Adam Lambert Pre-Idol Single “Want” To Be Released to iTunes 6/23

More people riding Adam’s coattails this time to make a dolla. I’m gonna pass on buying it. TPTB must be royally pissed at this.

ARE YOU SERIOUS.

I AM NOT BUYING THIS.

sync licensing

Here is the definition:
A music synchronization license – or sync license, for short – is a music license that allows the license holder to “sync” music to some kind of media output. Often sync licenses are used for TV shows and movies, but any kind of visual paired with sound requires a sync license.

What a lie from this low Hi-Fi!! I won’t buy this.

edit: please don’t post articles without links

This is a shame. People will buy it though, even though that song is horrible.

A music synchronization license – or sync license, for short – is a music license that allows the license holder to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“syncà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  music to some kind of media output. Often sync licenses are used for TV shows and movies, but any kind of visual paired with sound requires a sync license.

So basically, they can reproduce the music without Adam blessing by getting this type of license rather than a master recording license? Do I have that right? It basically means they don’t need Adam’s permission?

Hopefully radios won’t play it so people won’t know its on Itunes to buy it. I wonder why 19 or RCA isn’t trying to stop this….. Hi Fi is moving real fast with this. I also hope Itunes doesn’t feature it on their front page.

I still don’t understand how they are going to do this without Adam’s help in the promotion of the album, but I’m about to find out.

If it turns out this guy is telling the truth and Adam is lying, I wonder what’s going to happen.

If Adam had any kind of working relationship, contract, or written agreement with these people, would that not have rendered him ineligible to compete on Idol? I can’t imagine he would have been allowed to compete and I rather doubt he would not have disclosed this information. That makes me believe the original scenario, that is, he was paid to record these songs as a “casual” worker, and had no contract with this company.

hypertwink – what could Adam be lying about? He just said that the music doesn’t reflect what he’s working on now, which I could understand… he’s working with much better producers now.

I wholeheartedly disagree with the prevailing sentiment on this board not to buy or support “Want” or “On with the Show”…while HiFi/Wilshire are certainly being opportunistic, neither Adam nor his team have urged his fans not to purchase the material. Just because is doesn’t comport with his current musical style doesn’t mean that the music is bad or has no value. While Want does appear unfinished and demo-like, he sounds great and the song has a good hook and is stuck in my head. I think if people buy this and it does well, it sends a message that there is a huge market out there for Adam’s music, both old and new — if it is ignored, then the critics can say “see well he was only popular on TV”….I am a lawyer with some experience in this area and if Adam and his team had grounds to sue they would do so. They have apparently indicated that they are not going to seek to stop the distribution of this material. That being the case there is no reason not to buy it

But didn’t he say that he was just a singer? If he happened to write some of this crap, then he’s lying. And if he’s lying about this, what else did he lie about? I mean, there’s that whole bit about not having a boyfriend when it turns out that he had one, so…

it looks like adam wrote a song to be sent to BMI and ASCAP with Kara Dioguardi and Dr. Luke

It appears that Dr. Luke comes with some very good credentials according to Wikipedia:

“He has received 4 Pop Music Awards from ASCAP in 2009, 3 awards in 2008, one in 2007 and two in 2006 (ten ASCAP Pop Music Awards in total since 2006). Many of the songs Lukasz Gottwald has written and produced have been some of the most performed over the last five years.”

This Hecker (et al) is such a douchebag

I’m kinda confused on why people won’t buy this. Sounds like an Adam cd. Sure not made by the Idol powers, but so…?

If a single is released on Itunes tomorrow, then I guess the Idol powers are either ok with it or they have no say in it. I’m curious if Adam will get royalty payments for this?

foxydonna
Jun 22nd, 2009 at 10:45 am
If Adam had any kind of working relationship, contract, or written agreement with these people, would that not have rendered him ineligible to compete on Idol? I canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t imagine he would have been allowed to compete and I rather doubt he would not have disclosed this information. That makes me believe the original scenario, that is, he was paid to record these songs as a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“casualà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  worker, and had no contract with this company.

No, the AI rules are that you can not have a CURRENT recording contract when you enter the competition. That’s how contestants like Carly Smithson and Michael Johns and Kristy Lee Cook were allowed to compete despite having previous record deals and tons of pre-Idol material.

And recording DEMOS with some people does NOT constitute a recording contract.

This just gets curiouser and curiouser. That’s a very strongly worded press release. It’ll be interesting to see how 19E handles this and how it plays out… too many versions of Adam’s sound muddy the waters for a “clean” post Idol launch. Buzz is good, but too many competing sounds can confuse the average consumer, too.

Adam’s response was to the release of the song “Want,” which was clearly a demo, as it was recorded by another artist. Whether he had a hand in the other songs, who knows. I just know that I’m massively annoyed at this company; and also at all of Adam’s fans who ridiculously claim that it’s an awesome song and will buy the album. His so-called “biggest fans” are encouraging this crap. I hope they enjoyed the shout-out in the PR.

Who knows. Maybe releasing this early is a great thing because it will be massively distanced from Adam’s RCA release and there is enough talk right now about how it has nothing to do with his RCA release that people will be less confused. Get it over and done with and maybe it will go away.

However, this is obnoxious: “On With The Show is drenched in Lambertà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s signature sound and style.” Adam DOESN’T HAVE a signature sound yet. That’s what he’s working on. Give the guy a chance. Grrr. Also, Adam said in an interview during Idol that his previous attempts at writing were pretty crappy. Such a cash in.

So if Adam co-wrote the songs, why isn’t he registered in the ASCAP list?

Also, they talk about a three year relationship, but no word about having Adam ever signed to them.

Who is lying and how much?

I wonder why 19 or RCA isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t trying to stop this

I’m sure their lawyers are hard at work. Since Hi Fi Recordings/Wilshire Records doesn’t seem to be a fly by night studio/label, I’m sure they’ve covered their asses and 19/RCA are SOL.

Hands down, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Wantà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  is one of the biggest radio smashes I have heard in a long time and the album will contain more of the same.

:lol_tb: :lol_tb: :lol_tb:

This is so hilarious.

I noticed earlier today that Want was removed from Ryan Seacrest’s website upon request of Sony BMG. I’m sure they will do everything they can to stop this CD.

edit: don’t mod posters. knock off the defensiveness

Apparently they can or are able to see other people, thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ is still à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢singleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ to me.

That’s not single. That’s an open relationship…or just plain slutty. LOL

This is such bullshit. I hope no one buys this. Adam is obviously not going to see a penny from the sales, and he doesn’t want this to be released. I feel so bad for Adam right now.

I’m going to believe Adam here. Adam only has 5 songs on the ASCAP list, 4 of which have been available on the internet forever, so I doubt he co-wrote 8 songs on this CD. Adam says he was hired as a session singer, so that’s what I’m going to believe.

Hi Fi/Wilshire are officially douchebags. I mean, what the actual fuck?

If it turns out this guy is telling the truth and Adam is lying, I wonder whatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s going to happen.

Exactly. If Hi-Fi/ Wilshire are lying as many fans are reflexively believing, then they are doing a WHOLE LOT of lying, as they keep declaring that Adam co-wrote the album. And what I’m hearing is a whole lot of silence from the the Lambert camp after his intial statement release, not to mention his label and management.

By now, you would think that Adam would have denounced Wilshire/ Hi-Fi in the press, at the very least, if not filed his own lawsuit. And why is 19/RCA not getting involved?

Methinks Adam was a little more involved in the “On With The Show” project, the he indicated on Friday….

Personally, I don’t think the “Want” song is that bad. The lyrics are kinda lame though. It is a bit catchy. We think it will be a good commercial song. Maybe they should consider using it in eharmony or some dating website commercials cause it’s all about love…

I will buy it if Adam endorses it, otherwise, I will just get the youtube version.

I mean, thereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s that whole bit about not having a boyfriend when it turns out that he had one, soà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

not really. Adam continues to say he is just dating and is not in a relationship. Dating someone doesn’t mean that person is their boyfriend/girlfriend. We are so used to not “courting” in today’s society that we jump to relationship if we see someone holding hands, etc.

You do not need to be registered with eithre ASCAP or BMI — or even have registered with the copyright office — for copyright protection to apply to your works. However, most artists will register their works to avoid issues regardinng royalties etc.

I think it might spike on ITiunes for a minute and then go a away. I can’t imagine ITunes giving it a banner, and I can’t imagine radio picking it up when they know it’s not his real stuff. Maybe if the song was that good, but it isn’t.

Yeah, I know it’s only Monday but it’s sure been quiet from his new camp, if you will. Makes me wonder if Adam’s official statement was approved by 19E or RCA before he issued it…

Adam DOESNà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢T HAVE a signature sound yet. Thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s what heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s working on.

I know. It is ridiculous. like I said before, I really want to see how this sells without Adam’s assistance or blessing. credible music stations/venues aren’t going to touch it. I’m sure there is some behind the scenes movement on this, but its smart for 19/RCA to not make a BIG splash about it because it’ll get more attention. Let it die a natural death….. Adam will be on E! tonight about his real album that comes out in the fall. Let’s just focus on that.

If Adam really co-wrote the songs, wouldn’t he have a say in their release? If he signed over his rights to the songs, that suggests he wasn’t too invested in them, doesn’t it?

Why didn’t they release a song that Adam co-wrote as a first single? His response was obviously about the song “Want.” He may have no clue what the other songs on the album are yet, especially if they have over two album’s worth of material.

All I can say is WOW, I thought we were done with the comments on Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s sex life. This topic is about releasing a pre-Idol song to iTunes is it not?

26 hypertwink
Jun 22nd, 2009 at 11:00 am
Apparently they can or are able to see other people, thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ is still à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢singleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ to me.

Thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s not single. Thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s an open relationshipà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦or just plain slutty. LOL

Evidently not, lol. All I can say is that I will NEVER buy “Want”or that album unless Adam endorses it, which is highly unlikely. After all, shouldn’t he have some say in his past endeavors unless he was/is under contract with Hi-Fi? Also note that they have not once mentioned their “contract” with Adam, only a “relationship”

They may have a demo on there that Adam co-wrote, but I am pretty sure HiFi are lying about “Want” being as I heard the song re-worked as “December” by a different artist. So unless Adam co-wrote it and gave it to another artist (which is a possibility, but not that likely considering Adam doesn’t have a writing credit attributed to him here), then I am inclined to believe he was a session singer since he has stated he was (and he has said that before hand), I have come across some of his other session work AND his demos that I have happened upon sound extremely different from “Want”.

If it turns out … Adam is lying

BLASPHEMY!!! :furious_tb:

Now where did I put my stone? :biggrin_wp:

The comments here are examples of exactly why this is such a bad thing for Adam’s career. Already there are people calling Adam a liar, people who are confused about what Adam’s “sound” is and isn’t like, people who think that “Want” is what Adam’s music sounds like. This CD is going to cause a lot of unnecessary crap for Adam.

What worries me are the people who aren’t paying close attention to the details and will actually think this is his new single and new album. Hopefully Adam/RCA/19 will make a bigger stink about it in the media if this itunes track starts selling well.

Do we know if Adam is receiving any royalties on the track?

If Adam really co-wrote the songs, wouldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t he have a say in their release? If he signed over his rights to the songs, that suggests he wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t too invested in them, doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t it?

But that doesn’t unmake him writing or being a part of it…which he denied. So whether or not he was invested with these songs or not, if he did write these, Hecker turns out to be telling the truth and Adam’s pants are on fire. This adds a legitimacy to these early recordings and adds a sheen of ass on Adam.

No hes not receiving royalties.
The guy from Hi-Fi basicly said in an interview that the only benefit that Adam would get from this is more people hearing his previous stuff.

hypertwink
Jun 22nd, 2009 at 11:13 am
If Adam really co-wrote the songs, wouldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t he have a say in their release? If he signed over his rights to the songs, that suggests he wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t too invested in them, doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t it?

But that doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t unmake him writing or being a part of ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦which he denied.

Do we have a source or a link with Adam’s denial :question_ee:

But that doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t unmake him writing or being a part of ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦which he denied. So whether or not he was invested with these songs or not, if he did write these, Hecker turns out to be telling the truth and Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s pants are on fire. This adds a legitimacy to these early recordings and adds a sheen of ass on Adam.

Like I said above, I took his response to be about “Want.” He may have no clue what the other songs on the album are yet, especially if they have over two album’s worth of material. He could have co-written a handful of tunes and sung on dozens of others.

My question is if this record company “believed” in him so much and “nurtured” and “developed” his talent so much, why was he so at the end of his rope that he decided to go on AI in the first place? I mean, I could maybe see that they had a working relationship and maybe even a deal that Adam would go on AI for the exposure then come back to them and record. But as business-savvy as Adam seems to be, surely he knew as soon as he read those contracts that the likelihood of him being able to sign with another label was small. Not to mention that we fans saw his star power and potential from the beginning. This record company who have “believed in him” from the beginning didn’t see that?

I’m sure there’s more to the story, but at this point I’m smelling a company either pissed off that things didn’t work out how they planned, or that they missed the boat on this one. Either way, it screams “just trying to make a quick buck.”

And I’m sorry, but I call horseshit on a big name record producer doing that shitty production job on “Want.” That does NOT sound like a professional recording, I’m sorry.

Heckers already been found out lying. He said originally that ‘Want’ was an Adam original which has been found false because it was already recorded by someone else under the name ‘December’ and Adam only did the demo.

I’m really liking the song after continuous plays, but it sucks if Adam does not get compensated from any sales of it. I really don’t think it will hurt him artistically, because he will have a follow up album shortly, but financially I think it sucks this guy may be ripping him off.

edit: congrats. you are now in moderation

Foxydonna, no, he would only have been ineligible to appear on Idol if the contract was still existing (i.e. not a previous contract asin the case of David C, Allison, Michael Johns, Carly, Taylor, etc).

However, if Adam does have any ownership of this album (and has co-writer, he should have, though not necessarily), SonyBMG could put a stop to its release under a clause in the contract that Adam would have signed before going on Idol. It’s the same clause that prevented any of the others with pre-existing recordings from releasing/re-releasing them.

Sadly, I think Adam has ridden through a lot during his time on Idol and since but this, unlike anything else before it, really has the possibility of ending his career before its really started.

If Adam really co-wrote the songs, wouldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t he have a say in their release? If he signed over his rights to the songs, that suggests he wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t too invested in them, doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t it?

Well, he may have sold them the right to record and distribute a version of the songs so they wouldn’t have to go back to get permission again. The fact that they didn’t distribute the songs at the time wouldn’t take that right away.

Why didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t they release a song that Adam co-wrote as a first single? His response was obviously about the song à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Want.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

Maybe they are even less commercially viable than “Want”.

So if Adam co-wrote the songs, why isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t he registered in the ASCAP list?

Adam isn’t a member of ASCAP. You don’t have to join if you don’t want to. He’s listed as a writer for some songs because his co-writer is a member of ASCAP.

So basically, they can reproduce the music without Adam blessing by getting this type of license rather than a master recording license? Do I have that right? It basically means they donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t need Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s permission?

No, they are talking about sync licensing because they are going to try to get the songs featured on TV shows or Movies or something. They don’t need to get Adam’s permission because it appears he already gave it.

When somebody tried to distribute Taylor’s pre-Idol releases, he went straight to court. He didn’t release a press release (Drudge found the filing). With the high profile stuff Hi-Fi is doing and no legal threats made yet, it sounds like they have the legal right to do what they are doing. Wilshire invested money in these recordings years ago. This money helped Adam stay in the business. Now, they want to profit. It kind of sucks for Adam’s big roll-out, but I don’t think Hi-Fi is being morally bankrupt. If Adam comes out with the goods in November, all will be forgotten. IMO.

Maybe they should consider using it in eharmony or some dating website commercials cause ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s all about loveà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

Oh God, the horror. Why not just kill a career before it starts.

It sounds like these horrible people legally have the right to this material. Most contracts of adhesion are draconian and Adam likely signed away ALL of his rights thinking it would never matter. At this point, RCA/Sony can probably only manage the potentially disastrous outcome.

As far as the relative silence from RCA/Sony…I wonder how much importance RCA/Sony want to give this. Minimizing it and saying essentially nothing may be their way of dealing with it publicly; while behind the scenes they are contacting radio stations, online sources, etc. Who knows. I just hope it fails. And I say that as a big fan.

I canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t imagine ITunes giving it a banner,

If Hi/Fi Wilshire pays for a banner, then it will get a banner.

Also, if Adam is listed as a co-writer, he WILL receive royalties.

I don’t see how Adam is a liar here. We had evidence these songs, well Want/December anyway, was sung by someone else and was under this other person name. Adam just got caught up in something to make a few bucks and now the guy is trying to profit.

With the high profile stuff Hi-Fi is doing and no legal threats made yet, it sounds like they have the legal right to do what they are doing.

Yes. Exactly right.

19 won’t be suing because they can’t. All the rights for this material have been secured by Hi-Fi. That’s what I’m hearing.

But didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t he say that he was just a singer? If he happened to write some of this crap, then heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s lying. – hypertwink

So if Adam co-wrote the songs, why isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t he registered in the ASCAP list? – emmzuka

Writing credits are so much a matter of agreement, that I think it’s impossible to even talk in terms of lies and truth on this one.

For example, if a band develops a song, the writing credits might go to whoever did the main writing (eg Lennon/McCartney), or they might decide to give writing credits to everyone in the band, even though individuals may have only contributed their take on the beat or a lick.

It can also be decided later that someone gets writing credit. For example, Taylor’s pushing a single right now that he has writing credit on. However, it was released previously by his friend’s band with no writing credit to Taylor, and has long been played by them as their original. Maybe at some point, when Taylor hung out with them, he contributed some to the song – a line or a lick or something. Earlier, it didn’t make sense for that to be formally acknowledged. Now, he wants it to look like his song, so he makes some arrangment with the primary songwriter, a friendly and/or financial arrangment, and, Presto, Change-0, he’s got a writing credit.

So, regarding Adam, a possilbe scenario: he sings these songs as demos or whatever. Being the kind of singer he is, he changes up the tune here or there as he sings. Maybe he even suggests the occasional lyric change, but maybe not. If he remained a nobody, and these aren’t his best friends, nobody is likely to jump and give him a writing credit for something like that. But if someone has an independent reason for calling these “Adam Lambert songs”, they can decide to give him writing credit for that great work on repairing the tunes.

Bottom line for me: I like to respect the artist’s wishes. If Adam backs this whole heartedly (and if I like the music), I’ll buy. Otherwise, I won’t do anything to support this. To me, it’s like live tapings of concerts (which I love). If the artist is open to live taping, I’ll download (but not pay a bootlegger). If the artist doesn’t want live taping, I won’t download.

Here’s a compromise that would show everyone’s true colors: delay the release. Adam says this doesn’t show who he is now, the Wilshire people say it’s good music. So let Adam’s fall album come out and do it’s thing, and let Wilshire release this other thing in a year as “here he is pre-Idol” thing. That’s a win-win. Unless, of course, it’s not about getting good music out there, but instead about riding a media wave.

Thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s not single. Thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s an open relationshipà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦or just plain slutty. LOL

You are not single when you are in a committed exclusive relationship. You can date, but still be considered single. So anyone who dates more than one person at a time is slutty? I guess I was a big slut before I got married.

****19 wonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t be suing because they canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t. All the rights for this material have been secured by Hi-Fi. Thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s what Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m hearing.

Do you know if Adam will profit at all from any sales or will it all go to this con artist?

I can’t believe these people would be releasing the single and later the album if they don’t have the legal right. I also can’t believe that if they didn’t have that right theywould be stupid enough to think that the money they would make off the single would be greater than the amount 19 and Adam could sue them for. I’m thinking Adam recorded the stuff and didn’t protect his rights to it. Won’t be the first time that has happened. Perhaps he did co-write some of the stuff and was making the demo to shop around to the various labels.

I think Adam might have been wrong to go against the idea when it was first announced. Perhaps he has no legal rights and spoke to soon. And like said above he didn’t condemn it just said it wasn’t representative of what he’s working on now. That could also be why 19 hasn’t made any statements and he hasn’t made any further ones.

I don’t see it hurting his career. It makes me think of some early works and bootleg stuff that I have heard from other artists I like. If I like it – it’s a bonus because I get to hear more stuff from artists I like. If I don’t like it, I don’t listen and I don’t buy. But that sure doesn’t stop me from buying and enjoying other stuff that artist puts out if I like it. People are worried that it’s not a good song and not what Adam’s signature sound will be; and that people will not like it and not buy his 19 cd because of that. With his amazing voice, popularity and media coverage, I still think that fans will be waiting in line to purchase that album.

And hopefully the guy’s statement that Adam will share in the success, means he will make some $$ from it.

I’m buying it because I like it. To boycott it is like cutting off your nose to spite your face. If the case is that Adam won’t make any money off of it anyway because of lack of knowledge or judgment early on, we can’t change that. I love his voice and I’ll take anything featuring that voice that I can get.

The press blurb claims Adam wrote the majority of the songs on the album, and describes a scenario that has Adam spending the last 3 years working with Wilshire Recordsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ producers and writers to record an album for release eventually.

Then why wasn’t Adam under contract if they were going to “eventually” release an album?

LOL. Dating is slutty? Adam just starting dating a guy who doesn’t even live in LA. They rarely spend time together. Most young people casually date people while getting to know each other. You will find most young people now casually date instead of a string of serious boyfriend/girlfriends.

I plan on buying the slutty guy’s cd. (ha – you guys are so funny) I’m interested. I don’t think Want is great, but I like it. I’m not getting all worked up on this stuff. Adam has been working on his music for a long time. So has Kris and matt who have had independent work put out too. No biggie. Just these people held it to make money so that is sketchy, but they are just an independent studio and are out to make money. Adam’s statement was regarding “Want”. I doubt he’s even sure what is on it.

Sadly, I think Adam has ridden through a lot during his time on Idol and since but this, unlike anything else before it, really has the possibility of ending his career before its really started.

How? I don’t get how a few songs can end Adam’s career. Please explain?

****Sadly, I think Adam has ridden through a lot during his time on Idol and since but this, unlike anything else before it, really has the possibility of ending his career before its really started.

****How? I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t get how a few songs can end Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s career. Please explain?

I don’t get it either, that boy is on a elevator that only rides up, I don’t see how this is going to derail that either. I just hate that he is getting ripped off.

I remember Adam saying many times that before joining AI he was about to sign a contract with recording house, but that he decided to go into idol. But I think this has to do with the German guy who has said that for him it was a real pity not to go ahead with the plans but that he wanted the best for Adam, and he even said he might post Adam ´s work on the Internet for free.

This was posted with a link in another thread on this blog.

REAL Adam ´s fans won ´t buy this hi-fi music.

As with most things, this whole situation appears to be a much bigger deal on the internet than it is in “real life.” I think Adam and RCA are playing it very smart by simply not drawing any more attention to Hi-Fi and this music. “Want,” without promotion, particularly by Adam, will just fade away. While his vocal is beautiful, the song is completely unmemorable and nothing close to what I would envision as being “signature Adam.” Adam is a hot commodity right now; he has been working in LA for 8 years (including lots of session work), so this really isn’t all that surprising.

In terms of co-writing “Want” (or is it, “December,” LOL), anyone who has listened to pre-Idol Adam, could see that, creatively, this is not Adam’s style at all. Clearly this jives with nothing Adam has created previously.

Sad, but of course there are people out there ready to make a buck off Adam Lambert. Especially with the current state of the music industry, this isn’t surprising. But, Adam will be just fine.

I really disagree and don’t understand the “this is going to kill his career” theory. Even if the “first” single or album isn’t great, it doesn’t mean the real single and album won’t be huge.

I am not a big fan to any singer before Adam, I bought songs and albums that I like and I don’t care if they are the singer’s first or second or third release. This one won’t sell cause most people don’t like it. But if his real album is good, he can still make it big!

Adam just got caught up in something to make a few bucks and now the guy is trying to profit.

The guy runs a business. How dare he try to make money! The music business is a harsh business and music execs are not known for their philantrophy. Why are we surprised by this?

I know what dating is adamfan4ever. You need to direct that message to hyperwink. I was trying to explain that to them.

If Adam comes out with the goods in November, all will be forgotten. IMO.

Thats my viewpoint on it Kirsten. He and RCA are going to have to make sure his fall album is irresistable.

As many said in previous threads, Adam isn’t the only victim to this. It should be a learning lesson for aspiring artists.

I don’t know of anybody who doesn’t have early stuff like this out there somewhere. And, I’m not going to judge Adam. The guy was a struggling artist for a long time. I admire how long and how much he has fought to make it. If he did some work for a small company and signed away some early songs to get the to try and help it, then good for him. He has said he hustled. He contacted many a producer and tried to get them to produce a few things for him. You might not make a dime from your first work, but he was just trying to get noticed.

edit: dial back the defensiveness.

The comments here are examples of exactly why this is such a bad thing for Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s career. Already there are people calling Adam a liar, people who are confused about what Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“soundà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  is and isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t like, people who think that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Wantà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  is what Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s music sounds like. This CD is going to cause a lot of unnecessary crap for Adam.

I kind of doubt that anybody who’s thinking that way liked Adam’s performances very much in the first place, though.

And at least “Want” is what his *voice* sounds like. … And his voice sounds pretty good on there!

I’d get a lot more bent out of shape about this if I were sure that his first RCA album was going to be full of fabulous material! But I’ve heard other Idol’s first RCA albums, lol. Seriously, I do think it’s a bit of a problem for defining his “style.” But the stuff from the Ten Commandments and Brigadoon are out there, too, and Adam singing The Prayer, and so on. I think it’s pretty common knowledge that he *can* sing lots of different styles. It’s just a question of what the style will be of the album that really gets the push to make it to the top. And I don’t believe Wilshire or whoever is financially capable of giving these songs that much push.

Seems to me RCA’s inability to do anything actually makes the case for these songs having been done as demos. When you do that kind of work for hire, you generally sign away any and all rights to the material in perpetuity, because they don’t want you coming back trying to get cash or credit, and because you figure that the songs’ demo-ish quality means that they wouldn’t get released as finished products anyway.

Have you heard Want? In case you haven’t: http://www.mediafire.com/?2mbdnmyzozz

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m buying it because I like it. To boycott it is like cutting off your nose to spite your face. If the case is that Adam wonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t make any money off of it anyway because of lack of knowledge or judgment early on, we canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t change that. I love his voice and Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll take anything featuring that voice that I can get.

Why is that? Just because I love his voice doesn’t mean I have to have everything he has ever recorded and it sure doesn’t mean I’m going to support these two bit scuzzbuckets trying to make a quick buck off of Adam’s new found celebrity. They won’t be seeing one penny of my hard earned money. Buying it does Adam more harm than good IMO so I won’t be doing it.

I’m married to a song writer and all people have to do to get a writing credit these days is change a word or 2 to what was originally written and they get a credit. One example Jesse McCartney admitted that the only part he added to Bleeding Love was ‘Keep bleeding, Keep keep bleeding’ and hes classified as co-writer. So if Adam was performing a demo and changed a word or 2 while singing. They could say that he co-wrote a song even if he didn’t.

If Hi/Fi Wilshire pays for a banner, then it will get a banner.

I could have sworn when we went through that whole rigarmaroll with “Cookie-Banner-gate” it came out that ITunes decides who to give banners. It is not a matter of who forks over the cash. That’s why so many indies get adds alongside major labels acts, even though they don’t have as much money.

Now I’m not sure if the banners get paid for after the decision is made.

*****Adam just got caught up in something to make a few bucks and now the guy is trying to profit.

****The guy runs a business. How dare he try to make money! The music business is a harsh business and music execs are not known for their philantrophy. Why are we surprised by this?

I’m not surprised just very bothered.

I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t see how Adam is a liar here.

SOMEBODY is lying, or at least not telling the whole truth. Adam may have been hired as a session singer, but may have helped with the arrangements enough or had enough creative input in other ways to receive cowriting credits. However, if he signed his rights away, I guess he wouldn’t receive royalties in that case.

However, Hi-Fi Wilshire also seems to be saying that some of these songs were written by Adam ALONE. If so, that suggests that he wasn’t just hired to lend his vocals to these tracks, but was actually SUBMITTING songs for the project himself.

My thought is that maybe Adam had an ongoing relationship with this company that would have violated the terms of his contract on Idol. However, 19 now has maneuvered him to a position where he’s expected to be a cash cow, so they are not going to forego that because he was in breach in the beginning. They’ll let it slide now.

It looks to me like both Adam and 19 got caught with their pants around their ankles….

