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Some of music's biggest stars have been silenced by the very labels meant to support them. Join us as we count down our picks for the artists who were blocked from releasing their music! From legal battles to shelved albums and exploitative contracts, these stories prove the music industry can be ruthless. Which artist's story shocked you the most? Let us know in the comments!
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00:00I needed to gain the right back to my voice because they weren't allowing me to release music.
00:05Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for those artists that encountered
00:10stumbling blocks on the road between them and their art.
00:13It's exciting to be here honoring the doctor.
00:17Number 10, Tinashe.
00:24The R&B sensation Tinashe has enjoyed a brilliant career, despite also becoming a textbook example
00:29of a major label not knowing what to do with a multifaceted artist.
00:33Tinashe broke out with her hit single, Two On, and was eager to keep her momentum going.
00:37It's thrilling for me to announce that I finally signed to a major record label, RCA Records.
00:45Instead, she entered a multi-year creative gridlock with RCA Records.
00:49Her highly anticipated sophomore album, Joyride, was repeatedly pushed back and delayed for nearly
00:53three years, while the label reportedly prioritized other artists and tried to force her into a
00:58commercial pop mold that didn't fit her artistic vision.
01:01And there was a lot of discrepancies with my label, and I just don't want to have that
01:04kind of pressures going into this project.
01:06So I'm really just kind of letting the music take me where it takes me and make songs that
01:12I really love.
01:13When she tried to bypass the system by dropping a separate project titled Tinashe, the label
01:18completely halted and shelved the project altogether.
01:20So I think that that's probably what makes that album feel a little bit stale.
01:26Or that era was very, for me, it was very frustrating.
01:29Number nine, M.I.A.
01:31My chain hits my chest when I'm banging on the dash, but my chain hits my chest when I'm
01:36banging on the radio.
01:37Maya Arulpagazam, better known as M.I.A., has never been one to shy away from a fight.
01:42But her battle with Interscope Records over her fourth album, Matangi, was next level.
01:47The label allegedly blocked the record's release because they deemed it too positive
01:51and lacking the aggressive, politically-charged edge they expected from her brand.
01:58M.I.A. actually threatened to leak the entire album herself on Twitter if her label didn't
02:06give her a concrete release date.
02:08The standoff lasted for months, putting a massive strain on her career momentum.
02:12Can you just like retweet my album coming out or something?
02:16While the album did eventually see the light of day, the intense corporate friction proved
02:19that even global superstars sometimes have to fight tooth and nail to release their own art.
02:24It's the fact that you have to put it through the channel of an industry that it gets corrupted,
02:30you know, and it gets put into a box, and this is how it's going to go out, this is
02:35how
02:35it's going to lurk, and this is what it's going to, this is the image that has to be put
02:39with this song.
02:47You probably know her for bringing all the boys to the yard with Milkshake, but Kalisa's
02:51relationship with the music industry is far more complicated than a catchy hook.
02:55After signing a contract early in her career that she later described as incredibly exploitative,
02:59Kalisa found herself trapped.
03:01At the end of the day, whereas when I started, it might have seemed kind of left, I think
03:05now there's a whole group of people that, you know, that are fashionable, that are fashion
03:09forward, that want good music, that want, you know, that it's all about lifestyle.
03:13She has since alleged that she was blocked from receiving her royalties and creative
03:16independence by both producers and executives.
03:19Things got even worse when she attempted to release newer genre-bending music later in
03:22her career, only to face massive resistance from labels that wanted to keep her strictly
03:26boxed into a specific R&B stereotype.
03:33Kalisa eventually walked away from the traditional label system entirely, pivotally choosing to
03:37focus on her culinary career and independent projects.
03:40I'm always kind of like, I mean, yeah, I stay in the studio just sort of creating, but I
03:44don't know what, I don't know what's going to come, you know, what's happening yet, but
03:48I'm just sort of living, I'm cooking.
03:50That's right.
03:51Making milkshake.
