Florida Georgia Line Splits With Managers of Nine Years
By Chris Willman
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – The hit country duo Florida Georgia Line announced Friday that they’re amicably separating from Big Loud Management after a nine-year relationship that dates back before they first struck it big with “Cruise” in 2012.
No new management has been announced.
“It has been an incredible journey with our Big Loud family and we are so thankful for the last nine years,” Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley said in a joint statement. “Together we’ve grown more than we could have ever imagined due to what we all bring to the table. As we continue to evolve, so do our needs and our team. Although bittersweet, we and Big Loud are excited to support and encourage each other as we enter the next chapter of our careers, and welcome a new family into our world with open arms. We will continue to dream big and push ourselves to be the best we can be in all facets of life. We are just getting started.”
FGL, as the duo is commonly known in abbreviation, signed with Big Loud for publishing in 2011 and released a digital EP through the company’s label arm before quickly signing with the unaffiliated Big Machine Records for a recording deal. Their first single for the Scott Borchetta-led label, “Cruise” shot to No. 1 on the country charts and No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was certified 11-times platinum by the RIAA.
FGL has continued to top the charts, with a total of 13 singles reaching No. 1 in country airplay — counting two collaborations, “Meant to Be” with Bebe Rexha, and “Up Down” with Morgan Wallen. The 2017 single “Meant to Be” broke the record for the most time spent atop Billboard’s hot country songs chart, at 50 straight weeks. Their latest airplay No. 1, “Simple,” off their fourth album, “Cant Say I AIn’t Country,” reached the top in 2018, with a follow-up from the album falling just shy of the top 10.
The duo’s 2019 tour earned $53 million in ticket sales, making it the second biggest grossing country tour of the year. They’re set to open for Kenny Chesney in stadiums this summer.
Big Loud partners Seth England, Craig Wiseman, Joey Moi and Kevin “Chief” Zaruk issued their own joint statement. “We can’t say enough how much love we have for both BK and T-Hubb,” they wrote. “We have achieved more in nine years than any of us could have ever dreamed. We’re really proud of almost a decade full of record-breaking success with the two young kids we met in 2011. Today we find a safe place to unwind our business relationship in order to preserve the lifelong friendships and memories we have made together. Good luck to BK and T-Hubb in their future endeavors. Big Loud Proud.”
Variety was not able to immediately reach reps of the duo or management for further comment.
