David Nail Has Parted Ways with MCA Nashville / Universal

david-nail

Country artist David Nail has parted ways from MCA Nashville / Universal after a tumultuous period where his music was stuck in seemingly endless delays, and his last few singles stalled in the charts. Though neither Universal, nor David Nail have publicly acknowledged the parting of ways, the Missouri native is no longer listed on any of Universal’s web properties, his last single “Good At Tonight” with Brothers Osborne is no longer receiving promotion from the company, and the split has been confirmed by officials inside Universal. Nail had been with MCA Nashville for nearly 10 years, and the split appears to have happened at some time in mid February.

David Nail signed to his first major label, Mercury Records Nashville, in 2002. He moved over to MCA Nashville in April 2007 where he would earn two #1 hits—2011’s “Let It Rain” and 2013’s “Whatever She’s Got,” along with a Top 10 hit in 2009’s “Red Light.” Often writing many of his own songs, David Nail earned critical acclaim while still finding strong commercial performance, and was seen by some as a way forward for mainstream country music in the post Bro-Country era.

In late 2015 / early 2016, Nail became one of many MCA Nashville-signed artists mired in endless delays for new music by the company, while the lead single “Night’s On Fire” from his latest album Fighter stalled just outside the Top 10 on the Country Airplay charts. Eventually Fighter was released on July 15th, 2016, but the second single from the album, “Good At Tonight,” didn’t even crack the Top 50 before MCA Nashville pulled its promotion.

No word on what David Nail’s plans are for the future at the moment. On Dec 12, 2015, his wife gave birth to twin boys—something Nail sang about specifically in his song “Babies” on Fighter. It was songs like “Babies,” and his solo-written “I Won’t Let You Go” featuring Vince Gill that gave many David Nail fans chills, and gave mainstream country fans hope for the future of the format.

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