1st Ruben, then Taylor ... Now look who else is leaving Sony BMG

[north_clt]

Katharine also departs BMG



Another Idol has left the BMG family of labels. Shortly after the confirmation of Ruben's and Taylor's exits, Katharine joins the list. Direct from a BMG spokesperson: "Katharine McPhee has moved on to support her other entertainment activities."

This would presumably include movies, TV, etc., although I wouldn't be surprised if she made an album somewhere along the line for another label.

Speaking of Taylor, by the way, the same spokesperson said, "We have an understanding with Taylor Hicks that he will come back to us to play music once he’s finished writing his new material."

This is a way of not completely slamming the door shut; if Arista is captivated by Taylor's new songs, it can arrive at an agreement to release an album of them. Not unprecedented in the complicated world of artist/label relations, and an interesting development.

Katharine also departs BMG - Idol Chatter - USATODAY.com

[north_clt]

A second article on the split:

==

Katharine McPhee: the latest Idol to go indie

Another Idol label deal bites the dust. Hollywood Insider has learned that Katharine McPhee is the latest former contestant to part ways with her record company. Like season 2 winner Ruben Studdard and season 5 champ Taylor Hicks, who were signed to J and Arista Records, respectively, a rep for RCA Records confirms that McPhee is no longer on the label's roster, adding that, "Katharine is going to record her next album on her own."

McPhee’s self-titled debut charted at a promising No. 2 in February 2007, but it never reached gold status. Sources close to McPhee complain the label didn’t support the album — but Idol Phatigue seems to have conquered McPheever.

Still, she shouldn’t lose all hope: The singer, who is managed by Guy Oseary, makes her first feature-film appearance (opposite Anna Faris) in I Know What Boys Like later this year, and we hear she's already in talks with another label.

As for this recent spate of Idol exits (we double-checked, and deals for Clay Aiken and Fantasia are still intact), a rep for the RCA Music Group (which includes Arista, RCA, and J Records) tells Insider, “After six seasons, we are proud of the eight artists on the roster who started their careers on the show. With respect to Taylor, we have an understanding that he will come back to us to play music once he’s finished writing his new material.”

Katharine McPhee: the latest Idol to go indie | American Idol, Music Biz | Hollywood Insider | EW.com

[No_Left_Turn]

wow, sooner than I expected...

/\__/\
(='+'=)
(")_(")~~

[gemiz]

Dang, wiped out! The beginning of a cleansing cycle. Wow, they must be losing a lot more money. I wonder how much deeper they're go to take this.

[gemiz]

Originally Posted by No_Left_Turn

wow, sooner than I expected...

/\__/\
(='+'=)
(")_(")~~

She was doing worst than Taylor H and Ruben.

[KellieShellieGirl]

I'm still not counting Katherine out just yet,as the statement clearly says that she is writing material on her own for her next album,this could be the possiblity of changing directions with record labels.I smell a winner here.Just my thoughts.

[gemiz]

Originally Posted by KellieShellieGirl

I'm still not counting Katherine out just yet,as the statement clearly says that she is writing material on her own for her next album,this could be the possiblity of changing directions with record labels.I smell a winner here.Just my thoughts.

I think she's pretty much done. It's just a euphemism. It's saving face. Here is another example, "Taylor Hicks says he, record label agreed to split".

You'll also often time see the term "resign" brought up many times as well by people. It usually means they got fired, but "resign" is just a more political, friendly way of saying it The same is happening here.

[James]

Kat was done well before she started. She need to go to Broadway. Taylor, well, that's just Arista's way of making sure they get their money out of him in case he manages to hit it big.

The house cleaning is quite common. They did it two years ago, went through and cleaned out non-productive artists. The interesting thing is, everytime they do that, big names are made out of what's left. Kenny Chesney & Brad Paisley got major promotional backing right after a big house cleaning. It's not unreasonable to think they'll throw some money Kellie's way. Part of the reason you clena house is to free up money slated for other artists. Could be a good thing.

[Pickled Pink]

Building up a fan base when you're starting out is really HARD work...all those hours on the bus, traveling endlessly, smiling and signing autographs until you think your fingers will fall off...

