The 10 Biggest Country Music Stories of 2025: Label Upheaval, Lainey Wilson, Morgan Wallen & More 

Country music continued to thrive in 2025 thanks in part to Morgan Wallen’s continued domination of not just the genre, but music in general.  

But Wallen wasn’t the only success in the genre — not by a long shot. This was a year that saw a number of newer artists — including Megan Moroney, Zach Top, Ella Langley, Bailey Zimmerman and Tucker Wetmore — reach new heights, while Riley Green, who had his first hit in 2018, became a bona fide star (and was named People’s Sexiest Country Star Alive) and Lainey Wilson headed toward superstar status. 

Country artists also continued to thrive in the streaming world, with Wallen coming in at No. 3, behind only Taylor Swift and Drake, on Spotify Wrapped’s year-end list of the most-streamed artists in the U.S. Zach Bryan also made the top 10, landing at No. 8.

The coastal labels’ move into country music that began a few years ago continued, with Columbia having great success with Langley and Moroney (who is signed to both Columbia and Sony Nashville) and Warner Records’ ongoing achievements with Bryan and Warren Zeiders. This year, Interscope revived Lost Highway and Atlantic Music Group debuted Atlantic Outpost.

After years of stability, the Nashville record label executive turntable spun at a high speed in 2025. Taylor Lindsey officially took over as chairman/CEO of Sony Music Nashville in January, following the announcement of her elevation in November 2024 (covered in 2024’s top stories), while the other majors also saw changes.   

The year ended with the death of Raul Malo, beloved lead singer of The Mavericks, as he joined other major losses in 2025, including Grand Ole Opry doyenne and trailblazer Jeannie Seely, Hispanic country star Johnny Rodriguez and noted songwriter Todd Snider.

These are the top 10 country stories of the year.