Eric Church and Morgan Wallen acquire outdoor brand Field & Stream, relaunch magazine
Eric Church and Morgan Wallen are working on a collab, but not the kind you might expect.
The country music superstars announced their acquisition of Field & Stream magazine on Thursday, sharing plans to relaunch the outdoor brand as a biannual print magazine, refreshed digital platform, clothing company and — fitting for the artist duo — a music festival.
Wallen’s new opus is destined to be one of the year’s best sellers, despite (or because of) its unwillingness to address the singer’s scandal from 2021.
“Field & Stream magazine is back—the way you remember it. Only bigger. And better,” the brand’s website said. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
According to a press statement, Church and Wallen joined a team of investors to purchase the Field & Stream brand from Dick’s Sporting Goods and its media component from Recurrent, a digital media company. The move unites the legacy brands under the same ownership for the first time in its 150-year history.
The team also teased “soon-to-be announced experiential brand extensions in the outdoor space.”
The Field & Stream brand will be overseen by Doug McNamee, former president of Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia brand. Colin Kearns will remain editor-in-chief of the magazine, which ceased publishing its print product in 2015.
Church expressed particular excitement about bringing the magazine back to print.
“I can remember my grandfather kept a few of his favorite Field & Stream magazines on the dash of his truck,” the “Springsteen” and “Drink in My Hand” singer said in a statement. “They were my Bible. It is the honor of my life to make sure that legacy carries on. It is both this responsibility to an American Icon and also to a young boy in his papaw’s truck that will be the compass that guides our steps.”
On Sunday, Eric Church will perform the anthem with R&B singer Jazmine Sullivan. “We’re unifying. And it’s a time in our country when we have to do that.”
“There’s nothin’ I love more than being with friends around a campfire, on a boat or in a deer stand — and Field & Stream represents all of those to me,” Wallen added, echoing Church’s nostalgia. “Being part of its future is incredible and we want to keep bringing people together outdoors, makin’ memories, for generations to come.”
As part of the relaunch, Church and Wallen debuted the Field & Stream 1871 Club, a membership community offering three subscription tiers ranging from $15 to $95 annually, which provide access to the online publication and its archives.
Ten percent of net profits from the 1871 Club will go to nonprofit organizations supporting outdoor conservation, such as Ducks Unlimited, a Field & Stream partner that supports wetland and waterfowl conservation.
For Wallen, the brand acquisition is part of a larger effort to expand into businesses outside of music — such as through his affiliation as an investor and brand ambassador with startup Ryl Tea.
“I like having a bunch of different things for me to focus on. [Otherwise], I’ll get bored,” the “Whiskey Glasses” singer told Billboard in December.
For the record:
1:17 p.m. Jan. 30, 2024A previous version of this article said that Wallen announced a 10th-anniversary edition of his 2015 EP “Stand Alone.” In fact, he voiced his opposition to the Jan. 26 release.
Hours after the Field & Stream news dropped, Wallen took to Instagram to voice his opposition to a 10th-anniversary edition of his 2015 EP, “Stand Alone,” being released by his former management against his wishes.
“For months I’ve been exploring every avenue possible to acquire the rights to this old music & keep the quality of my catalog consistent with songs I choose to release & believe in,” he wrote in an Instagram post.
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