Janet Jackson escapes Island! Good thing?
Pop star Janet Jackson has joined the ranks of big-name artists who have split from their major-label homes.
Although Jackson's freedom looks as though it's being framed as a desire by the artist to strike out on some Radiohead or Nine Inch Nails-like business maneuvering, the breakup between Jackson and Island Def Jam comes just months after her recent effort, "Discipline," failed to connect in the marketplace.
Jackson linked with Island Def Jam for the release of "Discipline," which Billboard reports has sold a total of 415,000 copies in the U.S. since its release last February, or 75,000 less than Metallica shifted in one week for "Death Magnetic."
Billboard also has a statement from Jackson's camp, which notes that the artist "will [now] have autonomy over her career, without the restrictions of a label system," implying that the star intends to go it alone, or at least pair with someone outside a traditional label, a la Madonna and touring behemoth Live Nation (yet note that the New York Post's Brian Garrity recently reported that such new-model deals may actually look quite a bit like traditional label deals, in which the tour promoter would look to a major to offer back-end functions).
The rest of Jackson's statement to the trade touches on vague new-media corporate-speak, citing Jackson as an artist who sets trends and declaring her "one of the first superstar artists to have the individual freedom" to turn to "iTunes, mobile carriers and other diverse and innovative channels," which is already standard operating procedure for major, indie and non-label-affiliated artists the world over.
But Jackson's split with IDJ was foretold a few months ago, when she accused her label of failing to properly promote "Discipline" in an interview with SOHH.com. And before starting her current tour, Jackson talked openly about her label situation being up in the air.
But would the label have mattered? Would a better working of "iTunes, mobile carries and other diverse and innovative channels" really made made a difference in "Discipline", whatever any of that means? After all, first single "Feedback" was released to plenty of hype, but it turned Jackson into an anonymous pop star, with heavily-affected vocals and techno-funk that failed to sound as new or different as, say, anything from Rihanna. And is it IDJ's fault the public is less interested in Janet than a Chris Brown?