I believe Hi-Fi when they say they have the LEGAL rights to release the songs. But I also think they’re twisting the truth when they say Adam has had a hand in writing those songs. Fans have already found evidence that “Want” was re-recorded by another band and titled “December”.

They’re totally exaggerating Adam’s involvement in order to try and make Adam fans buy it. But we ain’t buying it – the music OR the crap they’re spinning.

I got more prove of Hi-Fi lying.

the original press release on Friday, they said that Adam worked with them in 2007/2008. Now, however, they’re claiming they’ve had a three-year relationship with Adam. Looks like they are trying too hard to convince us.

Seems to me RCAà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s inability to do anything actually makes the case for these songs having been done as demos. When you do that kind of work for hire, you generally sign away any and all rights to the material in perpetuity, because they donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t want you coming back trying to get cash or credit, and because you figure that the songsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ demo-ish quality means that they wouldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t get released as finished products anyway.

That’s what it looks like to me as well.

I will definitely not buy this HiFi album. To me it’s like supporting abuse, however legal it may be.

******My thought is that maybe Adam had an ongoing relationship with this company that would have violated the terms of his contract on Idol. However, 19 now have maneuvered him to a position where heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s expected to be a cash cow, so they are not going to forego that because he wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t upfront in the beginning. Theyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll let it slide now.
It looks to me like Adam and 19 got caught with their pants around their anklesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.

Naw, 19 see Adam as a remarkable person whom they want to work with and what he did in the past is not an issue. This whole thing will be nothing but dust in the wind from an artistic stand point. But in this economy I’m still on the money issue ;p

The word “contract” has yet to be heard from either Hi-Fi or Wilshire. And that is significant. I doubt anyone has been “caught with their pants around their ankles.”

Also Adam suffers from diarrhea of the mouth, I don’t think he could keep a secret to save his soul. So I think he divulged everything he knew to 19/ American Idol when he started this journey, so they probably were prepared for this.

However, Hi-Fi Wilshire also seems to be saying that some of these songs were written by Adam ALONE.

I didn’t read it that way at all. Where does it say that?

It looks to me like both Adam and 19 got caught with their pants around their anklesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.

IMO a statement like this is very premature until the entire story is revealed, which may or may not happen. Maybe this isn’t such a big deal to Adam’s PTB or perhaps they are fighting this as we speak. We just don’t know yet.

Well apparently E! did an interview with Adam in the studio on Friday which airs tonight so maybe we’ll know more after we see that.

It looks to me like Adam and 19 got caught with their pants around their anklesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.

Nice imagery. Thank you. Seriously, thank you.

I refuse to worry about this. There are people working for RCA and 19, far more in the know about this than I, who are paid to worry about Adam’s musical success. people who’s livelihoods are invested in his future, people who actually have some control over what happens with this situation. I prefer to leave the worrying and the speculation to them.

I remember the first time I saw Kelly Clarckson, It was in that horrifically stupid and unforgivably bad Justin and Kelly movie ( I took my 7 y.o. niece, and have never forgiven her for it). I never thought at the time that the day will ever come when I would buy her music. Well that day came… I bought “My December” because it was good.
It will be the same with Adam. People will but the music if they hear it and like it regardless of misconceptions… End of story.

I believe that things happen for a reason.

Reminder:

Dial back the defensiveness peeps! Or you will end up in moderation. In fact, somebody already made it there.

I have to say that Adam’s statement very clearly indicates he was doing singing of other people’s songs – plural – not one other person’s song and some of his own. Very clearly someone here is lying, whether Adam or Hecker. There is no way with that wording that you could construe he only meant “Want”. I do find it interesting that 19 has been silent.

Methinks Adam was a little more involved in the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“On With The Showà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  project, the he indicated on Fridayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.

Adam was referring to “Want” that he did a demo for someone else’s song. He then went on to say the work he did back then (I’m assuming he was referring to the rest of the album) does not reflect the music he is doing today (with RCA). So, he covered all bases.

Adam’s statement was undoubtedly vetted before he released it. He’s not going to release something that can be proven false. There’s no way he is lying. Entertainment Weekly introduced Adam’s statement by saying: “Lambert has just released a statement responding to the release of this new song.” There’s strong evidence “Want” was previously recorded by another artist. I doubt Adam had/has any clue what’s on the rest of the album. Hi-Fi stated that they gave him no warning before their initial press release, so how could he respond to it?

Personally, I just feel that Adam has earned the right to “define” his sound. To determine his own signature and make his own overtures into the musical world. He is not in control of this situation at all; and this is a guy that likes to be in control of the music he puts out there. In one of his Idol interviews he stated that he can take the criticism of his performances because he is in control of what people are seeing and listening to. In this case, that isn’t true. Mark my words, there will be a lot of non-AI fans, with no clue, commenting about how crappy this song is (and it is!) when it is released on iTunes. That’s criticism that Adam doesn’t deserve.

For those who are curious, you can follow which Adam songs are played on the radio on this site: http://www.yes.com/#Adam_Lambert

I doubt you will see “Want” played on the radio. Unless radio DJ’s are idiots.

I just know that Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m massively annoyed at this company; and also at all of Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s fans who ridiculously claim that ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s an awesome song and will buy the album. His so-called à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“biggest fansà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  are encouraging this crap.

ITA.

The line in the release about the response “from fans on message boards across the internet” really burned me up. I read glowing “fan” reviews on YouTube and Ew.com of this crappy demo all weekend, and I knew it would be grist for the mill for these opportunistic jackasses at Hi Fi / Wilshire.

“19 wonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t be suing because they canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t. All the rights for this material have been secured by Hi-Fi. Thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s what Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m hearing.”

This sounds right and 19 has great lawyers so they’d stop it if they could.
This seems very minor and has happened to other artists before. I doubt it’ll do any harm at all to Lambert’s first “real” album. That’ll get tons of promo and this won’t. Although I don’t get why all the name calling for the HiFi Pres if they’re in the legal right. They recognized his talent early and are trying to make a buck. Those “bastards.”

I agree that if Adam had a contract and actually wrote some of this old material, I believe he would have said so. He has been pretty honest about everything else. What concerns me about this, above and beyond these bottom-feeders getting money and telling all these lies, is that that the “Want” recording isn’t good and it makes me wonder how poor the rest of the material is. Because surely they would release the best single, not a poor one. So I do think it could do some harm to his credibility as an artist.

I am buying two copies of “Want” tomorrow off of Itunes..1 for me, and I will gift 1 to a friend! The song is repetitive, but Adam’s voice could polish a turd!

I dont see anything wrong with 19 being silent. Actually thats the best way to deal with the situation at the moment. Dont give any details until everything has been discussed. Anyway Hi-Fi are doing themselves no favors at the moment with statement after statement they have already contradicted themselves twice now. First saying ‘Want’ was an original when its a demo of a song recorded by someone else. Also they have gone from saying Adam worked with them 2007/2008 to a different time. Anyone want to make a bet on the next mistake that they are going to make. They are trying to hard.

Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s voice could polish a turd!

Now that’s a visual I didn’t need! But it’s funny!

I didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t read it that way at all. Where does it say that?

I misread the press release. I guess he doesn’t have any solo-writes. However, Hi-Fi/Wilshire says he has eight co-writes out of eleven. That’s an awful high percentage for somebody who was just a “session singer”.

And again, if Hi-Fi/ Wilshire are lying, they sure are lying in a lot of detail and repeating these lies a lot. Whereas Adam merely has issued a single statement wherein he didn’t officially deny anything that these companies are saying. All he said was that he was hired to sing songs hired by somebody else. If he helped to shape the songs in any way, lyrically or musically, when he was in the studio, he can be credited with a co-write.

If Adam/RCA/19 really cared about this release and thought for one second that it would hurt his career they will be in court today seeking an injunction, regardless of whether HiFi/Wilshire has the rights to release the music (any good lawyer can come up with a legal theory that will at least slow down the distribution for a time). Frankly, I don’t think they care beyond letting the public know that this is pre-idol/years ago recorded material that is different in style from his post-idol to be released in the fall. The HiFi material gives the public new material (at no cost to RCA) and keeps him in the public eye while Adam is on tour and recording the new album…I have no doubt that both 19 and RCA knew about Adam’s prior recordings (be they his own demos, session work for others etc.) and that there was a possibility someone would seek to release them…I don’t think Adam is lying, nor do I think Hi Fi is lying (altho they are certainly stretching the truth to get good PR.) If you like the music buy it — if not don’t….don’t cry for Adam or RCA….they will be fine, this will not in any way ruin his career…FWIW most people that I know that have heard Want like it — albeit the lyrics are cheesy and repetitious (but no more cheesy than mountains and hurricanes)…this is hardly a disaster, and who knows, maybe Want/Show Must Go On (love that title) will prove popular

Thank you hannahB4, now I have the song and I don’t have to buy it tomorrow.

It’s okay….. *yawn* but still Adam’s gorgeous voice.

I think it’s a big deal to Idol fans who discuss these things online, but I don’t think it’s going to make much of an impact on Adam’s true CD sales this Fall out in the rest of the real world.

If HiFi is in the wrong, they’ll have the asses sued by 19R and Sony. The factcheckers here can e-mail 19 but I’m pretty sure their top lawyers would have stopped this already if they could. Plus I doubt iTunes would do this if Sony/19 were initiating a lawsuit.

Hmmm the plot thickens. I did not think Hi Fi and Wiltshire would proceed with this unless they were very confident they had the law on their side. But we still don’t know that for sure – could be some gray areas as well.

Regardless of the legalities, this only really hurts Adam if the material is bad and/or he really doesn’t want to be defined by this material along with stealing some of the thunder of his true first album. Well and making money for someone other than RCA and 19.

