LOCASH Launches Galaxy Tag Team: Exclusive

Country music duo LOCASH created the Galaxy Label Group in partnership with Studio2Bee Entertainment, founded by veteran Nashville music executives Skip Bishop and Butch Waugh.

BBR Music Group/BMG Nashville will distribute the label, Advertising sign can reveal.

LOCASH's Preston Brust and Chris Lucas celebrated the newly announced venture Wednesday afternoon (February 28) during an event in downtown Nashville, just as radio programmers descended on Music City for the annual Country Radio Seminar.

“We're all blessed to be a part of this music business and have the opportunity to do what we're passionate about and to have Skip and Butch back on the team with us is great,” says Lucas Advertising sign during a Zoom call with LOCASH and Bishop.

Founded in 2008, LOCASH draws from nearly two decades of experience as artists and writers when launching the company. In 2016, they scored a top 5 Country Airplay hit with “I Love This Life” and followed it up with the chart topper “I Know Somebody”, the top 20 song “Ring on Every Finger” and in 2019 they scored another 5. Success of Country Airplay with “One Big Country Song.”

“We've talked about starting a label for years,” says Lucas. “Some of the best success we've had has been when we've been more hands-on with it.”

Bishop and Waugh had previously worked on the campaign for “I Love This Life,” and Studio2Bee's full staff of marketing and radio representatives “seemed perfect,” Bishop explains.

A nod to the label's name, Brust says the ideal roster of artists would include genres beyond the country, though they have yet to sign any artists. The hard lessons LOCASH has learned along the way as artists and songwriters influence the business model for the new label.

“The main thing we've seen on some of the bigger labels is that sometimes some artists were on the sidelines because some other artist was hot at the time,” says Brust. “We've always talked about it and how it's not fair, because there's so much talent in this town.”

Galaxy Label Group will also serve as the home of LOCASH's new music. BMG Nashville's Wheelhouse imprint had previously released their albums. The duo have been in the studio working on their upcoming album, with their first single, “Hometown Home,” due out in the spring.

“That song just got to the roots of what Locash is,” says Lucas. “It's about the love of country and being the guy who says, 'We could go anywhere in the world and start a new life together, but if you want to stay here in our hometown, that's fine with me, because I just want to be with you.' It's one of those messages that is relatable and hits you in the heart.”

Beyond signing artists, Galaxy Label Group aims to help songwriters. The duo say Galaxy Label Group will give songwriters a percentage of the master rights (out of the label's share) on every recording for the label, including Locash's upcoming album. The commitment could mean a boost for songwriters, whose incomes have taken a significant, negative hit in the steaming era. When physical albums sold regularly, songwriters were paid for each album sold, earning a fixed income regardless of whether their song was picked up as a radio single. But with streams making up the majority of music consumption, songwriters are increasingly dependent on radio hits, losing out on the valuable income physical records once provided.

The pledge follows in the footsteps of some smaller indie labels like Facet Records and Good Boy Records, as well as individual artists like Kip Moore, who in 2017 promised an annual bonus for songwriters.

“We want to be fair,” Lucas says. “It's one of those things where if we sit down and before the album comes out, we're like, 'This [percentage] seems fair.” We could hit the road and if the single just goes to another realm, who knows? We could change a percentage at that point.”

Ultimately, Brust says, they hope to “create new revenue streams in this industry.” He adds, “Nashville is built on song. The best songwriters in the world—I'd put us up against anybody. Nashville has it, period. There is none better than this. We want songwriters to have a fair chance. If someone has 700 million streams and the songwriter doesn't see a dime, that's not fair. We want to get some of that before the game and get a fair percentage for them. That's what we're most excited about right now—giving back to the community that's been there for us.”