Jamey Johnson has had a busy and productive last decade, but fans are probably wondering why the artist went so long between releasing new music. Johnson released "21 Guns" earlier this year, his first single in nearly 10 years. It's been nearly 15 years since his last original album (2010's The Guitar Song).
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So what gives? Well, a couple of things played a factor in Johnson's delayed musical output! For one, Johnson and his publisher got in a spat in 2013.
In a Rolling Stone interview, he said, "Financially speaking, they treat me worse than they ever did the Dixie Chicks. I feel pretty used by the music industry, in that my contracts are written in such a way that I don't get paid..."
He continued, "It's time for us to regroup and it's time for us to look at these contracts. The problem is, I don't trust any of the people that I've worked with so far. I believe they've all hidden the truth from me or lied to me or deceived me in one way or another. Because the end result is that no matter what they said or did or what they said they did, I didn't get paid... As a musician I never studied music law. I can't even read the contracts I've signed. But I'm fairly sure they don't say what I thought they said."
Jamey Johnson Took A Tumble
Johnson also said via Saving Country Music that he put most of his energy into performing and touring over the past decade.
He explained, "We have been touring so aggressively for the past ten or twelve years that it's just not in harmony with what is required for me to be successful in the writing room. It's hard to come off of the road where you got two or three days in between runs. It's hard to come home and drop your luggage and head right into the writing room. I live alone. I don't have a housekeeper ... so when I get home, I got a lot of work to do just to pick the house up ..."
He continued, "The only way I'll be able to completely write out of sheer inspiration. I'd have to come off the road for a period of time for a good while. I'm not ready to do that yet. The truth is, I really love it. I love traveling — I love playing all of these shows for all of these folks — I love that they love it and I could do that for a long time. I don't see me ever quitting it."
Finally, the singer also had some health issues. Johnson ended up falling in 2010 and developing a concussion. He said that he's struggled to write songs ever since. Johnson just can't focus the same.
He said, "So out went the songwriting, or the focus on songwriting, or even the openness to it even. I can still write. The craft is still there. The inspiration isn't always there. And even when it is, it isn't very easy for me to focus on it the way that I once did. But it's coming back little by little. So that's one of the reasons for going so long."
