What It’s Like When A Label Won’t Release Your Album

[Tusk]

MJ Poster, girlygirl posted a link to this article

What It’s Like When A Label Won’t Release Your Album

For those who bristle at the way Haley was treated by Interscope(even though Haley, herself, has said she regrets nothing), reading this article.... it could have been much, much worse

It’s been almost seven years since JoJo has put out an official release, though that doesn’t mean she hasn’t been trying. “I’ve recorded about three incarnations of this third album,” JoJo tells BuzzFeed. “We’ve chosen the track listing, we’ve done multiple album photo shoots, chosen the cover, chosen the credits, everything.” But every time her team tried to present the album to her label, Blackground Records, they never received a response.

“Blackground Records lost their distribution deal through Interscope, and if you can get the answer from them on why that happened, that would be a miracle,” JoJo says, “because I am sure they would not engage you in that conversation.” While JoJo says she has no problem with Interscope, she says she’s lost all communication with Blackground.

JoJo’s case is an extreme one. But whether it’s a new artist waiting to release their debut, or a successful musician who’s seemingly disappeared, many artists have found themselves fighting either to release their music or release themselves from their contracts. It happened to Lupe Fiasco. It happened to Sky Ferreira. It happened to Bow Wow, and Metallica, and Big Boi, and Amanda Palmer. The list goes on.

In most cases, even through politics, artists and labels can eventually reach a place where they mutually agree that it’s not working out and it’d be better to part ways.

(BTW JoJo, the artist in the article happens also to be the first young performer (with a large case of the Xtina 'runs') on Rosie in that video with the young Kree Harrison)

there are a lot of mergers and acquisitions that go on, and the artists get stuck in the middle of it. If you’re not U2 or Justin Bieber, at the top of the food chain, a lot of times artists just get lost in the middle.”

The music industry has changed rapidly in the digital age. Where there were once six major labels in 1998, now there are just three remaining: Sony, Warner Music Group, and Universal, which became the largest international record company after merging with EMI last year. The mergers have left many artists lost in limbo. “Sky Ferreira’s label has gone through four or five label presidents since she’s been signed, and a big merger,” says McLane, who calls Ferreira’s experience “the worst-case scenario

When a label goes through transition, losing the initial person who was pushing for you and had your back can be really confusing — and lonely.

“A lot of times, historically, how this would happen, an A&R guy would be like, ‘Oh, I’m so excited about this new band! You guys are gonna be big!’” says Casey Rae, deputy director of the Future of Music Coalition, an advocacy group for musicians. “And we get you on the label, and everyone’s all excited, and then all of a sudden that A&R person loses their job and you’re just out in the wilderness, and maybe you’re just a line item on some accountant’s ledger sheet. And you can easily be X’ed out because, well, we have other priorities.”

“Once you get signed, the question is politics within the record company; the person who’s championing you — how much power do they have?” says Paul Fakler, a partner at law firm Arent Fox who practices media and entertainment law. And, just as important: “Are they still going to be there in six months?”

Sometimes I feel like people don’t know what to do with certain artists,” Cassie tells BuzzFeed. “But if something hits — you have a hit record and it hits on radio and all over the place … everybody jumps on the bandwagon. Otherwise you’re fighting for your position.”

Not only is it a matter of timing the artist’s readiness for the market, it’s also a matter of judging whether the market is ready for the artist’s sound. Some artists are just ahead of their time. Lady Gaga was first signed to Def Jam (only to be dropped after three months) and later signed to Interscope, where she continued to develop her act for a couple years, the label bringing in Akon and producer RedOne as collaborators. “Music was going a very specific way in the pop world,” says Imran Majid, vice president of A&R at Columbia Records. “She had dynamic songs, and maybe four years ago those songs would’ve just gone over people’s heads.”

There's much more about how it could go terribly wrong with a Label.... Good reading and grateful, Haley got out how she did and with what she did...
(...and making more sense why it's better to hone her song wrting skills, go the "Publshing" direction, instead of quickly signing with another label, giving her more control of her songs and career direction, and not rely on people who are more invested in the business than the music or it's artist. )

[Miguel]

Interesting article.

I think Haley's preferred path is to find another label. But there are no guarantees that life at a new label will be without risks. I believe Haley would have been content if Interscope had released "Oh My!" and supported it by letting her tour.

I'm wondering how much of the recent Ole songwriting camp was intended to be for Haley's benefit. The president of 19 Entertainment called in and Deandre Brackensick cancelled his visit at the last minute. Was there a tweet or asian newspaper article recently where Haley mentioned Warner Bros?

[Tusk]

Wasn't it Atlantic that she mentioned?
(B.o.B and Janelle Monae are with them )

I by no means imply Haley should not sign with a new label.

I am saying that she's very wise to wait, make herself a better 'product', be able to show, definitvely, what her direction and strategy is for herself, build a bigger, more varied fan base, before she starts listening to offers.
That's why she's waiting to finish her EP before she shops for Labels, coming to negotiations with leverage.

