Country artist Toby Keith on Wednesday announced he's forming his own label, Showdog Records, to get more control of his work. "We can literally make a decision at noon and get started by 1 p.m.," Toby Keith said about having his own record label.
He's betting he can sell his music at least as well as others have in racking up more than $25 million in sales, 10 platinum albums and 21 No. 1 singles.

Showdog Records will record and distribute Keith's future work. Keith, whose hits include How Do You Like Me Now,Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American) and I Love This Bar, split with Universal Music Group earlier this summer.

"It's a pretty big undertaking with every business lesson I've ever learned in hand," Keith told The Associated Press.

Keith is starting Showdog with former UMG executive Scott Bordchetta, who also will operate his own label, Big Machine Records.

"Probably 75 percent of the people in this town think I'll fail, and the other 25 percent hope I fail," said Keith, who has had high-profile clashes with The Dixie Chicks and Peter Jennings.

But Keith is optimistic other artists will want to join his label after their contracts with others are up.

"I think we'll be able to sit back and watch people jump over the wall into my nut house," he said.

Keith said he likes the freedom of his own record label. "We can literally make a decision at noon and get started by 1 p.m.," he said.

He left Mercury Records in 1999 because he was upset with the way his music was being handled. He went to DreamWorks and became a superstar. Dreamworks was acquired last year by Universal Music Group Nashville, which has Mercury under its umbrella.