Now if it turns out many of these songs were HIS OWN demos clearly this is music that he helped create so presumably he has to like or love some of this music. But then again I know artists who have written a whole album and decided they didn’t like it, scrapped it and started all over again.

Wonder if Idol will be making any changes to their contract for Season 9 or can they in fact avoid this?

Omg, I can’t believe they have the audacity to say that “Want” is (or has potential) to be a big radio smash! In their heads, they probably think that No Boundaries is the best song ever then!

There’s a alot of drama about this issue. I say..if you want to buy it buy it, if you don’t…don’t. By the time Adam’s RCA release is out this issue will be a distant memory.

emme
Jun 22nd, 2009 at 12:17 pm
Thereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a alot of drama about this issue. I say..if you want to buy it buy it, if you donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢tà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t. By the time Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s RCA release is out this issue will be a distant memory.

I totally agree.

The unfortunate thing here is that Wilshire offered the material to Hi Fi instead of letting Adam or RCA buy it from them first. I think they would have had to actually care about Adam as a person and an artist to do that. This is business and Adam calls himself a business man so I bet he gets it.
It does put pressure on RCA to do something amazing with Adam’s first cd. And to make the sound so completely different from the old stuff that there is no confusion as to the HIFI cd being dated. I don’t think it will be hard to do.

I’ve been reading this hand-wringing, finger-wagging debate on the “new” old Adam music since Friday, and I have to say I more agree with cay in that if I don’t buy the cd I’m simply cutting off my nose to spite my face. I miss Adam and new stuff every week. I’ve seen all the YouTubes, the Upright Cafes, the hideous Val Kilmer thing, the wildly erratic Zodiac Show stuff. I’ve downloaded “Pop Goes the Camera” and “Kiss and Tell” and played them until I know every word and beat. And, of course, I have all the AI iTunes. I simply love his voice and what he does to songs (and, swoon, to me). It makes me happy. :lol_tb:

So … I want to be happy again. And I don’t want to wait until fall or my one evening at an Idol concert some 500 miles away. I will buy it if it sounds good, and I’m not sure how it would sound otherwise with Adam.

Granted, I was not thrilled with “Want.” Talk about cliche. And mediocre production, etc. But strangely, or not so strangely, it has grown on me. I am somewhat nervous, though, that this really is considered the best of what is to come on this cd, but I remain hopeful.

I am not under some illusion that “On With the Show” is indicative of what Adam can and will do. I get that he was a struggling artist trying to make a buck. I get that he was not really at that point in his career where he could take all the risk, hit all the notes, be surrounded by all the talented producers/writers/etc he wants. This cd not going to make me think, uh oh, he really isn’t as promising as I thought.

And though the Wilshire Hi Fi people may seem somewhat smarmy, they are, after all, in the business of making hits and, more to the point, making money. So sue them.
What’s that? Can’t? Then move on.

I don’t feel the need to make a point, a stand, an action to show that I am a REAL Adam fan by not buying this cd. If it’s Adam and it’s halfway tolerable, I’ll buy it. Period.

And just you wait, if this proposed OWTS boycott occurs you can bet that at least some strata of the media will suggest that this indicates that Adam isn’t as hot and marketable as once thought.

Perspective, people.

Anyway Hi-Fi are doing themselves no favors at the moment with statement after statement they have already contradicted themselves twice now. First saying à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Wantà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ was an original when its a demo of a song recorded by someone else. Also they have gone from saying Adam worked with them 2007/2008 to a different time. Anyone want to make a bet on the next mistake that they are going to make. They are trying to hard.

If Adam can be non-specific in his released non-denial statment, why can’t Hi-Fi? So “Want” was originally another singer’s demo, but then it was given to Adam. But, if he contributed in any way to crafting the song– by changing the lyrics, arrangement, adding a bar of music etc.– then he can receive a co-writing credit.

And so Hi-Fi said they worked with Adam in 2007 – 2008. Maybe that’s when they worked on “Want” or “On With The Show”, but perhaps they worked with him on the entire catalogue of music he recorded for them over a longer period of time. In fact, didn’t Adam say he was hired in 2005? So that does suggest a longer relationship.

Sounds like you’re trying a little too hard too– trying to find a hole in their story when there may not be one there….

It looks to me like Adam and 19 got caught with their pants around their anklesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.

Nice imagery. Thank you. Seriously, thank you.

I don’t care whether you like Adam or not, but Adam being screwed by a fat, money grubbing music exec is not an image in which “nice” is the correct adjective to use.

Thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s an awful high percentage for somebody who was just a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“session singerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ .

You know, that makes me wonder if they have any of his pre-Idol stuff we already know from YouTube. If they owns rights to Kiss and Tell/Pop Goes the Camera/Glamorize (though it does seem kind of unlikely to me) it could explain the “co-writes.”

Just my 2 cents, but this just seems like what a lot of the contestants have done in the past. Daughry, Taylor, even Kris, etc. have all recorded music before trying out for idol. Kris was, iirc, quoted as being kind of embarassed by his earlier music, because he was younger and not as experienced. You’re just trying to figure out your sound etc when you’re early in your music career.

So I see it as not really different from that. I listened to the early Daughtry stuff, but I was kind of blaise about it – knowing it was from his earlier days.

Does anyone know if Monty (Madonna’s guitar player) is the other co-writer on these tracks? Do we know if Crawl Thru Fire, etc, are going to be on this pre-Idol album?

How does that work? If Adam co-wrote some songs with Monty (or during Citizen Vein), can he sign those rights over to Monty? I know NOTHING about the music biz.

If some of the pre-idol stuff is on there, like Crawl Thru Fire, Pop Goes the Camera, it could be pretty good. If it is pretty good, and 19 doesn’t care, and then he follows up with a second kick ass album, well, I don’t think this hurts him.

My thought is that maybe Adam had an ongoing relationship with this company that would have violated the terms of his contract on Idol. However, 19 now have maneuvered him to a position where heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s expected to be a cash cow, so they are not going to forego that because he wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t upfront in the beginning. Theyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll let it slide now

So, have we all moved the motor homes onto the grassy knoll and cranked up the generators? I think we are going to be in for a long hot summer. Oh some many possible consipracies!! Here are a few of mine (tounge in cheek-I want to clear that up as I know emotions run hot for some over this).

Maybe TPTB paid AT&T to provide” free” phones and to train people in power texting in Arkansas to ensure Kris’s win. They knew that Allen’s AT&Ters (my name for Kris’s fans) would take the heat.

Perhaps they “changed” the privacy settings on Danny’s cousin’s Facebook and alerted some fans in order to change the subject on Adam’s new pre-idol album?

Perhaps RCA is working with HI-FI behind closed doors to release this album? They know if the buzz is good, and if Madonna’s guitar player is involved, then it is just more publicity for the next album.

As for me, I will just wait and see what unfolds. I don’t think this is going to hurt Adam. In fact, I see that it only generates more buzz for him. If there are a couple of good tracks on there, it will be great for him.

It looks to me like Adam and 19 got caught with their pants around their anklesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.

Nice imagery. Thank you. Seriously, thank you.

I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t care whether you like Adam or not, but Adam being screwed by a fat, money grubbing music exec is not an image in which à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“niceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  is the correct adjective to use.******

I think the poster was referring to Adam being naked (pants down) not screwed….but um I don’t mind visualizing both and you are right ‘hot’ not ‘nce’ would be a better description ;p

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve been reading this hand-wringing, finger-wagging debate on the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“newà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  old Adam music since Friday, and I have to say I more agree with cay in that if I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t buy the cd Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m simply cutting off my nose to spite my face. I miss Adam and new stuff every week. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve seen all the YouTubes, the Upright Cafes, the hideous Val Kilmer thing, the wildly erratic Zodiac Show stuff. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve downloaded à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Pop Goes the Cameraà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Kiss and Tellà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  and played them until I know every word and beat. And, of course, I have all the AI iTunes. I simply love his voice and what he does to songs (and, swoon, to me). It makes me happy. :lol_tb:

So à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ I want to be happy again. And I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t want to wait until fall or my one evening at an Idol concert some 500 miles away. I will buy it if it sounds good, and Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m not sure how it would sound otherwise with Adam.

Granted, I was not thrilled with à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Want.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  Talk about cliche. And mediocre production, etc. But strangely, or not so strangely, it has grown on me. I am somewhat nervous, though, that this really is considered the best of what is to come on this cd, but I remain hopeful.

I am not under some illusion that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“On With the Showà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  is indicative of what Adam can and will do. I get that he was a struggling artist trying to make a buck. I get that he was not really at that point in his career where he could take all the risk, hit all the notes, be surrounded by all the talented producers/writers/etc he wants. This cd not going to make me think, uh oh, he really isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t as promising as I thought.

And though the Wilshire Hi Fi people may seem somewhat smarmy, they are, after all, in the business of making hits and, more to the point, making money. So sue them.
Whatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s that? Canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t? Then move on.

I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t feel the need to make a point, a stand, an action to show that I am a REAL Adam fan by not buying this cd. If ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Adam and ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s halfway tolerable, Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll buy it. Period.

And just you wait, if this proposed OWTS boycott occurs you can bet that at least some strata of the media will suggest that this indicates that Adam isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t as hot and marketable as once thought.

Perspective, people.

Well said ravengirl..I totally agree!

I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t care whether you like Adam or not, but Adam being screwed by a fat, money grubbing music exec is not an image in which à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“niceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  is the correct adjective to use

Uh, I wasn’t quite going “there”, but all right. “Caught with your pants around your ankles” is a fairly common expression. If I wanted to convey the imagery you referred to, I would have said, “it looks to me like Adam got bent over….”

