Tim McGraw Hopes to Release a New Album By the End of 2015

Tim McGraw's No. 1 Sundown Heaven Town album isn't even a year old yet, but his mind is already on his next project. The singer says that he is hard at work on a new set of tunes, which he hopes will be released by the end of the year.

"We started working on [a new album] a couple of weeks ago, so we're right in the thick of it now," McGraw tells CBS News. "Over the next couple of weeks, I will be working in the studio a lot, putting a lot of touches on the record."

The 48-year-old has released 13 studio albums so far, but he tries to never make the same record twice.

"I think music is always a progression -- it kind of shows where you've gone, where you're at and where you're going," he explains. "And that's what I try to do with my music. Art reflects life, life reflects art -- you know the old saying. And that's certainly true when you're making music, just about as much as anything.

"Music sort of puts you in a place in time," McGraw adds. "All I try to do is get better in the studio and get better as an artist, get better as a communicator and try to please myself as much as anything."

Although McGraw earned two No. 1 hits -- "Meanwhile, Back at Mama's" and "Shotgun Rider" -- from Sundown Heaven Town, he says that success at radio is not something he thinks about when making a record.

"I think, as an artist, you have to go into the studio and try to reach the goals," he explains. "I think if you start chasing radio, if you start chasing what your fans want to hear -- I think if you start chasing what you think is the end thing -- it's okay to include some of that stuff, but if you start chasing that as a home-base, I think you're in trouble as an artist."

McGraw will kick off his 2015 Shotgun Rider Tour on June 5 in Little Rock, Ark., with Billy Currington and Chase Bryant serving as his opening acts. A list of all of his upcoming shows is available on his website.

Learn Tim McGraw + Other Country Stars' Real Names

Test Your Tim McGraw Knowledge!