A new independent music label is entering the Nashville music market, founded by three music industry veterans with backgrounds in country music.
Clint Higham, John Esposito, and Kris Lamb launched HEY NOW Records on Tuesday (March 17), with Kenny Chesney as its first signed artist. The label will operate as a boutique operation with a staff covering promotion, streaming, marketing, and A&R.
Lamb, who serves as co-founder and president, will oversee day-to-day operations. His background includes executive roles at Big Machine Label Group and The Walt Disney Company’s Lyric Street Records, where he earned credits on more than 80 No. 1 hits and contributed to recordings that earned Grammy, Country Music Association, American Music, and Academy of Country Music Awards.
Lamb said: “Having the chance to create something from the ground up means the options are wide open.”
“In a world where structure blocks creativity, HEY NOW is a place where whatever we can conceive, we can realize. This is more than a dream; this is a gateway to creating an entirely new form and reality of Artist Development.”
Higham, who runs Morris Higham Management and has been recognized by the Country Music Association as Manager of the Year, said: “We have always believed in finding the best people for what an artist needs.”
“In a world where structure blocks creativity, HEY NOW is a place where whatever we can conceive, we can realize. This is more than a dream; this is a gateway to creating an entirely new form and reality of Artist Development.”
Kris Lamb, HEY NOW Records
“That philosophy has seen us super-serve our clients to create more meaningful opportunities and connections. In today’s flooded marketplace, Espo, Kris Lamb and I looked at this moment and saw an opportunity to super-serve a handful of talented developing and established artists by using that same perspective.”
“By being laser-focused on the music, artists and right next moves, we can accelerate the artist development process through targeted and specific execution.”
Esposito, who spent 15 years as chairman and CEO of Warner Music Nashville until April 2023, said: “HEY NOW Records was born out of conversations Clint, Kenny and I had about the increasing lack of focus that artists are getting as rosters increase while staffs shrink.”
“When Kris joined our conversations, I knew we would be lucky to have him at the helm of our operation. I’m thrilled to be in the role of co-founder, advisor, mentor and cheerleader for Kris as he leads the HEY NOW Records operation!”
HEY NOW’s flagship artist, East Tennessee singer-songwriter Kenny Chesney, holds the record for the most Billboard Country Airplay No. 1s with 33 chart-topping songs and is the only country artist ranked in Pollstar‘s Top 10 Touring Acts of the Millennium.
“HEY NOW Records was born out of conversations Clint, Kenny and I had about the increasing lack of focus that artists are getting as rosters increase while staffs shrink.”
John Esposito, HEY NOW RECORDS
Chesney was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2025 and earlier this year became the first solo artist and first country performer to headline a residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas. His memoir, Heart Life Music, debuted at No. 1 on the New York Times Hardcover Nonfiction and Combined Ebook and Hardcover Nonfiction lists, where it spent seven straight weeks.
The artist has over 7 million monthly listeners on Spotify.
On his signing with HEY NOW, Chesney said: “When Clint, Espo and Kris came to me with the idea of creating our own team, I was curious.”
“A label like this can be all-in, let’s-make-stuff-happen – and I have always been about making things happen. Creating and exploring what’s possible inspires me, and this is a moment where we can realize ideas in a matter of hours.”
Esposito added: “In a world of more, more, more, as well as corporate over-reach and rush, Kris will deliver hyper-focused, deep strategy for a select few.”
“A label like this can be all-in, let’s-make-stuff-happen – and I have always been about making things happen. Creating and exploring what’s possible inspires me, and this is a moment where we can realize ideas in a matter of hours.”
Kenny Chesney
“Whether a genre re-defining artist like Kenny or the superstars of tomorrow, this is about breaking the mold and chasing great songs and artists. Having Kris as our president means a competitive and cutting-edge approach that delivers.”
The label’s name comes from a boat Chesney kept in the Caribbean, which was also referenced in his song Happy On The Hey Now.
Higham is the longtime manager of Chesney. In January 2022, it was confirmed that Hipgnosis Song Management acquired 80% of Chesney’s recorded music royalties, covering his discography from his 1994 debut In My Wildest Dreams through 2017’s Live in No Shoes Nation.
As MBW reported, the acquisition also covers any future Greatest Hits, live and/or acoustic album releases Chesney may issue.
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