Steven Tyler Confirms Deal With Big Machine Label Group

Big Machine Label Group, the home of Taylor Swift, Florida Georgia Line, Reba McEntire, Tim McGraw and more, has officially signed another artist: the one and only Steven Tyler of Aerosmith.

Tyler is signed to Dot Records, a division of BMLG that Scott Borchetta resurrected last year. (Dot was originally an independent label, founded in 1950, then owned by various parent companies through the late '70s, when it closed, save for one year in the mid-'80s, until BMLG brought it back in 2014.)

The rocker will release his debut country record with the label. Rumors about the project began circulating in mid-March, and Tyler confirmed the upcoming album at a surprise appearance at the Grand Ole Opry on March 31. To say he's excited about the partnership is an understatement.

"There was an immediate connection with Scott and Big Machine, and Nashville seems like the perfect segue for a solo project ... and Dot Records is the right fit," Tyler says in a statement. "My earliest influences put me somewhere between the Everly Brothers and the Carter Family, and this project is all about me paying homage to my country roots."

Borchetta also felt the spark, adding, “I have never met a more passionate human being than Steven. When he goes in, he goes all in, which is the culture of Dot Records and the Big Machine Label Group. I truly cannot wait for the world to hear the phenomenal music that he is creating, and I really feel that this chapter of his career will be among his best. He bleeds love, and he bleeds music.”

Tyler, who relocated to Nashville early this year and has been co-writing with, among others, Jaren Johnston of the Cadillac Three and Brett James, speaks highly of the process so far.

"I've been working with some f--king epic Nashville songwriters," he says, "getting my feet wet with the style and groove."

And Johnston's insights into Tyler's record make it sound exciting and innovative.

"It's going to be in the middle of what Robert Plant has done with T Bone [Burnett] and Buddy Miller — that kind of scene," he tells Rolling Stone Country. "But I think with Dot being involved, and Scott, who has that ear for radio, it can be really big, but still be really cool."

During his Nashville time, Tyler has also collaborated with writers like Eric Paslay, Hillary Lindsey and Cary and Nathan Barlowe.

"Everything he sings is going to sound a little like Aerosmith, because he's the voice. But he's been talking about how he wants some of it to be organic," Cary Barlowe explains. "It's obviously not going to be traditional country- or old-school country-sounding, but he does want mandolin and a banjo in there, to change it up."

Tyler's album is set for release later this year, but no specific date, title or other information has been announced.

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