Jerry Salley Tapped To Lead Two New Bluegrass And Americana Labels

Pictured (L-R): Jerry Salley, Ed Leonard

Ed Leonard, President of Nashville-based Daywind Music Group, and Jerry Salley, award-winning songwriter, artist and producer, have launched Billy Blue Records and Billy Jam Records, Nashville’s newest bluegrass and Americana/Roots labels. Leonard has tapped Salley as A&R and Creative Director for both labels.

“With the recent increase in popularity of roots music, we feel it’s time to launch a new division providing opportunities and guidance for the talented artists and songwriters in these genres. Jerry Salley’s considerable success and sterling reputation in the Bluegrass and acoustic music worlds make him the perfect fit to lead our newest venture,” says Leonard. “His experience and creative abilities combined with Daywind’s talented staff and distribution reach allow artists at the new labels to compete from record one.”

Salley is the 2003 SESAC Country Music Songwriter of the Year and a two-time nominee for IBMA’s Songwriter of the Year. He has had over 500 songs recorded, with sales in excess of 17 million records, and has written multiple chart-topping hits in country, bluegrass and gospel.

“I am very grateful to Ed Leonard for this opportunity,” Salley says. “Daywind’s history as a leading independent label in Nashville with an intense artist and song focus is second to none.  I am honored and eager to build these new labels with them.”

The new labels will announce the first signings shortly and plan to have a presence at IBMA and Americana gatherings this fall. The labels will be distributed through the Orchard, Sony’s independent music distributor.

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Lorie Hollabaugh

Hollabaugh, a staff writer at MusicRow magazine, has over 20 years of music business experience and has written for publications including American Profile, CMA Close Up, Nashville Arts And Entertainment, The Boot and Country Weekly. She has a Broadcast Journalism and Speech Communication degree from Texas Christian University, (go Horned Frogs), and welcomes your feedback or story ideas at lhollabaugh@musicrow.com.

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