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Koch Nashville label shut down
Country and alt-country label Koch Nashville abruptly closed its doors Tuesday.
The move came just five months after the purchase of the label's parent, independent distribution and label group Koch Entertainment, by Canada's ROW Entertainment for $80 million.
Koch Nashville had a diverse roster that included Robert Earl Keen, Charlie Daniels, Cledus T. Judd, the Hacienda Brothers, Dale Watson, Dean Miller, Ronnie Bowman, Three Fox Drive and the Tractors.
"As Don Meredith used to say, turn out the lights, the party's over," said Koch Nashville president Nick Hunter.
Koch Nashville was founded as Audium Records in 1999 by Hunter and former partner Simon Renshaw, with Koch as a minority partner. Renshaw sold his interest to Hunter when he joined the Los Angeles management company the Firm; Koch acquired Hunter's holdings in 2001, and the label was renamed Koch Nashville in 2003.
Hunter said he was informed of the decision to close the label on Monday. "We didn't have a very good year last year," Hunter said. "I didn't have a lot to work with. ... (Koch Entertainment) didn't want to spend a lot of money acquiring records and working (promoting) records. They're not a bad distributor. They do a very good job on kids' records and rap records."
Koch Nashville once employed as many as 10 staffers. The closing of the office puts Hunter and four other employees out of work.
Koch Entertainment president Bob Frank could not be reached for comment.
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