Yesterday on "106 & Park" Kelis made some very interesting statements about the music industry. (I intended to post the video footage but YouTube is ACKIN' up) While on the show to promote her recently released fourth CD, Kelis Was Here, Kelis expressed a disdain for the music industry. She took special care to say that she insisted on "Blindfold Me" featuring Nas being her second single while the music industry -- her label Jive to be exact -- had other plans. She went on to express lack of support and how the industry will drain the life out of you. I tell you that Kelis is a handful. And speaking of "Handful"... listen to a track from Kelis Was Here titled exactly that. I am not necessarily surprised by Kelis' statements but I am a bit surprised that she chose to voice that opinion on the day her CD is release. She's still in a critical stage. Listen to "Ah Shit" from Kelis Was Here: I then got to thinking about artists like Fat Joe, Brandy, Ray J, Shanice Wilson, Amel Larrieux, Donnie and a growing number of musicians who were either forced out of their record label homes or opted to pursue the indie route. I recently spoke to both Amel and Shanice who both have asserted that they've made much more money as an independent that they ever did being signed to a record deal. Shanice went on to say, I've been signed to Motown, A&M and LaFace and I've even won a Grammy under those contracts, but I wouldn't trade the freedom I have now. At a label they control everything from how you speak to how you wear your hair. Now I write my own songs, I co-produce my own vocals. It's just better over all. Prince was one of the first artist to "emancipate" himself from signing multi-album record contracts and moved to distributing his music online. Enter MySpace. Now, I was slow to jump on the MySpace bandwagon. I've heard my friends use it to hook up and tons of pediphiles used it to... well, um yea... SOHH, has MySpace helped artists to really push their music independently? Or is it just a feeding ground for the record labels? I remember years ago when Left Eye, formerly of TLC ,exposed how each of the ladies had only made $40,000 that year at the height of their career while they had sold close to 40 million albums worldwide. Dawn Robinson of En Vogue admitted that one of the members was collecting food stamps in order to feed her kids, because the producers that formed the group, controlled their image and wrote their songs had made off with all the cash. A few years ago we went through era where every rapper was issued their own label. Allowing themselves to be called a boss, when in actuality they too were simply feeding grounds for the major labels. I'm just curious. Is there a blueprint emerging that will allow independent artists to produce and distribute their music to the masses? Is MySpace the answer? Or is there a duality that can exists between being signed with a major label and still not being fucked royaly when it comes to finances? As SOHH Fabulous would say, "speak on it." CALLING ALL INDEPENDENTS: SOHH Soulful will be featuring independent artists via YouTube videos, MySpace pages and other platforms. Submit yourself and your work to SOHHSOULFUL@sohh.com. Check for us on MySpace. Lastly, our NEW JOINT OF THE DAY is from the sexified, white chocolate, former Mouseketeer, Justin Timberlake. Check out the title track from his forthcoming CD, FutureSomethingSexyBackSounds.... Like M.O.U.S.E!

Categories: MUSIC BUZZ [t]

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