She's making her brand more valuable so that she is not the new artist "stuck in the middle" as the article describes. By making herself more valuable, with better profit potential, she forces whoever she signs with to make her a priority, and not something that can be easily pushed aside at a whim

She's making it so that she's in control and it's she who get's to chose who has her best interest.

(Should this be it's own thread? It's more about the future, rather than, unfortunately, the past, which LU, technically is )

---

She mentions Atlantic in Malaysia (at around 1:00, some of the things at the beginning, where she talks about her expectations and the break up resonate more after reading the article

As much as I need their support, that they need to realize that I need to be involved every step of the way 'cause, it is, ultimately my career, you know. So, um, I'm not pin pointing anything yet, I mean, it would be great to be with somebody like Atlantic...

[Outcast]

What It’s Like When A Label Won’t Release Your Album

Sometimes, it’s not that an artist doesn’t want to release music, it’s that they can’t.

In 2004, 13-year-old Joanna Levesque became the youngest solo artist ever to have a number one single on the Billboard charts. Levesque, who recorded as JoJo, had been building to that moment since she was just a little girl, giving electrifying performances on shows like Kids Say the Darndest Things with Bill Cosby at the age of 6. When Levesque was 12, she signed a seven-album deal with Blackground Records, and later her debut album JoJo was certified platinum. Her 2006 follow-up, The High Road, pleased critics and included at least one bona fide hit, the breakup ballad “Too Little Too Late.” She was quickly becoming a rising star in R&B.

And then she went silent.

Read more: http://www.buzzfeed.com/azafar/what-happ...m=buzzfeed

[Tusk]

Note: Threads merged

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Also posted in Haley's 2013 perspective thread, including excerpts that pertain to Haley's current situation.

[Outcast]

I would say the above article pertains more to Pia than Haley cause Haley got to release an album but Pia didn't.

[Tusk]

The article covers more than just what it's title advertises, it's a revealing of the way some things work in that industry, their priorities and what influences how they treat their clients/talent.

The excerpts I posted pertain to Haley as well. It isn't only about artists who didn't get their album released, it also speaks to what happens if an artist loses their backer (didn't that happen to Haley very early in her relationship with Interscope?), control, management changes etc that might have lead to Haley's being released.

“Once you get signed, the question is politics within the record company; the person who’s championing you — how much power do they have?” says Paul Fakler, a partner at law firm Arent Fox who practices media and entertainment law. And, just as important: “Are they still going to be there in six months?”

It also speaks to maybe why Haley isn't in such a hurry to sign right away to the first label that comes along, that she can elevate her brand so that she forces whoever signs her to treat her with more priority.

It's a long article and includes pertinent points that round out our understanding of the artist/label relationship so we might better understand the things Haley might have encountered and probably things that Haley considers when making her choice as to who she signs with.

Maybe one of the differences between Pia and Haley (besides how they finished), maybe Pia 'trusted' Interscope to do right by her, while Haley accepted the gamble of waiting to get the album so she could have the ability to make decisions and make the album the way she wanted.... Haley took control while Pia let Interscope make all decisions ( Unfortunately, Pia's 9th place finish didn't give her many options for leverage in that manner)

The quote I posted above from Malaysia, speaks to exactly Haley's frame of mind

As much as I need their support, that they need to realize that I need to be involved every step of the way 'cause, it is, ultimately my career

She held her own, going against Interscope convention, how they deal with new artists, and convinced them to allow her to make LU the way she wanted to. Reading the article, how Labels generally don't do this with new artists, really speaks to what Haley had to overcome to make her album HER way.

[Babbs234]

^^^ very interesting article Tusk! Thanks for posting that. It gives us incite to what an artist encounters in the murky waters of the music business.

Makes me happy that Haley is going the route she is, taking her time, and making sure she is getting the" right fit" with whatever label she ends up with. Could be the difference of whether she is successful as an artist, and whether the world will know who she is.

[Tom22]

Even if they could have pushed _better_ (diffrenent song etc) I don't think PUSH would have worked for this album - the songs might be "slow" poison where people come to like them in a different context.. hearing them on the radio might not be it .

PULL however , is the way for her.. I'm sure of it. OLE is doing incredible at laying the ground for the pull. A song written expressly for a movie sountrack might also be far more likely given Haley's ever growing numbers of impressed insiders in producer side of the industry.

We've seen how 25 seconds of Undone in a niche movie continues to lead to discovery. The many places "hit the ground running" is being placed make that a familar song.... which may have a base to latch to listeners ears if it were "pushed" .

Maybe even on a big ad for a national brand woudn't even make her nice coin but also have people punching the name into Pandora (after using this program my 12 year old daughter always uses on her iphone.. it listens to music and tells her the name of the song and the artist.. she uses it 5 times a day)