.

Good point LisaE, maybe RCA/Sony is deciding the best defence is no offence, the less PR given to HiFi etc the better and hoping it will blow over, but HiFi et al seem to be pretty good at working it so far.

First of all, recognize that the words “sleazy” and “music biz” are redundant.

Secondly, the rights are solid. Otherwise RCA would be fighting already. The rights on all demos are solid. Everyone knows that when they sign the paperwork at the beginning of the session. There is a whole lot of paperwork so you can get the check.

Thirdly, when you’re hustling for a break in Hollywood, you’ll do almost anything. If it’s something as legal and potentially career enhancing as getting paid money to sing with well-known producers in a studio, you’ll do it as often as possible.

Fourth, all the demos are all as crappy as Want. Lousy material, beautifully sung by a rare singer. Which is why they’re releasing now. This wide open window of no Lambertarian material is screaming: “Fill me, use me, money to be made here.” There is no one in the music business who would not consider the same move. They might not do it. But they could see the opportunity. Holding back after the real album would mean sacrificing any chance at profit. Who would buy lousy stuff when great stuff was available? Plus there will be limited holiday budget in a recession with new albums from Kris and Allison as well.

And fifth, PR language is designed to fool you. There are no legal definition lies in the PR release. Just foolery. Here’s the decode

The vast majority of songs on the album were co-written by Lambert….
…in fact; eight tracks of the forthcoming eleven song album were penned by the artist.

Translation: There will be 8 songs they deem Adam moved three notes on and will now, surprise, award him co-writing credit. And Adam will get nothing for that. Because that was likely covered in a clause in the demo sign-away. Because demo singers might easily change a note. So any enhancements a good singer might normally contribute when working on a piece of junk are already signed away from the beginning.

And they chose 11 at random. So 8 is a “vast majority”. Because they apparently have Adam singing on a lot of demos. There may never be an album. Just downloads on iTunes as long as people buy them.

à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Wantà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  was produced by Malcolm Welsford with additional production by Mark Endert (Maroon 5, The Fray, Fiona Apple).

Translation: Welsford could certainly have been in the studio. Working for the money, doing a friend a favor, who knows. He most likely didn’t consider it “producing” as no real recording was going on.

Couple of paragraphs that include:
On With The Show is drenched in Lambertà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s signature sound and style…their three year relationship. Before any other major entity, producer Malcolm Welsford and his independent label, Wilshire, recognized Lambertà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s musical gift and nurtured and supported his development…Adam honed his craft with the help of the producers, who also wholeheartedly encouraged Lambert to pursue his Idol opportunity… meteoric rise to prominence was no fluke, it came from years of hard work and talent.

Translation: Adam was a great demo singer, easy to work with. Since no one else was using him for as many demo’s as early on, that makes us first to recognize. We were happy to have him for pennies for years. Thrilled when he made suggestions that made our crap less crappy. Who wouldn’t recognize he had talent? Our nurture was to barely pay him so he could actually eat now and then. And certainly all that hunger and putting on earphones and hearing playbacks in real recording studios would hone anyone. Oh, and there was no contract, we had that same “relationship” we have with all demo singers. And “wholeheartedly encouraged” the Idol run. Because we owned all these demos and knew if he did great, we’d be cashing in, too.

Note: all that “wholeheartedly” and anything else that has an adjective or praising word in it is PR hyperbole. And “signature style” is an echo of RedOne’s PR release about Adam. RedOne used “signature”. It’s a little bit of gotcha.

So stop worrying about lies. Assume sleaze. And start hoping, that to keep the brand clean, that RCA releases some Bowie Medley tour videos on iTunes mid July. Or at least winks and allows them to flood YouTube for free. They’ll make a nice funk tinged segue to Adam’s real “signature style”.

I’m glad to know that whatever surfaced from the old days when Adam was a hungry struggling artist was NOT porno pics, but just some music demos.

I really disagree and donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t understand the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“this is going to kill his careerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  theory. Even if the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“firstà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  single or album isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t great, it doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t mean the real single and album wonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t be huge.

If this album is bad (which, if Want is any indication, it will be) it will give Adam a bad rep in the industry and among consumers. Casual music buyers who aren’t invested in Idol aren’t going to know about all this stuff, and they’re going to judge Adam based on this first album and might then not be as eager to check out his next one.

Not to mention the personal humiliation of having your name on an album that you don’t like with music you think is bad. That can’t feel good.

You know what? Hi-fi is treating this like it really is the debut album. They’re releasing a single first, and then the whole album? (even though the album is all completed..)

Haha.. I also love how they said that people are saying that it is a hit on message boards. they must be going on some pro-anything Adam sites. hehe. I guess the comparison on this is that I like to listen to Kris Allen’s All She Wants to Do is Dance, and I can even say that it’s good because I’m a fan. However, I know that if it was someone else singing that, I would say that it was pretty crappy, as I’m sure the majority of people would say. I think that’s going to be the reaction of “Want” for the general public since the song does suck, pretty voice or not.

and I kinda agree with a-lamb about being judged on this first, by casual music listeners. they might not know that it’s not the “real” album, esp since I see a lot of headlines say that this is the first single.

As an Adam fan (he’s my 2nd fave), will I be buying this? No, I’d rather wait for his real stuff. =)

Really, how is it different than any Idol studio versions on itunes? It’s just more Adam songs. Is anyone gonna be turned off by his RCA album because of No Boundaries? Or because they didn’t like Change if gonna come? I think it’s good if it comes out now, just seems to me like a continuation of Idol. What about all the utubes from Upright? That’s old stuff that frankly I personally don’t like.

What is going to make or break Adam is his RCA album. People and DJ’s are either going to like it or not. People that hear it on Leno, Conan, Letterman, Today Show, Ellen, and PRIMARILY on the radio are going to determine that. Taylor Swift and Katy Perry had tons of music published before they got famous. It took one song to take off to make them a superstar. Previous work didn’t hurt them.

If the lack of sales of No Boundaries isn’t going to hurt Adam, then this won’t either. Do Kris fans think No Boundaries lackluster sales compared to Cook’s corination song means he’s a failure. NO! It’s simply, not their best work. It’s so not a big deal.

******Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m glad to know that whatever surfaced from the old days when Adam was a hungry struggling artist was NOT porno pics, but just some music demos.

Amen!

I think this entire situation turns to be it’s a pretty good thing 4Adam. Seriously, he’s getting more buzz, more audience. It puts even more pressure for RCA to make a killer album, so everyone (inc. some relentless fans) will just shut up, get dazzled by his music and vocals, and buy loads of albums. Again, good 4Adam. For now à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ he is only getting more points by releasing this pretty mediocre pre-Idol music. Although almost everyone is criticizing the amateur level of the production, no one argues that Adam sounds as powerful as ever. Imagine what an explosion we gonna get from his super-duper-produced RCA album. And even if some would download “Want” à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ this will all be history by the time his CD will hit the stands. Maybe, because of the “competition” we’ll get more bites from the album-in-process. So, it’s all good, peepsà ¯ Ã…  

Now I am confused – how does the fact another band recorded one of these songs prove Adam did not co-write the song?

Adam could have participated in the sale of that song to that band or if he signed all his rights away, Wiltshire could have sold it to another artist easily.

For all we know Adam has sold more than a few songs he has written or co-written as well as session singing in order to make ends meet. Though he really needs to get those copyrights registered.

However, 19 now have maneuvered him to a position where heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s expected to be a cash cow, so they are not going to forego that because he wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t upfront in the beginning. Theyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll let it slide now

I’m not going to claim that this is what’s happening in this case, but there is actually an interesting precedent for 19 doing this.

In Season 2, Ruben wore t-shirts with the numbers “205″ on them. I seem to recall he wore them every show during the start of the competition. 205 is the area code for his home town and it became a rallying call for his fans. It later came to light that the company that produced these t-shirts was actually giving money to Ruben (through his brother or something). One of the rules of AI is that you aren’t allowed to be working for somebody else or endorsing something not approved by 19. So, this would appear to have been a clear violation of the rules, but 19 didn’t disqualify him and he continues to be signed to them to this day.

So, even if Adam broke the rules (and I’m not saying he did), 19 has so much invested in him already, they aren’t likely to do anything about it. So, I don’t think we can judge much by their reactions (except that the lack of suing…these guys have very active lawyers…just ask MJ about the letter she got).

OT: The AI official album I just noticed both Adam and Kris versions of NB is on it, that’s cool. I never bought Kris NB off iTunes so now I’ll have it once I purchase this. And something from the other idols. I wish they put Cry Baby on it for Allison.

Going by Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s statement, he worked as a session singer for Wilshire starting in 2005. This makes sense because Wilshire is a songwriting/music company, not a record label.

http://www.welsford.net/

As a session singer, Adam signed away his rights to anything he recorded. IF Adam were working on an album with these folks, I doubt that he would have given up his rights to his own material.

It is possible that after working as a session singer Adam paid Wilshire to make his own demos at a later date, but I would think that he would own those outright. Perhaps someone with more knowledge on that could enlighten me.

HiFi Records just came into this equation after Wilshire contacted them after Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s success on Idol.

Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s interesting to me that if Adam had all of these personal songs in his repertoire, why didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t he display any of them on his web sites?

Adam had his dance/electronica music on myspace. He had à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Crawl Thru Fireà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  and a few moreà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦none of these so-called à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹smash hitsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ made an appearance.

Something is rotten in Denmark, no?

Ah but weese, we don’t really know if any of that material was offered to someone else, including 19 or RCA. Maybe it was and the response was laughter. These guys still might be fishing for a buy out.

Say this song on iTunes sells mucho copies. Now 19 and RCA may be happy campers and have to rethink their strategy.

