As we embark on this fresh, new year, we thought it a good time to take stock of all the artists (or as many as we could remember — like JC Chasez, pictured) who lost their major label deals during a tumultuous 2007. Some were dropped, others had contracts expire, and many were simply caught up in consolidation and closings. Of course, several have found new homes already, but plenty of bands are free agents. What does it mean for the music business in ‘08? Are more casualties on the way? Besides the Radioheads and White Stripes of the world, do you see a future for any of these acts? Any noteworthy acts we left off the list?
The list after the jump…
Airbourne
Alexz Johnson
Alkaline Trio
Amerie
And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead…
Annie Steela
Ari Hest
Aslyn
Big Pooh and Little Brother
Blood Brothers
Bo Bice
Brendan James
Brett Ryan
Christian Daniel
Christina Milian
CMurder
Dandy Warhols
DMX
Fischerspooner
From First To Last
Goldie
Hedley
IMA Robot
INXS
JC Chasez
Jewel
J-Kwon
Joe Budden
Kelis
Kevin Devine
King Elementary
Liz Phair
Melissa Auf der Mar
Men, Women and Children
Moby
Mooney Suzuki
Natalie Warner
Nine Inch Nails
Northern State
Otep
Over It
P.O.D.
Paris Hilton
Paul McCartney
Phase 9
Prophet Omega
Radiohead
Reeve Oliver
Ronnie Day
Ruben Studdard
Shaggy
Shout Out Louds
Skye Sweetnam
Sound Team
Sparklehorse
Stacie Orrico
Sugarcult
Summer Obsession
The Clipse
The Donnas
The Music
The Outline
The Redwalls
The Vines
What About Frank
White Stripes
Airbourne
Alexz Johnson
Alkaline Trio
Amerie
And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead…
Annie Steela
Ari Hest
Aslyn
Big Pooh and Little Brother
Blood Brothers
Bo Bice
Brendan James
Brett Ryan
Christian Daniel
Christina Milian
CMurder
Dandy Warhols
DMX
Fischerspooner
From First To Last
Goldie
Hedley
IMA Robot
INXS
JC Chasez
Jewel
J-Kwon
Joe Budden
Kelis
Kevin Devine
King Elementary
Liz Phair
Melissa Auf der Mar
Men, Women and Children
Moby
Mooney Suzuki
Natalie Warner
Nine Inch Nails
Northern State
Otep
Over It
P.O.D.
Paris Hilton
Paul McCartney
Phase 9
Prophet Omega
Radiohead
Reeve Oliver
Ronnie Day
Ruben Studdard
Shaggy
Shout Out Louds
Skye Sweetnam
Sound Team
Sparklehorse
Stacie Orrico
Sugarcult
Summer Obsession
The Clipse
The Donnas
The Music
The Outline
The Redwalls
The Vines
What About Frank
White Stripes
Comments (1-30) of 69 Add your comment
I cant believe that liz phair, alkaline trio and trail of dead are on the list, the others i dont really care about
It would be nice to know: a)why they are on the list (dropped vs consolidation) and b)did they sign with a new label?
DMX and Paris Hilton lost their record deals? So bad things do happen to awful people! karma.
I agree with Jcarla, we need to know why each artist is sans label for this to be a useful list. And Nine Inch Nails will always have a future.
And some fought tooth and nail to be released so they could work with a label that would actually do something for them…like JC Chasez and Kelis. Both were incredibly over looked by Jive, because all of Jive’s focus was on the trainwreck that is Britney. Let’s hope they are both on to bigger and much better things.
JC Chasez is such a talent, dare I say musical genius, it sucks that he’s having such a hard time getting his solo career off the ground. As soon as his second album comes out, I’m buying as many copies as I can! Watch out for him, his time is coming.
I really don’t think Paul McCartney is up all night sweating about what his future holds now.
Bo Bice is lucky to have been dropped. I hated the album he put out post-Idol. And he just put out an album on his own label that’s way above and beyond that first one. It’s the Bo Bice that almost beat Carrie Underwood, not the “Clive wants me to be Nickelback” drivel that inhabited the first album.
