I don't think so. I think she was smart not to give carte blanche to American Idol to use her songs. Good for her that she is negotiating an agreement that benefits her and the show.
When it is now so easy to download music, videos,and books, it is also easier to share it with millions of users. That represents a lot of royalities - the money the artists and authors use to pay the mortgage - gone down the toilet. So if Kelly wants to protect her moneymaker, then I applaud her for being a tough cookie and telling the massively powerful American Idol, "Hold on a minute. What's in it for me?"
Sure American Idol gave Kelly that first boost, but do you think she had a lot of say in, much less receive the majority of royalities from her debut album? (Which, by the way, was produced by Simon Cowell.) Pfft. Please.
When Kelly took hold of her career and image with "Breakaway", that's when her real talent shone through and audiences stopped to listen (and buy more than five million copies, according to RCA Records). Girl, earned her own Grammy nominations and hence, the right to control her work. I hope her example inspires more artists and authors to do the same.
4 comments:
I agree. While we should always remember the people who helped us get where we are, no one rises to the heights of success and fame without real talent. How long should an artist be held in indentured servitude?
Hi Mary . . .
I was worried when I saw the header . . . because I don't think she's an ungrateful snot, but then I read and saw you don't either. :-)
The management agreements those kids have to sign for A.I. call for 50% or that area . . . yes, they got tons of exposure and so on, but they can't remain in indentured servitude forever. For us authors, that would be like signing with a tiny press, for very tiny royalties, and then, if we had a breakout hit, continuing to be forced to those terms of business forever. The fact that they also chose to beat up this girl in the press by having Simon make all these comments about her regarding the issue is just bullying. She's (how old??) young and making a name for herself, and good for her.
Simon is a turd. He's the executive producer of AI, hence the producer of all the AI albums with RCA records. So he stands the benefit no matter what.
I'm this close to buying Kelly's CD in support of her!
Mary
For a sec, I was concerned too. You *know* how we feel about *our* Kelly at my house. ;)
Kidding aside, this was a great reminder for all of us that no matter how much we love what we do, this is business.
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