John Mayer has signed with Mercury Records and launched Sob Rock Records, a new imprint partnership with the label. The move was announced Oct. 22, one day before Mayer’s single “Tom and Jerry” was scheduled to be released.
The agreement gives Mayer a new major-label home after his departure from Columbia Records, which released his 2021 album Sob Rock. It also places the name of that album at the center of his next phase as a recording artist, though the available announcements leave key details of the Sob Rock Records business arrangement undisclosed.
A new label partnership after Columbia
Billboard reported that Mercury chairman and CEO Tyler Arnold signed Mayer. The publication described Sob Rock Records as Mayer’s own label in partnership with Mercury, while The Hollywood Reporter similarly identified the venture as a partnership with Universal Music Group’s Mercury Records.
Mayer and Arnold each framed the deal as a creative partnership in statements carried by the two trade publications. But neither report identifies a Sob Rock Records roster beyond Mayer, or says whether the imprint will sign other artists. The reporting also does not disclose ownership, contract length, financial terms, distribution mechanics or which future releases will carry the Sob Rock Records name.
The imprint’s title reaches back to Sob Rock, Mayer’s final Columbia album. The album peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, according to Billboard. In a 2022 Instagram post cited by the publication, Mayer said he had decided not to renew his Columbia recording agreement. The Mercury announcement therefore marks his first publicly reported label deal since that decision.
The distinction between the deal and the single is worth keeping clear. The trade reports establish that Mayer has joined Mercury and that Sob Rock Records has launched in partnership with the company; they do not specify the release-label designation for “Tom and Jerry.” What is confirmed is its scheduled Oct. 23 arrival, described by Billboard as Mayer’s first solo release since Sob Rock.
“Tom and Jerry” starts the next release window
Additional credits reported in a Rolling Stone report carried by Yahoo were attributed to Mayer’s Instagram posts. Mayer produced “Tom and Jerry” with Blake Slatkin; the recording also features bassist Pino Palladino, drummer Aaron Sterling, percussionist Lenny Castro and keyboardist Larry Goldings.
Those names offer a more concrete picture of the immediate music than the label announcement does. Palladino, Sterling, Castro and Goldings are credited as players, while Slatkin shares production credit with Mayer. The reports do not provide an album title, track list, release schedule beyond the single or a broader description of an upcoming project.
The timing also puts Mayer’s recorded-music return ahead of a separate live commitment. Billboard reported that he is scheduled to play a 21-show residency at Sphere in Las Vegas from April through June 2027. The publication did not present the residency as part of the Mercury deal, but the dates establish the next major onstage engagement on Mayer’s calendar.
- 2021: Sob Rock is released through Columbia Records and reaches No. 2 on the Billboard 200.
- 2022: Mayer says he will not renew his Columbia recording agreement, according to Billboard’s account of his Instagram post.
- Oct. 22, 2026: Mayer’s Mercury Records signing and Sob Rock Records partnership are announced.
- Oct. 23, 2026: “Tom and Jerry” is scheduled for release.
- April–June 2027: Mayer is scheduled for 21 Sphere performances in Las Vegas.
For now, Mercury and Sob Rock Records have announced the partnership without defining its full operating scope. Mayer’s next public marker is more immediate: a single arriving the day after the deal announcement, followed by a Sphere run already set for 2027.
