Given the performance (or lackthereof) of Ashani‘s recent efforts, many have been scratching their heads as to why the singer is releasing her project via own label Written Entertainment.
For, while her present-day stock may not be high, her Platinum flavoured achievements from yesteryear precede her. Hence, the former INC songstress would likely be a shoo-in for a fresh deal at any major label of her choosing.
In an interesting new interview with Sirus radio, the 32 year old sounds off on her reason for going independent and the difficulty in turning down a whopping seven record contracts in the time since her last studio album ‘The Declaration’.
Her words after the jump…
Interesting.
Essentially, Ms. Douglas told the majors “no” due to the fact that today’s standard in recording contracts (see: 360 deals) sees such companies now have a stake in an artist’s music, touring, endorsement deals, and more. Put simply, it’s been the industry’s savvy way of fighting back against the lack of dollars being generated from music sales thanks to illegal downloading.
Ashanti’s rejection of such deals is not as shocking as it may seem when compared to other acts who established themselves in the 90’s and early 00’s; a time frame when music itself generated hefty profits. For, the likes of TLC and Lil’ Kim have gone on record recently to condemn “insulting deals” which would make them “slaves to the system”. A no-no, from thier perspective, given their many achievements.
And while this argument carries much validity, it doesn’t swallow the cold hard fact that the industry has changed and those that survive it often have to “play the game”. It is no longer 2002 when the answer to “who run the world” would have been Ashanti.
As such, it’s startling to think that – after flopping with her underrated ‘Declaration’ and disappearing for years after – that Ashanti would think going independent would be what’s needed to revive her career. For, it’s clear, looking at the chart run of her latest singles, that she doesn’t have the infrastructure to mount an impactful independent campaign. A fact which leaves us of the opinion that she should have just signed one of those seven deals.
Independent is “all good” when you can drum up buzz enough for folk to care about your product and/or pay to see you live. When, like Ashanti you can’t, it leaves such acts just as worse for wear as the “slaves to the system” they so publicly slam.
Needless to say, it’ll be interesting to see whether Ms. Douglas ends up agreeing with us when or if her ‘Braveheart’ album hits stores.