Say this song tanks on iTunes. Enough Adam fans boycott it to sink it. 19 and RCA stick out their tongue and laugh some more.

Or as noted 19 and RCA were aware of this, can’t do anything but are not that concerned.

I do find it interesting that 19 has been silent.

Well,if Adam actually recorded this stuff as a session singer, period, then he certainly signed away all rights to the stuff.

So one way to interpret their silence is that, since he signed away all rights — not dreaming that he’d ever be a hot enough property that simply having his voice on the songs would mak them valuable — then there’s nothing 19/RCA can do to stop a release. And that might make trying to simply ignore the issue to death the best option.

Neither Hi-Fi nor Wilshire are claiming that Adam ever had a recording contract with them (and they would if he’d had one). Since a current recording contract would be the only thing that would have make him ineligible for Idol, he has nothing to worry about on that account.

It’s more likely that Adam was a session singer, just as he said. In that case he’d have no rights to any of the demos he sung on (and they’d be not what he’d want to record for himself at all), so Hi-Fi/Wilshire can release them if they want to.

This was recently tweeted by AOLradio

We will begin playing Adam Lambert’s “Want” at 4 pm ET on Pop Idols and New Pop First

Do they know it’s not an official single?

I have to say I more agree with cay in that if I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t buy the cd Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m simply cutting off my nose to spite my face.

Hey ravengirl, that was me. Glad you agree.

Now if Adam and/or 19 make a statement saying that it’s not legal, they’re fighting it and condemn the whole thing, I’ll feel differently. Of course if that’s the case, we won’t get to buy it anyway. Business is business.

Adam could make a statement endorsing it even if he’s not getting a cut (AND we don’t know that yet). If nothing else, it keeps him in the public eye while waiting for his album in the fall. If people don’t like the songs on the HIFI album, don’t buy it. I guess you can download it on the many sites that have it available, but Adam doesn’t get any money from that either………………..

I don’t think big buzz or anything like that sells records. Good music sells records.

Taylor Swift and Katy Perry had tons of music published before they got famous. It took one song to take off to make them a superstar. Previous work didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t hurt them.

Their situations don’t really apply to Adam because they already had a couple of hit songs when their previous work got known. Adam doesn’t have any original work released yet, so this album is going to be peoples first impression of Adam as a solo artist.

FifthHouseSun Thanks for the “music biz” translation! I believe every word you wrote about the real meaning behind their statements. That said, I agree with the folks who feel they will buy this CD if it has enough decent songs. I’m starved for Adam music and wouldn’t mind a small souvenir of his early days. I believe that Adam will succeed, but hope he will get some form of compensation for this album (similar to the Christina Aguilera early cd released). As a huge fan, though, I have NO delusions that these oldies will at all resemble the coolness that is likely to be his new album with producers like RedOne. Also agree:
By the time Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s RCA release is out this issue will be a distant memory.

If he helped to shape the songs in any way, lyrically or musically, when he was in the studio, he can be credited with a co-write.

I do think it’s funny that, before, Adam’s relative lack of songwriting experience was considered to damn him as a total robotic, unskilled, inconsequential non-artist, utterly unworthy of consideration in the artists’ pantheon beside that supremely skilled, prolific and creative guy, Kris.

Whereas, now, Adam’s possibly reportedly allegedly maybe having kinda sorta lent a hand once upon a time to adding a word or a vocal embellishment to a bunch of demo songs in a low-budget studio somewhere damns him as a closet stealth songwriter, thereby making him some kind of sleazy contract-breaking businessman and lying crook!

I think the difference is most of the Idols have stuff that was officially released by record labels and I think someone alluded to the fact that somehow that stuff could not be rereleased so long as the Idol contracts were still in place. In other words TPTB were apprised of all the prior stuff no doubt. I wonder what the disclosure requirements are vis a vis previous recording relationships.

I think there have been a few demos around but nothing anyone bothered to release as a single, to the best of my knowledge, and no one apparently had enough so called demos or work in progress to make up a whole album except maybe KLC and her quicky album post Season 7 but certainly not a competing album against the Idol release.

Perhaps this is all because Adam had the misfortune of being based in LA where there is plenty of work for session singers and the living is just generally sleazier?

Uh, I wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t quite going à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“thereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ , but all right. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Caught with your pants around your anklesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  is a fairly common expression. If I wanted to convey the imagery you referred to, I would have said, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“it looks to me like Adam got bent overà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

Haha! I know what the expression means, but you’re the one who mentioned the image … so I went there.

Thanks FifthHouseSun. You said it a lot better than I tried to.

Amen to reality!

Then why wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t Adam under contract if they were going to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“eventuallyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  release an album?

Good question, unique28v. Why wasn’t this already released if they thought it was such awesome music? Seems to me their timing was very strategically planned indeed.

I don’t think Adam will be hurt by this at all. Either “Want” will be a big hit single or it won’t, but either way, what he puts out in the fall is what everyone will be talking about then. “Want” will either be “Magic Rainbow 2″ (God help us all!) or completely forgotten a year from now.

It does seem to me, however, that TPTB at American Idol need to be a lot more careful about whom they put through in future seasons. Unlike Carly, Kristie Lee and Michael Johns (and the long-forgotten Joanna Pacitti!), Adam really never caught any grief during S8 for being a “ringer.” He was accused of being “too seasoned” and “too professional” but never of being a ringer to my knowledge when it appears he actually was very well-connected to insiders in the music industry.

My guess is that Adam dislcosed this to TPTB, and they opted to take the risk recognizing how talented and marketable he was, but I don’t think it does anything for the Idol franchise to be so cavalier about what exactly does and doesn’t constitute a “current” contract.

Somebody correct me if I’m wrong, but David Cook NEVER had a recording contract with anybody prior to Idol, nor did Kris Allen.

For me the difference between with this single/album and the Idol recordings is that Adam chose most of the latter songs for himself and knew by the time that he recorded them they’d be released under his name. In other words, he had some control over them, and being in control seems to be something that’s important for Adam. It looks like this HiFi/Wilshire crap is something he neither chose for himself nor thought would ever be released. He just got paid to sing them when he needed the money.

That said, I really doubt this will matter in the long term. The whole affair just irks me.

I find this whole thing highly amusing, I admit it. Oh, the DRAMA! Though I do feel bad for Adam as I’m sure this wasn’t part of his plan to dominate the world Rock/Pop/Electro/etc music stage.

The worst thing that could happen to Adam is that it delays his RCA release. I only see that happening if some songs become a hit. Based on what I heard of Want, I’d be amazed if that happened since the song sucks. But stranger things have happened.

Does anyone know if Monty (Madonnaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s guitar player) is the other co-writer on these tracks? Do we know if Crawl Thru Fire, etc, are going to be on this pre-Idol album?

No. The Monte Pitman stuff is a completely different set of things. Not the same people at all. And Adam does have cowriting credits on that stuff.

So lavender you think the game is still in play? You could very possibly be right. They have heard the material and are betting that this thing will tank and fade away. But what would their plan B consist of? Would they still consider paying out to HIFI at an inflated price to stop the release of the full cd? Would it be a media blitz discrediting HIFI? What are RCA’s options should “Wanted” be very successful?

Somebody correct me if Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m wrong, but David Cook NEVER had a recording contract with anybody prior to Idol, nor did Kris Allen.

Adam hasn’t had any recording contract either. Being a session singer doesn’t mean you have a recording contract.

It’s obvious Adam does not support this project and neither do I.

These producers are trying to profit from Adam’s AI fame by throwing together some old studio work. And timed just right to steal the thunder from Adam’s true debut and the AI tour.

What a farce.

Adam’s fans didn’t even support his single “No Boundaries” after Adam’s many requests to give the studio version a chance. I can’t see this entire album getting much support either under the circumstances.

If nothing else, it keeps him in the public eye while waiting for his album in the fall.

Putting out a crappy album definitely puts Adam in the public eye.

I think ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a big deal to Idol fans who discuss these things online, but I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s going to make much of an impact on Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s true CD sales this Fall out in the rest of the real world.

Most people don’t even know this is going on….. E! is doing a segment on Adam tonight with an exclusive interview. That is what the casual viewer will see.

The only way I can see this selling on Itunes is if Itunes puts a banner up.

Now AOL Radio has announced they’re going to start playing “Want”.

Seeing that the song is set to air on AOL radio and it go on sale tomorrow on ITunes, tells me that the REASON Adam/RCA/19E aren’t doing anything about it is because Hi-Fi/Wilshire have already set everything in motion to the point where they couldn’t have prevented it even if they wanted to.

I think they really get ambushed here.

Even though I love to hear ANYTHING Adam sings, On this subject I feel it would be somewhat selfish of me to but the “Want” single. Adam has made it pretty clear that he’s not happy with or agrees with the release of this. I stand by Adam and will wait for his “siiiiiick” songs.

It looks to me like Adam and 19 got caught with their pants around their anklesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.

Nice imagery. Thank you. Seriously, thank you.

I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t care whether you like Adam or not, but Adam being screwed by a fat, money grubbing music exec is not an image in which à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“niceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  is the correct adjective to use.

I was just trying for a little levity and failing. I’m a huge Adam fan and I agree with your post. Not nice at all.

Is a songwriting credit something that someone has to accept, or can the record execs now decide that Adam deserves songwriting credits and put his name on it as a co writer?

It looks to me like Adam and 19 got caught with their pants around their anklesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.

Nice imagery. Thank you. Seriously, thank you.

ROTFLMFAO !!!

I was talking with some co-workers about this this morning (they don’t follow Adam). Out of three, two had read about this already and the other hadn’t but suggested that given all of the positive press surrounding Adam that he was most likely “bullet-proof”.

