Date Signed: July 2021 (UTA)
Type of Music: Country
Management: Andrew Cohen - Cohencidence Projects
Booking: United Talent Agency - Jeffrey Hasson, Alec Vidmar, Joe Wohlfeld, Riley Folsom and Emily Wright
Publicity: Jaclyn D. Carter - [email protected]
Web: brittneyspencer.com
To call Brittney Spencer’s ascendancy in country music a Cinderella story wouldn’t do justice to how quickly the singer-songwriter has rocketed into the stratosphere. Spencer’s only release thus far is an EP, Compassion, that dropped in July 2020. She doesn’t have a record label or Wikipedia page yet. She recently signed with UTA to book her performances.
Despite not being on a label, Spencer is already considered a leading Black female country artist. People Magazine, Spotify and Pandora all named her an “artist to watch.” She recently performed at two of the most treasured venues in the U.S.: the Ryman Auditorium and Grand Ole Opry House. And she even recently launched a headlining tour.
“My life has been one big-ass transition for the last year,” Spencer says. “it almost feels like this world isn’t happening.”
To reiterate, Spencer hasn’t even released a full-length album yet. So how the hell is she pulling this off?
For starters, Spencer paid her dues. A Baltimore native, Spencer relocated eight years ago to country music’s most cutthroat city, Nashville. She slept on air mattresses and busked on street corners. All the while, Spencer strengthened her songcraft, eschewing country music cliches in favor of heartfelt storytelling. The irrepressibly optimistic musician also started adding some impressive contacts to her cell phone—like friend Maren Morris, who name-dropped Spencer at the Country Music Awards.
Spencer pinpointed two specific events that turbo-boosted her career: the release of her first song, “Sorrys Don’t Work No More,” in October 2020 on YouTube; and her signing to UTA the following July, after her songs blew up on social media.
“I started getting phone calls and emails [from agencies and record labels],” Spencer says. “UTA was one of the ones I reached out to myself. Then they reached out to my manager, and we’ve been working together ever since. I want people who are really good at what they’re doing to be part of my team.”
Obviously, the agency is helping Spencer secure better bookings than she did on her own. But Spencer’s ineffable charm has helped land her on bills with Reba McEntire and Jason Isbell, and a seat on Melissa Etheridge’s recent music-festival/cruise.
And yet… that debut album still isn’t out.
“I’m taking my time,” she says. “I do have intentions of signing to a label. But right now, I’m having too much fun.”
