Twenty years ago you couldn’t turn on country radio without hearing the strong voice of Michael Peterson. Like many of his peers, he was a victim of the major labels’ quest for more profits. Fortunately for music lovers, he has just released his first indie album, and is giving this new music generation a taste of his greatness. Before we review his album tomorrow, we wanted to spend some time and catch up with him. Here’s our interview.
IVB: What is your background?
MP: I was born in Tucson, Arizona and raised in Richland, Washington, where I was an athlete and a singer in high school. I was offered scholarships for both music and football at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington, and I chose football. Our team became the 1980 NAIA Division II National Champions. Ironically, that decision opened the door to my career in the music business when a team mate married pop star Deniece Williams (“Let’s Hear It For The Boy”), who signed me to my first publishing/management and record deal.
I started going to Nashville in 1988, and moved there in 1996. I got a publishing deal with Warner/Chappell Music in late 1996 and my record deal with Warner/Reprise in 1997. The first three singles off that album went #1 on CMT, as well as made it to the Tot Ten on Billboard. I was the top new airplay artist of 1997 and the top selling new male artist of 1997-1998.
I was a finalist for both the 1998 CMA “Horizon Award” and the ACM top new male artist of 1998. I was the recipient of the TNN/Music City News (now the CMT Awards) “Star Of Tomorrow” award and Country Weekly Magazine’s “Golden Pick” award for the best new male artist of 1998.
Currently, that first album I released on Reprise is only 18,000 units or so away from 1 million in sales. The 18 albums I have released so far in my career have sold about 1.3 million copies.
IVB: What was the music scene like back in the early 2000’s as opposed to today?
MP: When I started in the music business in 1985, cassettes were the new technology. Hahaha.
Back then, the dream was to get signed by a major label and build a career with their help. Nowadays, the dream and effort of young artists is to get 5 million streams on YouTube for a video you shot on your iPhone. Major labels are still important to artists’ careers, but Indie artists have so many more opportunities to find an audience than ever before. It is exciting!
IVB: Remembering when we first met back at Fan Fair, how has that event changed?
MP: FAN FAIR – What a fun time. So glad I got to experience that. It was at the Fair Grounds (in Nashville) and it felt like a fair. It was all in one place and that made the event feel more like a reunion of sorts. I loved it. Nowadays, the CMA Music Fest feels like a “BIG TIME” event. So fun to see country music become so popular that it grew to such an enormous platform. I have loved experiencing both.
IVB: Why did you decide to make your comeback as an indie artist instead of going back to a major label?
MP: It is a great time to be an “Indie Artist.” The previous stigma many indie artists felt is eroding because they are succeeding in greater numbers than ever before.
IVB: How did you connect with Steven McClintock? Was his pop music background a challenge or a help?
MP: Steven McClintock and I have known each other for nearly 20 years. When it came time to make this new record, he and I had already been speaking about working together. I’m so blessed to be working with him. His depth and breadth in many genres of music gives him a real advantage when it comes to marketing the album, which we produced together with Billy Yates. Steve is an amazing guy with a great track record of success as both a writer and publisher, and I see us doing a lot together in the years to come.
IVB: What are your current plans to promote your new album?
MP: Our first single on the HOT DISC Chart in Europe was my remake of the classic Johnny Lee hit, “Lookin For Love,” which spent 10 weeks in the Top Ten before peaking at #2, where it stayed for two weeks. My second single is my former #1 hit, “Drink Swear Steal & Lie,” which debuted at #24 before jumping to #4 the second week. We just found out that it went to #1 today (April 24)!
We are planning to release several more singles off the album for the European market as we head towards a month long tour of Europe in August. We are currently scheduled to perform in Poland, France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland and Germany.
Here in the States, we just shipped “Lookin For Love” on CDX, and already have 36 stations playing it after just two weeks, a great start. We have a lot of great songs on this album and we look forward to playing a LOT of shows in the next two years to share this music with the fans of classic country music.
The album is now available on nearly every major platform. You can purchase physical copies, download it or stream it on Apple Music, Amazon, CD Baby, iTunes, Spotify, and my label’s website. It’s pretty exciting!
IVB: What are the best ways for your fans to connect with you?
MP; I LOVE connecting with the people who are enjoying the music. These days the best ways to connect with me are through my Facebook page, as well as on Instagram.