Thomas Rhett Partners with HYBE America’s Blue Highway for New Label, Fifty-One/Forty-Nine Records

Thomas Rhett launches Fifty-One/Forty-Nine Records with HYBE America’s Blue Highway, in deal he says gives him ‘the opportunity to own’ his body of work

October 6, 2026 By Mandy Dalugdug

Thomas Rhett has launched a record label in partnership with Blue Highway Records , the Nashville-based company owned by HYBE America .

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The label, Fifty-One/Forty-Nine Records , will serve as the home for Rhett’s recorded music, according to an announcement on Tuesday (October 6).

Rhett says the partnership gives him “the opportunity to own the body of work I’ve spent my entire career creating.”

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.”

The announcement did not disclose financial terms or the ownership structure of Fifty-One/Forty-Nine Records .

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. Fifty-One/Forty-Nine 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 , by contrast, carries a Big Machine Label Group (BMLG) copyright line. The announcement did not specify whether the arrangement covers the recordings Rhett released before About a Woman .

“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,” said Rhett .

> “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.” Thomas Rhett , Fifty-One/Forty-Nine Records

“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.”

“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,” said Jake Basden , CEO of Blue Highway Records.

“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.

> “[Thomas Rhett’s] 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.” Jake Basden , Blue Highway Records

“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.

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 SVP of Communications at BMLG and, most recently, as President of Sandbox Management .

He told MBW 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,” Basden said at the time. “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.”

According to Blue Highway, Rhett has 25 No. 1 singles and more than 16 billion streams to his name.

Blue Highway also credits him with eight ACM Awards (including Entertainer of the Year), two CMA 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 , and The Cadillac Three , according to the company.

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. Music Business Worldwide

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