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Why Zach Bryan’s New Album Won’t be Released Until 2026
19
Jul
Jul
Zach Bryan has announced the release date for his upcoming album called With Heaven On Top, and some are wondering why they’re having to wait until 2026 to hear it. Originally teased as an EP all the way back in early February when Zach said it would be out “sooner than not,” Bryan has officially announced that the release date will be January 9th, 2026. He’s also released a new song called “Madeline” featuring Gabriella Rose to coincide with the announcement.
Zach Bryan also released three new songs as part of an “EP” on July 2nd that included “Streets of London,” “River Washed Hair,” and “A Song For You.” No indication yet if these three songs will be on With Heaven On Top, nor do we have a track list for the new album, or confirmed info if it will be EP or LP length. With such a long wait time though, it’s a good bet it will be an LP. Zach’s also teased the title track of the album with a snippet of audio.
Why Is It Taking So Long?
The big question many Zach Bryan fans are asking is, why is it taking so damn long to release the new album, especially after Zach teased it as far back as February? Though this isn’t confirmed, it likely has to do with the fact that Zach Bryan signed an eye-popping $350 million deal with Warner Records in May that involved him guaranteeing the label at least two more full-length records, as well as the sale of his publishing catalog.
Previous to announcing the deal, Zach Bryan had complained about wanting to get out from underneath Warner’s thumb, in part because of how hard it was to record and then release songs and albums almost instantaneously like Zach Bryan desires to do. Bryan has also showed interest in recording more cover songs and tribute records, including an album of Jason Isbell songs.
So how might all of this play into why it’s taking half a year for Zach Bryan’s new album With Heaven On Top to see the light of day?
It often takes major record labels about six months from the time they’re delivered a finished album before they’re officially ready to release it. A lot of this lead time is tied into vinyl manufacturing and distribution, but it also helps with marketing and planning for the label.
The Holiday Factor
In truth, Warner might be able to go through this process a little quicker—especially for an artist the size of Zach Bryan. After all, they’ve done these rush releases for Zach before, though I’m sure to the grumbles of Warner employees being push into overtime, and pushing aside other projects and priorities to get it done.
But no major label wants to release a big, blockbuster album during the holiday season, meaning late November through New Years. The entire music industry converts over to Christmas music during this time, and it’s also when much of the industry takes vacation. So even if they could get With Heaven On Top ready by late November or December, they’d rather wait until January when everyone’s back in the office.
Warner Records (and others) gave Zach Bryan $350 million. Though Zach very likely kept creative control over all of his music, the label also likely levied some concessions from Zach to agree to that sum. The largest was probably, “Dude, you’ve got to give us time once you turn in an album to actually market, package, and distribute it properly.”
Other Potential Reasons
Along with having enough time to get all the ducks in a row for a proper album release, having vinyl available on Day 1 of an album’s availability allows for a much bigger chart debut as opposed to digital only, or digital and CD.
There could be other reasons that Zach and Warner are waiting until early 2026 for the release. Perhaps they’re planning a big tour surrounding it. Perhaps there will be a documentary or film coinciding with the album release that will also take time to produced and finish—something Zach has teased as well.
Also, whenever Zach Bryan releases a song, EP, or album, people love to harp how he’s overshadowing other artists or his “friends” who happen to be releasing music the same week. Though this usually comes down to sheer coincidence, by announcing an album release so far in advance, this will create a deconfliction point with other performers. Also, the first week of January tends to be a dead time to release music.
Though all artists and their fans get excited about new music, the wheels of the music industry turn slow. It also is often prudent that however frustrating, to wait for those wheels to turn to get the optimum attention to the music the artist put their heart into creating. Warner also has reasons to make sure everything is aligned perfectly before a release. In Zach Bryan’s case, they have 350 million of them.
