Curren$y Addresses Issues With Former Label, Def Jam

[Chet Starr]

With the release of his Covert Coup mixtape and Weekend at Burnie's album, Curren$y has already dropped two of the five projects he’s promised to deliver this year.
Both projects were released through the New Orleans, Louisiana native’s new label Warner Bros./Jet Life. While discussing his 2010 releases with the Village Voice, Curren$y addressed the issue of Def Jam/Universal Music undershipping his Pilot Talk albums."Well, I hoped they learned their lesson, but I'm not mad," he said of the label. "On paper, I guess I don't appear to be in such high demand. But those that know how to assess popularity nowadays see it. Trust.
"I rarely go more than two or three weeks without putting out something online," he continued, alluding to his growing fan base. "You have to make yourself easy to find. Stay accessible."
As he continues to drop music, Curren$y says that he plans to shape his Jet Life label into a respected brand. “I'm big on observing,” he said. “And it was definitely, shall we say, educational to see certain artists going about building their empires, building their own movements: Pharrell with Star Trak, Cam’ron with Dipset. Fans would hear a beat and be like, 'That sounds like a Neptunes beat,' or 'That sounds like a Dipset joint.' That's how I engineered Jet Life to be. I want it to be branded in a way, so the people know what it is."
Curren$y is expected to release three additional mixtapes or albums by the end of 2011.


http://www.hiphopdx.com/index.php?s=news&id=16064

[Malcom West]

Unless you know you're gonna be a label's flagship, like a Drake or Kanye, IDK why artists fuck with labels anymore.
If you sell 100,00 albums, which is GREAT, and they're $10 a pop, that's $1,000,000 gross. If an artist makes 7% of CD sales, which is good, that's only $70,000 before taxes.

However, if you do your own shit, you have creative freedom. The internet makes label promotion unnecesary. Guys like Curren$y make AT LEAST $5000 a show, and that's a conservative number. Do just 50 shows a year, PLUS your CD sales/merchandise and you're looking at $250,000+. I don't know why anyone messes with the labels.