DELUGE MUSIC ANNOUNCES TWO NEW SUBSIDIARIES: EAST MUSIC ROW RECORDS AND DELUGE RECORDS NASHVILLE
Deluge founder David Robkin joins forces with in-the-trenches artists, songwriters, and producers to create viable business homes in an often-exploitative world
January 17, 2024 - Nashville, TN - Under the umbrella of his “by artists, for artists” collective, Deluge Music, David Robkin’s work for Nashville and its songwriters has grown from the ground up since the company’s inception in 2015. From its early days as a publishing company to today’s Deluge, a team built of artists, producers, and business minds involved with every facet of the music industry, one thing has stayed constant: seeking creative ways to fill a void in a line of work that is far too often exploitative of artists chasing a dream. Today, Deluge Music announced a new chapter in its mission to build creative, long-lasting homes for artists, songwriters, and producers in Nashville with the addition of two brand new record labels: East Music Row Records and Deluge Records Nashville.
East Music Row Records emerged from the minds of Robkin, Johnny Gates, and Austin Luther, the latter two of whom cut their teeth as Nashville songwriters, artists, and producers, with a goal of blending the hip, innovative sides of Nashville’s new indie rock and alt-country music with the musicianship, professionalism, and ingenuity of Music Row classists. East Music Row has already signed its first artist, Nashville-based Australian alt-pop artist, Felicity.
The idea for East Music Row was nothing more than a coincidence, with Gates being in the right place at the right time. Shortly after he returned to Nashville in 2019 after a stint in L.A. on The Voice, he ran into an old friend at a restaurant, who happened to be having lunch with an A&R rep from Deluge Music. “She remembered my old band, Runaway Saints,” Gates explains. “She brought me in for a meeting with David, Mark Friedman (with Deluge Music’s LA office), and the company, and they set me up on a few sessions. Then I played my own stuff for David, and we started working together.” Both were looking for a home where they could honor Nashville’s tradition while relentlessly pushing it forward, in new and exciting places.
On the other side of things, Deluge Records Nashville is modeled in the tradition of a classic collaborative music incubator. Similar to the legendary FAME Studio in Muscle Shoals or the spirit of places like Sun Records in Memphis and Motown in Detroit, the team at Deluge Records Nashville views its business as a place where budding artists can grow. DRN wasn’t created to extract all the worth possible out of its artists, instead, the team chose to foster relationships between artist and label, creating a home in which equitable recording deals aren’t rarities. DRN launched with the release of a single from the Country-pop artist Alexandria Corn, to be followed in early February with the release of a song by the Country artist Blake Wood. Both artists have been produced by Sam Grow.
DRN was born through a relationship between Robkin, songwriter Sam Grow, and Grow’s manager, radio veteran Brad Austin. Grow first decided to work with Deluge when he saw something from its founder he had never seen before. During a Johnny Gates show to celebrate his newly inked deal with Deluge, Grow noticed David Robkin in attendance. “A bunch of industry people,” he recalls. “These suits were all over at the bar, and they were all trying to talk to David. Johnny started playing and David walked away from all these suits and sat at one of the tables. He pulled his cell phone out and filmed Johnny’s set. Man, that is so different from what I see in town.” It was this passion for the music—for the art—that convinced Grow and Austin that Deluge would be the perfect home for their future.
For more information on Deluge Music, East Music Row Records, and Deluge Records Nashville, please head over to delugemusic.com, eastmusicrowrecords.com & delugerecordsnashville.com.
More About Deluge Music: David Robkin identifies as a business guy, an entrepreneur, and a fan of music, and it’s all three of these aspects of his personality that led him to found Deluge Music, the Nashville-based label and publishing house, helmed by Stephanie Greene, committed to doing things a little bit differently both in the city and across the globe. The multi-dimensional project finds Robkin and his team of Nashville vets and newcomers alike wearing a number of hats, all of which aim to promote the maxim of “By Artists, For Artists.” Robkin’s team—which includes artists/writers/producers like Sam Grow, Johnny Gates, Austin Luther, and business folks like Brad Austin—encompass every aspect of the music industry, and have helped Robkin identify opportunities they can fill in the Nashville ecosystem.
More About David Robkin: Robkin got his start in the music industry as a business manager in Philadelphia, most notably working with Cinderella, Breaking Benjamin, and The Roots. In 2011, a friend brought him out to help him work on the indie Country music label, Bigger Picture. That experience evolved into Deluge Music, a multi-tiered music enterprise built around an artist-first approach.
More About Sam Grow: Grow first went to Nashville to perform a random gig in front of a producer in town in 2014. The producer loved his sound and introduced him to two publishing companies that both offered him a deal on the spot. After only two weeks in the city, he found himself in the middle of a bidding war. With no label, manager, or lawyer by his side to offer him advice, he aims to be that guiding light for aspiring musicians under the Deluge umbrella.
More About Johnny Gates: The Rhode Island native has been on the country scene, released indie rock records, and even performed on The Voice. He’s acquiesced to the demands of the major label system, but since signing with Deluge, has found the beauty in chasing his own voice—no matter how strange the idea. He’s shaped East Music Row in this image, to allow creatives the opportunities he’s worked so hard to earn himself.
More About Austin Luther: The multi-instrumentalist musician studied briefly at Berklee before moving to LA, where he made a name for himself there as a session bassist, playing for artists like Sabrina Carpenter and Rachel Platten. Now residing in Nashville, Luther records and produces his wife’s band Winona Fighter, whose music has ended up on New Music Friday and many other editorial playlists.
More About Brad Austin: As a veteran of country and pop radio with over 30 years experience, Austin has discovered tons of rising stars and helped shape and launch the careers of multiple platinum selling country artists. After playing one of Grow’s songs on the air, it charted on Billboard, at which point the duo began a relationship that would eventually lead to Austin leaving radio and managing the talented country songwriter.
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Media Contact: IVPR/Maria Ivey, maria@ivpr.com, and Allison Mahal, allison@ivpr.com
