Country artist Thomas Rhett has launched a new record label in the United States, Fifty-One/Forty-Nine Records, through a partnership with Blue Highway Records, the Nashville-based company owned by HYBE America.
The label will serve as the home for Rhett’s recorded music, according to an announcement on Tuesday (October 6). Financial terms and the ownership structure of Fifty-One/Forty-Nine Records were not disclosed.
Ownership and catalog scope#
Fifty-One/Forty-Nine Records, LLC already appears in the copyright line of Rhett’s 2024 album About a Woman, which was released under exclusive license to his longtime label, The Valory Music Co. The entity is also named in the copyright lines of later Rhett releases, including the album’s 2025 deluxe edition and the live EP Thomas Rhett Live from Fenway Park.
His 2022 album Where We Started carries a Big Machine Label Group (BMLG) copyright line. The announcement did not specify whether the arrangement covers recordings Rhett released before About a Woman.
Artist-led record company#
Blue Highway describes Fifty-One/Forty-Nine as an “artist-led record company” founded by Rhett and “built around long-term ownership, creative independence and artist development.”
“When we started talking about what the next chapter could look like, I knew I didn’t simply want to make another deal. I wanted to build something that reflected the legacy and shaped the future of my music,” Rhett said.
“From my initial conversations with Jake and the leadership team at Blue Highway, it was clear they, too, were thinking differently about what a record company can be for an artist today. This allows me the opportunity to own the body of work I’ve spent my entire career creating, while still having an ambitious team and global infrastructure around me for my future recordings. I am incredibly excited about building this next chapter together.”
Jake Basden, CEO of Blue Highway Records, said: “Thomas Rhett has always been an artist, a songwriter, a performer who brings the best of what being a progressive country artist is today: someone who is willing to explore how other genres merge with Nashville without losing his roots, without sounding calculated or forced.”
Basden added: “His musical fluidity is matched by his sense of lyrics, songs, and what people feel, creating an honest kind of country that finds its way into people’s lives, wherever they are. Having watched Thomas Rhett come into his own and then achieve major success, I am honored to be his partner going forward.”
Blue Highway called Rhett “a cornerstone artist” and said the deal “reflects the broader mission” of the company.
Company history and roster#
The announcement says the partnership follows “more than a decade of shared success.” Rhett signed to The Valory Music Co., part of Scott Borchetta‘s BMLG, in 2011.
HYBE America rebranded BMLG as Blue Highway Records in February and folded Valory into the renamed company. The rebrand followed the departure of Borchetta, who founded Big Machine Records in 2005. Borchetta took the Big Machine Records brand with him, while HYBE America kept BMLG’s assets, distribution deal, and publishing company Big Machine Music, as well as artists including Rhett.
HYBE had acquired BMLG in 2021 as part of its USD $1.05 billion purchase of Scooter Braun‘s Ithaca Holdings. Rhett was among the artists HYBE named when it announced that deal.
Basden previously served as Senior Vice President of Communications at BMLG and, most recently, as President of Sandbox Management. He said in February that he brings “a manager’s mentality” to the CEO role at Blue Highway.
“When we talk about being artist-first, we mean how we show up every day. It is about clarity and consistency, and about making decisions that genuinely serve the artist even when the short-term pressure pushes in another direction,” Basden said at the time.
According to Blue Highway, Rhett has 25 No. 1 singles and more than 16 billion streams to his name. The company also credits him with eight ACM (Academy of Country Music) Awards, including Entertainer of the Year, two CMA (Country Music Association) Awards, and five Grammy nominations.
His 25th No. 1, Ain’t a Bad Life with Jordan Davis, was released through Valory in 2025 and topped the Mediabase/Country Aircheck chart in April 2026.
Ownership of Big Machine-era recordings has a high-profile history. Ithaca Holdings’ 2019 purchase of BMLG included the master recordings of Taylor Swift‘s first six studio albums, which Ithaca sold to Shamrock Capital in 2020, before HYBE’s acquisition. Swift bought them back from Shamrock last year.
Blue Highway’s roster also includes:
- Brett Young
- Midland
- Justin Moore
- Jackson Dean
- Preston Cooper
- Mae Estes
- Chase McDaniel
- Ava Liv Mabry
- The Shires
- The Cadillac Three
The list no longer includes Carly Pearce, who was on Blue Highway’s roster at its February launch. Pearce left for BBR Music Group/BMG Nashville in June and is now managed by Borchetta Entertainment Group, the company Borchetta launched after leaving HYBE America.