Bo Bice formed his own independent record label and recorded his kick-ass album called “See The Light” in his own studio. It’s available in Walmart stores and everywhere online… and it ROCKS! His music video “Witness” was #1 on VH1 for three weeks!
“JC Chasez is such a talent, dare I say musical genius” no you don’t say
JC Chasez is horrible
it’s melissa auf der maur. with a ‘u’. and some of these acts (like NIN) will indeed always have a future. but it’s too bad young bands with lots of talent like shout out louds and the music got dropped. couldn’t care less about paris hilton though. as far as i’m concerned, what she produces can’t even be called music.
it’s melissa auf der maur. with a ‘u’. and some of these acts (like NIN) will indeed always have a future. but it’s too bad young bands with lots of talent like shout out louds and the music got dropped. couldn’t care less about paris hilton though. as far as i’m concerned, what she produces can’t even be called music.
“JC Chasez is such a talent, dare I say musical genius.” Dear Lord, I hope that was sarcasm.
Jewel may have had her biggest hits more than a decade ago, but she is extremely talented and needs to record more….and please go back to your original folk style!
JC Chasez has some MAJOR pipes, and he is a fresh songwriter in a time where music has become mundane! I can’t wait to hear his second album. Free at last from JIVE!
JC is talented…actually listen to his first CD and you will hear it. Don’t focus on the boyband past.
I wish JC Chasez would get an album out…I’ve been waiting a year and a half since I first heard “Yesterday”, which I thought was great.
Jive Records is a terrible label.
JC Chasez is actually writing on this blog it would appear. Dude, don’t you have anything better to do with your time?
Anyway, I ddoubt radiohead and sir Mccartney are up all night worrying about this.
If they dohn’t already have their shite worked out, well someone will pick up Fischerspooner, Liz Phair, Dandy Warhols, Moby, NIN, The Vines and Whitestripes.
For Bo Bice, leaving RCA was the best thing that could ever have happened.
He now has the artistic freedom that he needs to showcase the music he was born to create. Check out his new cd See The Light and you’ll hear the real Bo.
OK JC is brilliant all of u who said hes horrible are so wrong…hes got some serious talent but none one would no it b.c everyone is too shoved up justin and britney’s ass
Bo Bice started up his own label, SugarMoney/StratArt. He also has his own recording studio where he can market and distribute his true musical talents in his own style.
His debut CD is See The Light. It’s a mix of Southern Rock, Blues, Rock and Country. There’s a little of something for every music lover and it’s one terrific CD. There is not a bad song on it.
I think leaving RCA was the best thing for Bo because now he can record his music and not some fabricated pop music to line someone else’s pockets. Check out his new CD exclusively sold at WalMart or download it from the Internet and see for yourself just how good it is.
You’re being invaded by the JC fanatics at the JJB. He is a talented guy but he got DROPPED because he wasn’t marketable.
JC Chasez needs a record deal. He has two new songs on his myspace page and they are both great. Two people were the heart of *NSync. One is considered one of the best music artists there is. JC could be that good too.
When did the EW comment boards become infested with advertisements? A. No one cares about Bo Bice B. Try to make it sound more natural next time.
I don’t think EW has become an advertisement board. People are free to express their opinion about any artist listed ….including Bo Bice.
As people said, the big names on the list will be fine – Radiohead, McCartney, White Stripes, NIN. I really hope to hear stuff from Fischerspooner, Mooney Suzuki, Dandy Warhols and yes, even those cute little retro Redwalls in the future on independent labels that don’t try to fit these gems into neat little corporate categories.
Harsh to say no one cares about Bo Bice. Sounds to me like there are lots of very caring fans posting here. He may not have the sound everyone likes, but looks like those who do REALLY DO! Maybe I should take a listen…
I think the future of music has been in a state of change for the last couple of years. A lot of musicians are going Indy. It is the best thing for them and their music. Bo Bice is a great example of that. I think that it takes guts to truley go out and do your own thing and when an artist does that, we start to get real music that is high on the authinticity scale. “See the Light” is really good and I think that more artists just need to step out of the box and get away form the big lables that want to turn out the pablem that we hear on pop radio.