03:52Number 7, Gwen Stefani.
03:58There was a major creative wall waiting for ex-No Doubt singer Gwen Stefani back in the
04:032010s.
04:04She went into the studio with major hitmakers like Benny Blanco and Pharrell Williams, releasing
04:08singles like Baby Don't Lie and Spark the Fire to tease a brand new third solo album.
04:12Baby, tell me.
04:13Who's that gonna hate now?
04:15Hey, let's fuck, come on, yeah.
04:17The singles didn't perform up to Interscope's high commercial expectations, however, and the
04:21entire pop-heavy project was abruptly scrapped and blocked from release.
04:25Gwen later admitted she felt unfulfilled by the label-driven direction, yet a few years
04:29later, history would be repeated.
04:31That record for me is, I could cry right now.
04:34Like, I can't, that record is, I would never listen to that record.
04:38It has so much pain in it for me.
04:40Stefani recorded a massive 30-song ska and reggae-influenced album during the 2020 COVID-19
04:45pandemic that was prematurely shelved after its lead singles failed to ignite the charts.
04:49I feel I'm blown away, like, just blown away, but to be actually out on tour now is just
04:55another level of something I never expected.
04:58Number 6, Frank Ocean.
05:00Frank Ocean's escape from Def Jam recordings is the stuff of music industry legend.
05:05Frustrated by the label's lack of support and a restrictive contract, Ocean devised a
05:09rather cinematic plot to get his music released on his own terms.
05:12Def Jam was demanding his official sophomore album to fulfill his contract obligations.
05:17Instead, Ocean gave them Endless, a visually hypnotic video album that technically satisfied
05:22his legal requirements.
05:29But here's the kicker.
05:30Just one day later, Ocean independently dropped his actual masterpiece, Blonde, through his
05:36own label.
05:44By pulling this legendary bait-and-switch, Ocean successfully blocked Def Jam from owning
05:50or profiting off his best work, completely outsmarting the corporate suits and securing
05:54a historic victory for artist independents everywhere.
05:57One of the coolest things about what I'm experiencing right now, as far as people responding
06:02to the songs I wrote and what I decided to do, is that it really is me.
06:09Number 5, Zayn Malik.
06:11I guess I never explained why I left.
06:14It was for this moment to be given the opportunity to show you who I really am.
06:18Hashtag real music, hashtag RCA.
06:21Ex-One Direction singer Zayn Malik enjoyed massive success with his debut album, Mind of
06:26Mine.
06:26Yet, Zayn's subsequent musical rollouts faced immense internal friction.
06:30He openly called out RCA Records on social media, actively pleading with them to release
06:34his music and accusing them of holding his creative output hostage without any logical
06:38explanation.
06:38They dangle your words like diamonds.
06:42They caught me, but I see through.
06:45Fans even started massive online campaigns to free Zayn from his contract.
06:50The executive bottleneck heavily stifled his career momentum and left his third album,
06:54Nobody Is Listening, with practically zero label promotion.
06:57Zayn eventually parted ways with RCA, showcasing just how quickly a label's enthusiasm can vanish
07:02when an artist refuses to play by their strict corporate rules.
07:05I wanted to stand out in that way too and show that it's just a Zayn song, you know?
07:11Because it's my culture and, you know, I'm literally half Pakistani.
07:16Originally, yeah, it all comes from there.
07:18Number 4, JoJo.
07:25Perhaps no artist on this list suffered a more devastating and prolonged industry blockade
07:30than JoJo.
07:31The singer was trapped in a nightmare contract with The Family Entertainment and Blackground
07:35Records, after scoring massive global hits as a teenager with Leave, Get Out and Too
07:40Little Too Late.
07:47The label essentially locked her in musical purgatory, refusing to release her third album for nearly
07:52a decade while legally forbidding her from releasing music elsewhere.
07:55I didn't own my voice and I wasn't able to put out any music, so spent a few years just
08:00fighting just to be able to continue on with my career.
