Nashville’s Cold River Records Is Closing Down

Nashville's Cold River Records is shutting down after nearly 15 years in business, the label's founder and president, Pete O'Heeron, announced on Tuesday (Sept. 17). O'Heeron has decided to leave music and pursue a career in the medical field.

“To the amazing employees who have called our label home, I thank you for being such dedicated champions for our artists and making personal sacrifices to support their careers. As some of my dearest friends, I will miss you the most and cherish all of our memories on the road and the phone calls with your travel stories," O'Heeron says in a statement, per Billboard. "To the programmers at radio, producers, songwriters and the music industry leaders who became our friends, I thank you for your counsel, guidance and friendship."

O'Heeron, Billboard reports, will be turning his focus to his biologics company, SpinalCyte. The organization is focused on finding cures for degenerative disc disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease and chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

Drew Baldridge is the lone artist currently signed to Cold River Records, though Interscope Records artist Dylan Schneider previously partnered with the label to promote his music to country radio. The record label is also the former home of Maggie Baugh and Katie Armiger.

"To our artists, who have performed on the Grand Ole Opry, opened for some of the biggest names in country music, toured the world and even recorded at famed Abbey Road studios in London, thank you for creating amazing music that I will never forget," O'Heeron adds in his statement.

Armiger and Cold River Records traded lawsuits in 2016 and 2017. After O'Heeron made a public statement that Armiger had decided to "take a breather" and step away from country music, and Armiger disputed that claim, Cold River sued Armiger for breach of contract. Armiger, then, counter-sued, alleging that the label's executives encouraged her to "sex it up" in order to get ahead in her career.

Armiger and Cold River Records' first round of lawsuits was settled, but Cold River sued her again in 2017, following an interview Armiger gave to Fox News near the start of the #MeToo movement, during which she discussed her experiences at her former record label. Armiger, again, counter-sued.

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