I’ve always been intrigued by media and entertainment law. Part of the fascination is the desire to know what goes on behind the scenes – behind the glitz and glamour and the flashiness of celebrity. There is a murky side of the music industry, I have come to learn…that area in which record labels hold musical artists hostage. It is commonplace that artists become ‘locked’ into contracts, and spend months – even years – without permission to release their music or take it elsewhere.
An example at a local level is the case of British pop singer Raye, who, in 2014, signed a four-album deal with record label Polydor. Polydor stifled her from creating even one. “I’ve done everything they asked me, I switched genres, I worked seven days a week, ask anyone in the music game, they know” the singer tweeted. This has happened to many industry artists. One reason could be a lack of commercial success, and thus labels are reluctant to spend more money on an artist’s career, or that the album they have made may not be deemed good enough.
Then again…neither of those reasons present a good case against Prince. In his lifetime (and posthumously) Prince was widely regarded as one of the greatest musicians of all time, and his records sold to the tune of approximately 150 million records worldwide. Just before the release of ‘The Gold Experience, Prince’s conflicts with Warner Bros came to a peak moment of tension when the singer appeared in public with the word ‘Slave’ painted on his face. Prince complained of Warner Bros controlling his name as well as the music released under his name. To counter that, Prince later went to the extreme of changing his name to an undecipherable symbol, sometimes referred to as ‘Squiggle’ and even gained the moniker ‘The Artist Formerly Known as Prince’. Prince was unable to break free of his contract for years, and the only option he had was to comply with its terms. Ultimately, the singer released numerous albums rapidly, and without attention to quality, to end his contract.
More recently, popstar JoJo has complained to BuzzFeed about how in the last seven years she has recorded three incarnations of her third album, including doing album
photoshoots, chosen its cover, and written the credits, but her record label Background Records decided not to release one.
As the above examples illustrate, musical artists have been waging wars with their labels to release their music or to release themselves from their contracts. This is a point of tension that has existed for decades, across genres and around the world. Where can the law step in? What can be done?
The issue is that album deals are becoming outdated – especially now in the era of the streaming economy - and there needs to be a new system in place. Despite artists having The Musicians’ Union in place to offer support and advice about their contracts and relationship with music companies, many artists often don’t speak out because they are fearful of the repercussions on their career. By the time that Prince appeared on stage with the word “Slave” written on his cheek, he had already reaped the successes
of a Billboard Hot 100 debut, performances on Saturday Night Live, concert tours, and more. He had collaborated with Madonna. He was known, and not to ever be forgotten. By contrast, Raye’s success as a recording artist is far more modest. From her humble stature, it must have taken a great deal of courage to speak out about her displeasure with Polydor. JoJo stands somewhere in the middle of the two, but her record-breaking comeback is yet to be seen. Every marriage has its ups and downs, but the marriage of music and commerce seems to rip the musicians off in every case. If only there were a clear solution. My own thought? To make the negotiating table a safe space for both parties to sit and discuss amicable, productive working relationships.