Kirsty Lee Akers launches independent label Rider Records

Pictured: Kirsty Lee Akers (right) with husband Jesse Anderson on The Block

Golden Guitar winner Kirsty Lee Akers is forming her own record label, Rider Records.

The country star is currently starring on The Block on Channel 9 alongside husband Jesse Anderson, and has previously been signed to Compass Brothers, Maven/Sony and then Social Family Records.

Social Family Records will partner with Akers on the project, entering a distribution agreement, and her long-time manager Perrin Finlay-Brown and husband Anderson will come on board as directors.

Akers said she had a strong benchmark when it comes to artist satisfaction with labels, and will seek to carve out her own culture at Rider Records.

“Nearly every artist subconsciously measures care factor by what’s in their rider. It’s a lottery. Is it water in a plastic cup, or a bottle of champagne and a fruit platter? When I was thinking about a name, Rider just fit. We will always make sure the artist feels a 100% care factor and gets what they deserve on our projects,” she said.

Starting the label, she said, seemed like a logical extension of her commercial aspirations in music.

“I have always wanted total control of my destiny as an artist. I have had some great label support over my career, but it is never the same as when you can just call the shots yourself. The time is right to make the leap. Coming off the Golden Guitar win lat January, I feel like it was now or never,” she said.

Manager and now record label director, Finlay-Brown, said it’s rare to find someone with the drive and hunger for success that Akers has.

“She eats, sleeps and breathes music. Her commitment, her focus on putting the artist first, and the way she dreams big, made it a no-brainer when she approached me,” he said.

Social Family Records’ label manager, Nardia Drayton, threw her full support behind the initiative.

“Social Family Records loves to support artists who work hard and have that motivation to succeed, both creatively and from a career development perspective, whether it be through a licensing or a distribution deal. Kirsty’s momentum and ambition to take control of her own destiny and open her own label is courageous and I’m thrilled to be there to support her, both as a woman myself and as her distribution partner. 2021 has been such an exciting year for Kirsty, why wouldn’t she go for it?,” she said.