?’”
Young credits one A&R exec in particular–– Laurel Kittleson of Big Machine Label Group–– with being a “bulldog” about pushing him at the label. After meeting with her in early 2015, she got the ear of BMLG EVP/Republic Nashville President Jimmy Harnen, who in turn invited Young to play for radio reps at one of his famed pool parties where the artist won nods from a few of the attendees—Harnen included––and shortly thereafter was recording with top-notch producer Dan Huff (Taylor Swift, Bon Jovi).
“Was I nervous? Ab-so-lute-ly,” Young discloses. “Dan has access to the best musicians in Nashville. Playing with those guys, I sat back and was in awe and blown away.”
Young co-wrote 11 of the 12 songs on his debut, and trotted out many of them while touring as part of Brad Paisley’s recent Country Nation College Tour.
