The story of Janet and BMG on Forbes.com

[janetsgurl108]

This jumped out to me:

Unbreakable is a joint release from both BMG and her own label, Rhythm Nation Records. This is a great business decision on Janet’s part, as it allows her to own the masters to all the songs on the new album. So that means she has a team at BMG pushing to make this as big and as prolonged a release as possible, and she’s getting a pretty sizable chunk of the royalties.

While Unbreakable has yet to launch a big single in the way that Janet’s past albums have, it’s not all about sales and radio play for the legendary pop singer (although lead cut “No Sleeep” has become the longest-running number one hit on the urban adult contemporary chart of her career). When asked about sales projections and what BMG is expecting from the comeback [(I say come out) ]album, Cohen said they are waiting to see if it ends up being another number one (it will be her seventh if it manages to debut on top), but whether it does or not, Janet and her team are all “extremely self-aware” about what sales figures look like these days.

So before asking if Unbreakable will be one of Janet’s biggest albums, ask yourself, “Does it really matter?”

 

[jarrylf]

You should post the link for the whole article, it's a good read.

[Mr. Wonder]

The Story Of How Janet Jackson Brought Her Comeback To BMG

Hugh McIntyre ,

CONTRIBUTOR

I write about the music industry, from tech to charts and more.

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SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – NOVEMBER 05: Janet Jackson performs live on stage at the Sydney Opera House on November 5, 2011 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

This past Friday, Janet Jackson finally released her new album Unbreakable, which officially marks the end of a 7-year hiatus from music. The album is her first with record label BMG, which is back from the dead in a very big way, thanks partially to Ms. Jackson.

BMG was a big player in the music space for many years, but it shuttered after a long and prosperous tenure in the industry, only to resurface just a few years ago. Since then, it has been enjoying a remarkable comeback itself, thanks to the signing of several well-known acts. Recently, the company saw its Slayer album debut in the top ten on the Billboard 200, and with Janet, BMG has another big first week coming up.

In a call just before the album was released, Jon Cohen, the Executive Vice President of Recorded Music at BMG was quick to say that working with Janet has been a blast, as she has been “incredibly accessible” during the album-making process. ApparentlyUnbreakable didn’t take too long to write and record, as she only signed her contract with the company about a year ago, and it is already out on store shelves as of last Friday.

Cohen explained that this time around, BMG wants to do things differently, and in trying to distinguish itself from the other labels out there, it has completely restructured what a record company looks like—which is something that they all might want to do if they plan on being around much longer. For example, talks with Jackson were not initiated by the CEO or a scout, but rather somebody in the company’s publishing division who happened to be speaking with a producer that works with the singer. One thing lead to another, and in a short time, Janet had signed on for a new record. BMG is working on making the different departments work more harmoniously with one another, from the traditional recorded music side to syncing and publishing, both of which can be very lucrative to artists and the label, which allows everyone working there to be even more valuable. If publishing had been considered completely separate from the recorded music division, this deal with Janet might never have come about.

 

Unbreakable is a joint release from both BMG and her own label, Rhythm Nation Records. This is a great business decision on Janet’s part, as it allows her to own the masters to all the songs on the new album. So that means she has a team at BMG pushing to make this as big and as prolonged a release as possible, and she’s getting a pretty sizable chunk of the royalties.

 

 

While Unbreakable has yet to launch a big single in the way that Janet’s past albums have, it’s not all about sales and radio play for the legendary pop singer (although lead cut “No Sleeep” has become the longest-running number one hit on the urban adult contemporary chart of her career). When asked about sales projections and what BMG is expecting from the comeback album, Cohen said they are waiting to see if it ends up being another number one (it will be her seventh if it manages to debut on top), but whether it does or not, Janet and her team are all “extremely self-aware” about what sales figures look like these days.

So before asking if Unbreakable will be one of Janet’s biggest albums, ask yourself, “Does it really matter?”

 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2015/10/10/the-story-of-how-janet-jackson-brought-her-comeback-to-bmg/