NRT Music is marking its second anniversary with more than 8 million lifetime streams, a roster of 35 artists and a catalog that has grown to more than 250 releases.
The independent label launched July 26, 2024, as an extension of NewReleaseToday’s long-running music discovery platform. During its second year, NRT Music generated more than 6 million streams across major digital services. That nearly tripled its first-year total.
The label also released more than 100 singles, EPs and albums during the past year while averaging more than 500,000 streams per month.
Those numbers are not enormous by major-label standards. Still, they represent meaningful growth for a company focused on developing independent artists rather than relying on a small number of established acts. NRT Music’s roster now spans worship, pop, rock, country, gospel, hip-hop and singer-songwriter releases.
“This past year has been incredibly encouraging because we’ve watched our artists take meaningful steps forward,” NRT Music founder Kevin McNeese said. “The numbers are exciting, but what matters most are the stories behind them: artists reaching new listeners, songs finding homes on radio and playlists, and ministries growing through music that points people to Jesus.”
Building Beyond the Stream Count
NRT Music works with Syntax Creative for distribution and marketing support. The partnership combines digital delivery with radio promotion, playlist pitching, editorial coverage and broader artist-development efforts.
Several releases from the label’s roster gained traction at Christian radio during the past year. Meanwhile, others found listeners through editorial playlists and social media campaigns. The company did not provide individual artist or song totals in its anniversary announcement.
At the same time, NRT Music’s second-year growth coincided with the launch of NRT 3.0, a redesign of the NewReleaseToday platform. The update introduced customizable content sections, expanded artist pages, playlist integration and additional discovery tools for promoting artists on the label.
Syntax Creative CEO Timothy Trudeau said the opportunity is not simply signing more independent musicians. Instead, he said the goal is identifying artists with strong music and a team prepared to build around it.
“There’s no shortage of independent artists,” Trudeau said. “The real opportunity is finding the ones with great music, a clear mission and a team willing to do the work. Over the past two years, we’ve watched NRT Music do exactly that. We’re thankful for Kevin and his team and excited to have a front-row seat.”
Looking ahead, NRT Music plans to continue expanding its roster, developing artists and increasing its presence across radio and streaming platforms.