Janet Jackson Drops Island Def Jam The Next 360 Artist?

LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Janet Jackson has left her label, Island Def Jam, after a stay of just 14 months with her publicist telling Billboard that the split was at Jackson's request.

Jackson signed with Island Def Jam in July 2007 after a long tenure with Virgin. Her first album on the new label, "Discipline" debuted in March at #1 on the Billboard 200 but has since failed to move more than 415,000 copies after a mere 14 weeks on the charts. The modest sales figures reportedly led to Jackson feeling as if the label had not done all that it could to market the record, a sentiment shared by producer Rodney Jerkins.

"I felt like it wasn't pushed correctly" Jerkins rap-up.com. "She just didn't get her just-do as an artist of that magnitude."

Now Jackson is without any sort of label deal and according to a statement by her team, she is looking forward to having "autonomy over her career, without the restrictions of a label system." The statement went on to note that "Janet's departure from Island makes her one of the first superstar artists to have the individual freedom to promote their work through a variety of avenues such as iTunes, mobile carriers and other diverse and innovative channels."

Jackson's departure from Island also adds fuel to the rumor that the singer may be considering a deal with Live Nation Artists such as the ones inked earlier this year by artists such as Shakira, Jay-Z and Madonna. Jackson is on the road for the first time in nearly a decade in the Live Nation-produced "Rock Witchu," tour, which kicked off on September 10 and will run through October 22nd. – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers

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