Oliver Anthony Stepping Away From Music Industry To Focus On Ministry

Just over a year removed from breaking into the music scene with his viral song “Rich Men North of Richmond,” Oliver Anthony announced he’s distancing himself from the industry and focusing on a traveling ministry business.

The 32-year-old country singer from Virginia plans posted a nearly 26-minute video on his YouTube page reflecting on the state of the country and his rise to fame in the past 14 months. Though he still plans to release music, he is following in his great-grandfather’s footsteps by “looking at switching my whole business to a traveling ministry.”

“So, I’ve decided that moving forward, I don’t need a Nashville management company,” Anthony said in the video, which has garnered more than 82,000 views. “I don’t even need to exist within the space of music. … I just want to keep things in the family business moving forward.”

He goes on to say that he has a vision for his Rural Revival Project, which he plans to “set up legally as a ministry.” He envisions the project starting as a grassroots music festival that “grows into something that can literally change our landscape and culture and the way we live.” He ultimately wants to empower rural communities and network local forms with consumers.

“I wanna create a routing schedule that exists parallel to Nashville that circumvents the monopolies of Live Nation and Ticketmaster, and it goes into towns that haven’t had music in a long time,” Anthony said. “And it stimulates their economies, it showcases their culture, it uses local vendors, local musicians. We’re not having to drive to Pittsburgh to some concrete amphitheater to see a show. It’s done out of a farm or on a main street somewhere in a town that desperately needs the economic impact.”

Anthony also expressed concern about how much data the music industry has.

“Having spent a year in this music industry has just opened my eyes to how much control, how much visibility there is on the top down. Like, the analytics that I can pull on just my fanbase is terrifying.”

He added that he’s made enough money that he no longer needs to work for another day in his life, and that “there’s just this calling” of making a “real impact in this world.”

Anthony’s overnight success last year was a remarkable story in the industry. He went viral after debuting “Rich Men North of Richmond” on YouTube, a video that has more than 170 million views. The song was also a hit on the charts and has amassed more than 256 million streams on Spotify.

His successful summer in 2023 led to him signing with United Talent Agency, and he went on tour around the world. He played a sold-out show at O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London on Feb. 8 which grossed $68,168 off 2,000 tickets, according to Pollstar Boxoffice. He also played at Greensboro Coliseum in North Carolina on April 26 which hauled in $381,950 and moved 10,919 tickets.