Carpener goes to Rounder and Vega to Blue Note

In the revolving door of record labels, Mary Chapin Carpenter has left Sony Nashville, where she has spent her entire musical career, and moved to Rounder Records. Carpenter was seemingly lost at Sony Nashville, more a pop singer than a country singer, they just did not know what to do with her. Clearly, Rounder's work with Alison Krause, who crossed over from bluegrass to an amazingly wide audience must have played into this decision. Carpenter has quietly amassed an amazing body of work, a new start will be a good thing. The new album is slated for a March release.

And Suzanne Vega is moving from A&M to, of all places, Blue Note. One wants to point to the sucess of Norah Jones here, but Jones musical style would seem to have nothing at all to do with that of Vega. In the end, A&M just did not seem to know how to promote or position Vega's quircky work. The Blue Note gig may not be as far out as it seems, given that they have taken a chance on much less commercial franchises than this.

Best of luck to both artists on a new beginning.