After nearly two decades of calling the label home, Godsmack and Republic/Universal have parted ways, with the band having fulfiled their contract. The group have since signed with BMG as frontman Sully Erna explains in the below video:
“It’s been a really interesting year so far, too, for me this year. Besides coming out with this new album, there’s been a lot of changes I’ve been making in my life in general, and one of them was departing… After a sixteen-, seventeen-year relationship with Republic/Universal, our contractual obligations were up and we decided to move on and sign with BMG, which has been a real pleasure so far. Because you know it’s coming back to having control as the artist and not being controlled by the record label.
Not that we had a bad experience with Republic or Universal—they were great to us; we’re still like family, and we really admire and respect those guys for everything they did for us—but, you know, years move on and things change, and so the industry changes, and so our relationship, as artists, to the industry has to change as well.
And so it was just time. It was a good opportunity to try something new, and also be in a position of control again of our own music and of our own career.”
Erna will release a new solo album titled “Hometown Life” on September 30th through BMG.
