Morgan Wallen slams “greedy” industry as ex-management drop unreleased tracks

Morgan Wallen has revealed his ex-management have dropped a number of his old, unreleased tracks, despite his best efforts to stop them from ever coming out as most of them “were terrible” and not in line with his standards

Morgan Wallen has become one of country music’s biggest success stories in recent years, and that came to a head with his 2023 single Last Night, which stormed the charts globally.

Despite this, Wallen revealed late on January 25 that his ex-management, from a deal he signed in 2014 “without any legal representation,” were releasing a 10th-anniversary edition of Stand Alone, his 2015 EP.

He claimed that he made 13 songs, admitting that “some were ok, most were terrible,” and for that reason, he’s spent months trying to buy the rights to his old work so that he can “keep the quality of my catalog consistent with songs I choose to release & believe in.”

Morgan Wallen calls out “dark, greedy” music industry

Explaining the whole ordeal in a lengthy post on social media, Wallen said: “Back in 2014, I went to Florida to try my hand at making original music & songwriting for the first time. This led to a recording deal with a local investor & an artist management deal that I deeply regret. Unfortunately, I signed both deals without any legal representation.”

He continued: “I was not the only collaborator, so many of these songs were not my idea nor to my standards. We deemed 5 worthy-enough to make the Stand Alone EP which includes a fan-favorite, ‘Spin You Around.’

“Tonight, those colleagues I parted ways with almost 10 years ago plan to release a ‘10th Anniversary’ edition of Stand Alone against my wishes & include 8 unreleased songs, distributing it with the assistance of my former managers. For months I’ve been exploring every avenue possible to acquire the rights to this old music & keep the quality of my catalog consistent with songs I choose to release & believe in.”

Wallen concluded: “It’s gross, greedy & an example of how the dark side of the music business can suck the soul out of artists.

“I want you to know this is NOT my new music & I don’t want to see this happen to anyone else. I cringe when I listen to these songs & I’m concerned my fans may mistakenly believe this is a new release by me.”

He then revealed that he will be back in the studio in February to start work on new music, while also re-releasing a new edition of his popular hit Spin You Around and donating $100k to the Volunteer Lawyers & Professionals For The Arts (VLPA) program.

Morgan Wallen’s Spin You Around (1/24) is now available on all streaming platforms.