08:04JoJo fought a multi-year legal battle to be released from the contract and would re-record
08:08her early catalog as an adult so her fans could finally stream her music legally.
08:12And then at 22, I sued them again, and this time I really meant business, and thankfully
08:18I was able to, uh, the lawyers I worked with found a loophole, I was able to get out.
08:223.
08:23The Beatles
08:31One might think the most famous band in history could release whatever they wanted, but even
08:37the Beatles faced major corporate censorship and release intervention.
08:40Capitol Records, the band's American distributor, was notorious for butchering the tracklists
08:45of their UK albums to squeeze out extra profits.
08:47Out here, this section of the Hollywood Walk of Fame that extends in front of the Capitol
08:51Records building, these are a lot of the most famous musicians of all times.
08:55All four of the Beatles have stars out here.
08:57In protest, the band created the infamous Butcher cover for the US-only album Yesterday
09:02and Today, featuring the Fab Four covered in raw meat and decapitated baby dolls.
09:08Nobody ever loved me like she did.
09:13Capitol was completely horrified, and immediately recalled and blocked the album's distribution.
09:17Decades later, the band's company, Apple Core, engaged in a massive legal standoff with
09:22EMI, effectively blocking the Beatles' entire legendary catalogue from streaming for years,
09:27until a historic agreement was finally reached in 2010.
09:30But you're not afraid to be commercial.
09:32That seems to be your answer.
09:34No, just the opposite.
09:35I mean, I'm proud to be commercial.
09:37So you think about it, what other way do I have to know that it's working?
09:49The heartbreaking legal battle between Kesha and her former producer, Dr. Luke, and his
09:54label, Kimisabe Records, is one of the darkest chapters in modern music history.
09:58Kesha sought to be completely released from her restrictive recording contract after filing
10:02a lawsuit alleging years of severe emotional, physical and sexual abuse.
10:06It's been more than four years since she put out a record.
10:09Her career was at a complete standstill.
10:12Instead, she was met with an agonizing industry blockade.
10:14The label refused to let her record or release new music with anyone else, effectively forcing
10:19her to choose between working with her alleged abuser or having her thriving career permanently
10:23destroyed.
10:24Her case spurred a wave of public support, including from Lady Gaga, who frequently tweeted
10:29messages of solidarity with the TikTok singer under the hashtag Free Kesha.
10:34The hashtag Free Kesha movement swept the globe as fans and fellow artists rallied around
10:38her, although she remained legally tied to the overarching contract for years.
10:42The issues and legally you can't talk about it.
10:44We don't want to talk about it.
10:45We're here now with you.
10:47And how has that music, though, helped you through this difficult time?
10:52Well, I think this record has quite literally saved my life.
10:57Number 1.
10:58Prince.
10:58Well, let's see.
10:59Do you all think that's a good deal?
11:01What?
11:02What?
11:02I mean, tell me why.
11:03I mean, what am I missing?
11:04Okay, let's do some math.
11:06The Purple One reached a massive breaking point in the early 90s with Warner Bros. Records.
11:10The label wanted him to slow down his incredibly prolific output, fearing that releasing too
11:13many albums would oversaturate the market and hurt profits.
11:16Prince, a relentless creative force who wrote songs daily, felt completely enslaved by this
11:21corporate limitation.
11:22We had some issues that were basically about ownership of the music and how often I was
11:28supposed to record.
11:30He famously wrote the word slave across his face in protest during public appearances and
11:35legally changed his name to an unpronounceable love symbol.
11:38Prince forced the media to refer to him as the artist formerly known as Prince.
11:42And he purposely gave Warner Bros. vault music to finish his contract while withholding
11:46his absolute best work.
11:48I wanted to make a change and move to a new plateau in my life and one of the ways
11:54in which
11:55I did that was to change my name.
11:56It sort of divorced me from the past and all the hang-ups that go along with it.
12:01Do you think you have what it takes for the pop star life?
12:04Let us know in the comments.
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