Music Superstar Tim McGraw’s Master Recordings Acquired by SMG

Spirit Music Group, one of the world’s leading global independent music publishing companies, has announced they have acquired a number of Tim McGraw’s master recordings.

Tim McGraw’s singles and albums routinely top the charts, making him one of music’s biggest superstars. Marking the country icon’s 17th chart topper, Tim McGraw’s Here On Earth set landed a number one debut on the Billboard Country Albums chart last week. The acquisition deal with Spirit encompasses masters for three of McGraw’s albums: Two Lanes of Freedom (2013), Sundown Heaven Town (2014) and Damn Country Music (2015). The albums were released by Big Machine Records and feature some of McGraw’s top hits, including his #1 GRAMMYÒ-winning hit “Highway Don’t Care” and his #1 single “Humble & Kind” which were also certified triple platinum last week, moving McGraw’s total career RIAA certifications to 75 million. “Highway Don’t Care” hit #1 Country Airplay, CMA and ACM “Video of the Year” and American Country Awards Song of the Year and Collaborative Single of the Year while “Humble & Kind” garnered him a “Best Country Song” GRAMMY, CMT Video of the Year, CMA Song of the Year, and AMA Favorite Country Song. The deal with Spirit also includes hits “Shotgun Rider” (#1 Country Airplay, #1 Hot Country Songs and Platinum certified) and “Truck Yeah” (Platinum certified).

“There are few artists in any genre of music who have had the level of success and impact that Tim McGraw has—we’re delighted to welcome Tim McGraw to the Spirit family and to represent his recording interests in some of country music’s most beloved songs,” said Jon Singer, Chairman, Spirit Music Group. “The entire Spirit team is honored to become an active partner in developing and protecting Tim’s incredible legacy of music.”

“Tim is one of the most prolific artists in country music and it is a unique opportunity to be able to acquire such a remarkable body of work in a competitive music rights market. We thank Tim for entrusting Lyric Capital Group and Spirit Music Group with his songs and are committed to doing our part to further build on the success of these master recordings,” said Ross Cameron, Partner, Lyric Capital Group.

“Tim McGraw is a timeless artist who makes timeless music. His recordings have helped shape the sound of country music,” said Frank Rogers, CEO, Spirit Music Nashville. “Spirit Music Group could not be more excited to partner with Tim to represent these amazing records that have become important threads in the fabric of country music history.”

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