If your heart isn't really in it, you won't want to do that for long. I don't think Kat ever wanted to be a SINGER exclusively and don't think she's dedicated enough to music alone to do what you need to do to succeed big time.

She wants to be a movie star, or act on Broadway I think.

[Pickled Pink]

Originally Posted by James

Kat was done well before she started. She need to go to Broadway. Taylor, well, that's just Arista's way of making sure they get their money out of him in case he manages to hit it big.

The house cleaning is quite common. They did it two years ago, went through and cleaned out non-productive artists. The interesting thing is, everytime they do that, big names are made out of what's left. Kenny Chesney & Brad Paisley got major promotional backing right after a big house cleaning. It's not unreasonable to think they'll throw some money Kellie's way. Part of the reason you clena house is to free up money slated for other artists. Could be a good thing.

Yeah, I hope they will start throwing more money Kellie's way!

[north_clt]

Originally Posted by Pickled Pink

Building up a fan base when you're starting out is really HARD work...all those hours on the bus, traveling endlessly, smiling and signing autographs until you think your fingers will fall off...

If your heart isn't really in it, you won't want to do that for long. I don't think Kat ever wanted to be a SINGER exclusively and don't think she's dedicated enough to music alone to do what you need to do to succeed big time.

She wants to be a movie star, or act on Broadway I think.

Kat doesn't have good PR sense. I don't think she relates well to the "common man," or more importantly, TV audience viewers and record buyers from all financial backgrounds, regions, races, ages and genders.

I tend to agree with her camp's assessment that she got pathetic promotional backing -- she should have at least been given a spot on AI last year to sing. However, her CD came out too late and was seen as a disappointment by an already shrinking fan base, and I guess the label didn't want to throw more money at a problem they didn't feel they could fix.

I think her problems began with the AI tour.

Maybe it was just bad luck, but when Kat bowed out of a third of the AI Tour on account of bronchitis and laryngitis, I think she left too many of her fans wondering who she is, whether her heart was in it at all and whether she cared about them.

I remember reading articles about little girls breaking down and crying because they got to the concert sites and found out that Kat wouldn't be there. I think if Kat had attended even a few concerts, had come out on stage and waved, it would have been a lot better for her than skipping the concerts entirely.

There also was a credibility crisis for her when she was seen in a pool with her boyfriend about the time we learned that was sick.

I think all that turned a lot of people off.

I remember reading things like this, from MSNBC, when she was sitting out:

“At the souvenir stand there were three tees for sale,” Access Hollywood senior field producer Tara said. “A collage of all the finalists, a Katharine tee and a Taylor tee. In the 15 minutes that I waited in line, not one Katharine shirt was sold. Taylor and team idol tees were flying off the racks.”

Katharine McPhee still absent from Idol™ tour - Access Hollywood - MSNBC.com

I also think (correct me if I'm wrong) that her first public appearance before returning to the tour was a press conference announcing that she had signed a deal to promote some shampoo line. Not good timing.

Kat did well here in Charlotte when I saw her, bringing Kellie up on stage in honor of Kellie's homecoming concert. But the crowd was pretty tepid toward her compared to many of the others.

What we (and she) didn't know is that she had broken her foot earlier that night when she tripped backstage trying to see Kellie sing. If she hadn't already missed so much of the tour, I think we would have seen headlines screaming about what a trooper she was for going on the rest of the tour with a broken foot. But by that point, it was too late, and people still remember her more for missing concerts than toughing it out later.

A Billboard article on Kat mentions that before AI, her experience was limited to musical theater. Kat must not have adapted well to the pressures of putting out a CD.

Once in album-making mode, she also struggled with putting her own stamp on material that had been submitted by veteran songwriters.

"The demos, it's so hard once you hear whoever is singing to get that out of your head, especially for me, being new to recording," she said.

So, the woman who was able to completely rework a classic like "Over the Rainbow" in a few days on AI, couldn't do the same for "Open Toes."

I think that's another sign her heart wasn't in this.

In the end, Kat picked songs that a lot of her fans didn't like and the CD came out at the worst time of year to debut an album.

I wish her luck in the movies. Maybe if she does well there, she can make another album, and do it right this time.