The label overall in most cases is to blame. They don't back the artist or really care about many artists unless they are big money makers (Beyonce, Gaga) . Very rarely you see an actual relationship where the label cares about the artist, Only Whitney and Clive come to mind. But look what hapend when L. A. Reid took over Arista back in '01, her album at that time didn't do too well because he focused on younger acts, but she was back on top when Clive came back (and when she got clean).

Any one else would have dropped Whitney back in the mid-00s when she was at rock bottom, but Clive stayed and cared for her since the beginning and they had a #1 album " I Look To You" when she came back. . It should be like that with many artists, but sadly, it isn't.