Major Artists Getting the Cold Shoulder from Labels

Hip Hop DX reported today that Busta Rhymes was the latest artist dropped from Interscope Records. THisis50.com reported that this was the result of a long, ongoing disagreement between Rhymes and Interscope President Jimmy Iovine.

We can put the Flipmode leader right next to Obie Trice and others, in the list of major artists that have been dropped by their labels. We are seeing a growing trend in the industry: Artists Leaving Labels. For whatever reason, whether it be labels forcing artists out or artists willingly leaving labels, there are becoming fewer and fewer, and for good reason. From Interscope’s point of view, Rhymes was not recouping album costs, it was a simple cost-benefit analysis. It was costing Interscope more to release a Rhymes record than he was bringing into the label. Labels dwindling profits have forced them to cut their rosters. They cannot afford to market and promote every artist they effectively. So, what do you do? You keep 10 artists that you know are going to sell, and you sink all of your costs into them hoping that they recoup and provide enough profit to fund the next project.