Morgan Wallen’s label sells $200 million stake in his catalog

Morgan Wallen’s record label, Big Loud, have announced the sale of a minority stake in the country star’s catalog to the rights management company Chord Music Partners.

The deal was reportedly worth $200 million.

In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Big Loud said: “Big Loud has sold a minority stake in Morgan Wallen’s master recording catalog to Chord Music Partners, as part of a strategic investment to expand the label’s global footprint and fuel long-term artist development.

“The deal was executed with the support of the internal Big Loud team, alongside partners at Chord Music, Republic Records & UMG, PLUS Capital, Eisner, Loeb & Loeb, DLA Piper, Dickinson Wright and Armanino.”

Chord Music Partners’ portfolio already includes music from the likes of The Weeknd, Ryan Tedder and John Legend. Universal Music Group bought a 25.8 percent stake in the management company last year.

Big Loud, which was founded in 2013, had become one of the most successful country labels in Nashville, helped in no small part by the success of Wallen, modern country’s biggest star.

Wallen, 31, revealed recently that his rapid ascent to fame hasn’t always been smooth, after his abrupt exit from Saturday Night Live sparked controversy.

Speaking on Theo Von’s This Past Weekend podcast, Wallen said of fame: “There’s parts of that that I don’t like. I think anybody who has to deal with that… It’s not ideal. It’s not ideal to go everywhere.

“And even if you don’t get bothered, you were on edge the whole time because you thought you might [be bothered],” he continued. “There’s things that you just don’t do. There’s just things you don’t do anymore.”

The Grammy winner, who shot to stardom as a contestant on season six of The Voice, went on to explain how hunting always helps to relieve his anxieties.

He said: “I can go be with my buddies. I’m in the middle of nowhere. I can be at ease. I can not stress out. You just find ways to supplement it, I think, you know?”

If it’s not hunting, it’s being in a bar. Yet, Wallen admitted, “it might be the best thing” for him not to go out drinking so often.

In fact, he hasn’t stepped foot in a bar since he was arrested in Nashville in April 2024 after he threw a chair off the rooftop of Eric Church’s bar.

The “Whiskey Glasses” singer ended up pleading guilty to two misdemeanor counts of reckless endangerment, resulting in a two-year probation sentence and one week in a DUI education center.