Luke Combs Spent His Last $200 To Have “Hurricane” Mastered

Luke Combs took a gamble on himself, and it paid off.

In a recent interview with Today‘s Willie Geist, Combs looked back on when he first moved to Nashville in 2014 to pursue a career in country music.

He recounted the process of his early recordings, saying, “I get to Nashville, I record the songs, I sing the track and vocal, sing the vocal, mix it, and then I hit my buddy Scott up, who was producing my stuff at the time, and I’m like, ‘Hey, man, let’s release these songs.’”

Scott explained he needed to master the songs, which would cost money to produce.

“And he’s like, ‘Well, we’ve got to master all the songs.’ And I’m like, ‘One, what is that? Two, how much does it cost?’ He’s like, ‘$200 a song.’ ‘$200 a song? What does it… does it make it spit out a gold bar at the end? $200? I had $200 left, I’m like, ‘I can do one song.’”

Combs chose to spend that $200 to master “Hurricane.” And while the song did not literally “spit out a gold bar,” it was ultimately very lucrative for him. After its release, it quickly gained popularity through iTunes and sold 10,000 within the first week, without a record deal or manager.

Combs then used the money from its sales to master the rest of the album, which in turn helped him find a manager and land a record deal. His label re-released “Hurricane” in 2016, and in 2017, it hit the top of the Billboard Country Airplay chart, giving Combs a No. 1 hit, his first of many. He has since become one of the biggest stars of country music.

“It did spit out a gold bar at the end, actually,” Combs said. It really did.”

Combs considers his story and career trajectory to be “proof” of how believing in yourself, not giving up on your dreams, and being willing to take a risk can lead to major success.

“And it can happen, man, like, I’m proof positive that it can happen,” he said. “The goal is not the destination; it’s the journey. Getting there is the fun part, so just enjoy it.”

Combs’ new album, The Way I Am, is due out March 20. He’ll then hit the road for a summer tour.