There was a big press conference in Nashville yesterday to announce the new partnership between Toby Keith's ShowDog label and Univeral South. The two labesl will merge, and the first artist to sign on with the new parternshop is Trace Adkins.
Toby & Trace are thrilled and in a printed statement Toby says, "We both worked the same old bar circuit of the Southwest years ago at the same time. We are just alike and see eye to eye in so many ways." Toby promises Trace that his staff is, "ready to tear it up for him."
I'm guessing you're thinking what I'm thinking, that their tour last year allowed this to happen. Trace said, "Toby and I had some time to get to know each other better and we discovered that as artists, we share a common vision."
The merger provided an incentive for Trace to sign on. He said, "The excitement surrounding this merger is very invigorating and I'm really excited about the future and the opportunities and possibilities that are ahead at Show Dog-Universal Music."
Yes, this all means that Trace is leaving his home of 15 years - Capitol Records/Nashville.
All this was done on Trace Adkin's 48th birthday and Toby Keith and Mark Wright (with Universal South) ended the press conference by getting the audience to seranade Trace with "Happy Birthday" as they brought out a cake.
I'm very excited about all this!