As Florida Georgia Line’s Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley continue to expand their business interests, the pair has founded Round Here Records. The label’s flagship artist is Canaan Smith.
“The label started with a passion to create music and to make records,” Hubbard tells Billboard via phone. “It happened organically [as] we continued to find the artists and friends that we love, believe in and thought had a gift and talent that we wanted to try to nurture. It turned into something that we are really excited about. [We’re] trying to do some trailblazing in this record label space.”
Last year Smith signed to Tree Vibez Music – the duo’s publishing arm founded in 2015 – and Kelley says the pair have believed in him for years as a songwriter and artist. Previously signed to Mercury Records Nashville, Smith saw success in 2015 with his second single, “Love You Like That,” which reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart.
While FGL, who remain signed to Big Machine as artists, have plans to put out records from other writer/performers signed to Tree Vibez, they say they will also sign talent beyond the publishing company. Hubbard and Kelley declined to mention names, but say they have three more acts “we’re about to put music out on real, real soon.”