I think that a few years back this might have caused some damage but given how quickly and efficiently information is shared these days, I don’t think that is the case anymore.

If this album is bad (which, if Want is any indication, it will be) it will give Adam a bad rep in the industry and among consumers. Casual music buyers who arenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t invested in Idol arenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t going to know about all this stuff, and theyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re going to judge Adam based on this first album [emphasis mine] and might then not be as eager to check out his next one.

Not to mention the personal humiliation of having your name on an album that you donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t like with music you think is bad. That canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t feel good.

ITA.

Expectations were already high. All the naysayers (those who said he didn’t deserve the Rolling Stone cover, etc) are having an “I told you so” moment, and they will gladly write him off. Adam gets worse than nothing out of this situation: there is such a thing as bad publicity, and a craptastic “first single/debut album” after weeks of hype is bad publicty.

Neither Hi-Fi nor Wilshire are claiming that Adam ever had a recording contract with them (and they would if heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d had one). Since a current recording contract would be the only thing that would have make him ineligible for Idol, he has nothing to worry about on that account.

Even if the absolute worst case scenario was to come to pass, what are they going to do?
They can’t undo the season, stop the presses, or undo the Adamania. You think they would walk away from him at this point over an eligibility dispute?
I certainly don’t- it would simply disappear IMO.

Whatever comes to pass is going to do nothing more than further enhance the Adam Lambert mythology.

LOL that should read buy the “Want” single. BTW, Adam if you read this thread – go look at your front page of your twitter CLOSE if you finally get a chance

I just read on another board that a poster said she just heard “Want” on her radio station. Fortunately, the dj said that was a pre-Idol recording. The dj really loved that song and thought Adam should have won AI.

Adam gets worse than nothing out of this situation: there is such a thing as bad publicity, and a craptastic à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“first single/debut albumà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  after weeks of hype is bad publicty.

Are there music reviews from rollingstone, billboard, etc. out saying the single is bad already?

Even though I love to hear ANYTHING Adam sings, On this subject I feel it would be somewhat selfish of me to but the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Wantà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  single. Adam has made it pretty clear that heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s not happy with or agrees with the release of this. I stand by Adam and will wait for his à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“siiiiiickà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  songs.

I am with you. I do not support unfairness and Hi-fi is being unfair to Adam just to get money. Not mine.

I might be wrong, but even casual music buyers/idol viewers might know by now about the Hi-Fi issue and how it’s not his official record, after all, it’s at the top of the entretainment news in every site.

Plus, if his debut album has some good tunes on it and has some decent publicity, the Hi-Fi album will hopefully belong to the past.

I think there have been a few demos around but nothing anyone bothered to release as a single, to the best of my knowledge, and no one apparently had enough so called demos or work in progress to make up a whole album

I’m sure other American Idol artists out there that have had demos around, but nobody bothered to release them. They’re bothering to release Adam’s because of his popularity and potential to be a major success. It’s a compliment to his talent for sure, but sleazy to the extreme. If they thought this material was so outstanding in the first place, it would have been released long ago. I agree they’re a business and in it to make money, but just like other businesses that have done sleazy things in the past, it’s my choice whether to patronize that business or not. I choose not.

My guess is that Adam dislcosed this to TPTB, and they opted to take the risk recognizing how talented and marketable he was, but I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think it does anything for the Idol franchise to be so cavalier about what exactly does and doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t constitute a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“currentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  contract.

Adam never had a contract either!!!!! He was a session singer, which is completely, totally, 1000 percent different!!!

With a contract, they’re developing *you* as an artist, to sell *you* as a brand. With a contract, the hope by everyone is that you, as a brand, will catch on and you and the company you have a contract with will make money off what you do down the line.

As a session singer, you are lending your voice — because you want to make a living — to someone else to use however they choose to use it, however they order you to use it, and usually for some very low-level purposes, such as demos, backup, *maybe* jingles, if you’re lucky. And the contract you sign says that you are accepting a one-time fee for working in the studio x hours, and that the fee is the only thing that you will ever ever ever in the history of a thousand suns get for that performance and, usually, that the people who’ve hired you for several hours for a flat fee may do anything at all they want with the songs you recorded, anywhere, anyplace, anytime, anyhow, and have zero obligation to pay you another dime or mention your name in any context even if they ended up making 40 bazillion dollars on the song!

Adam never had a contract. He never would have fallen under any ban Idol had on previous experience unless they simply banned anyone who’d ever sung a note for cash, ever, anytime, anyplace, anywhere. And if that were the rule, there would only be about six decent singers left in the country to try out for Idol.

Just speculating there weese because as noted the music industry is a hardball game,these are tough times, and we haven’t seen any move by RCA or 19 to stop the release of any of this, YET. So that would seem to support the fact that they either they don’t care and/or they don’t have a legal case per se but that doesn’t mean you can’t make a deal. Everything has its price.

Someone noted that Leona Lewis had a similar situation and that was taken care of, presumably with a buy out. Perhaps we need to snoop around that story.

I would imagine that Adam is not happy about this at all no matter what the actual legalities or status of the situation is. I wouldn’t be happy – the whole idea of entering Idol was to have a fresh start and a platform for that fresh start, working with the best of the best, and having more control over your music than you ever have. Granted Idol contestants don’t have the same kind of control that other artists have but let’s be real, most new artists on any label, unless they go independent, do not have ultimate control over their debut album, too much money goes into establishing a new artist. Even established artists get the “but there isn’t anything radioworthy on here” speech/directive.

A song on You Tube is one thing, a song on iTunes is another.

Foxydonna, no, he would only have been ineligible to appear on Idol if the contract was still existing (i.e. not a previous contract asin the case of David C, Allison, Michael Johns, Carly, Taylor, etc).

‘
Just to clarify but David Cook did NOT have a recording contract EVER. He was authentically indie — as in NO label. He basically scrounged up $$ to pay for time at a recording studio, played the instruments or asked band friends to play the instruments, laid down the vocals, self-produced or asked friends to produce the album, created the cover art, and sold the finished product at clubs/bars he was playing at and online (iTunes, CDBaby). Basically, back of his car type of stuff. His pre-Idol stuff was complete DIY.

I must be behind on my S8 stuff because I didn’t know that Allison previously had a recording contract.

It does seem like Hi-Fi has the legal right to release these songs. It’s too bad that Adam isn’t going to get financially compensated, and that stuff is being released to the public without his consent/blessing, but it’s not like he’s the first person this has ever happened to.

I think that there are a lot of Adam fans who want to hear him on anything, so will probably buy this single, even if they know the circumstances behind its release. Me, I’m waiting for his real debut single and album. But I wouldn’t e at all surprised to see “Want” jump onto the Itunes charts when it’s released — at least briefly.

While the situation is unfortunate, I don’t think having one pre-Idol poor single (I’m sorry, the vocals are strong as always, but the lyrics on “Want” are just as bad as those on “No Boundaries”) released will have any real negative effect on Adam’s career. It’s far more important what his debut album sounds like when it drops in the fall. If the material on that is poor (which I doubt it would be), THEN Adam and his fans can start to worry a little bit. Otherwise, this is really likely to be a tempest in a teapot that should be a distant memory by the time his RCA album drops.

Seeing that the song is set to air on AOL radio and it go on sale tomorrow on ITunes, tells me that the REASON Adam/RCA/19E arenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t doing anything about it is because Hi-Fi/Wilshire have already set everything in motion to the point where they couldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t have prevented it even if they wanted to.

I’m sorry, but I don’t think things work that way. 19 and RCA aren’t going to give up if they have a case simply because the song was played on the radio or sent to iTunes. When Taylor Hicks sued and got the record producer to stop, the song had been released to iTunes and spun on a few radio stations. I don’t think Taylor is a better lawyer than the people 19 and RCA have on staff.

The fact that Warner Bros had already filmed “Watchman”, set a release date and sent out trailers did not stop Fox from suing them claiming that Fox owned some of the rights associated with that movie(and when the judge indicated that Fox would likely win, Warner Bros struck a deal with Fox to settle the dispute). I’m sure that RCA/19 has lawyers as qualified as those that work for Fox.

19/RCA may want to prevent it, but it looks like Hi-Fi/Wilshire have done their homework. Otherwise, RCA/19 would likely have come out swinging. They may yet do so, but the fact they’ve been so silent could be taken as an indication that RCA/19 don’t have a legal leg to stand on (and will just let this play itself out).

***Are there music reviews from rollingstone, billboard, etc. out saying the single is bad already?

From what I’m reading people like it, it’s just not spectacular.

I must be behind on my S8 stuff because I didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t know that Allison previously had a recording contract.

I don’t think she did…. And I didn’t remember Taylor having one either, although I could be wrong about that….

Seems to me we’re getting a little confused here between “record label contract”, on the one hand, and “sang songs for money” or “recorded stuff in a studio and tried to sell it.” Not the same thing at all.

I think for many hits you need both great music and buzz. You have as they say show-ers and grow-ers.

Some tracks just hit the ground running and the buzz is self generated. Well once they get the radioplay in the first place.

Example: New track by a band called Pitbull, “I Know You Want Me” even I had to contact my radio station and ask who is that? Play it again and again and again. It is going to be one of the big hits of the summer, no ifs ands or buts.

Other songs grow on you and buzz helps that growth. Many songs I feel meh about at first but then they grow on me and end up favourites and I tell 2 friends and they tell 2 friends and so on and so on.

So stop worrying about lies. Assume sleaze. And start hoping, that to keep the brand clean, that RCA releases some Bowie Medley tour videos on iTunes mid July. Or at least winks and allows them to flood YouTube for free. Theyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll make a nice funk tinged segue to Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s real à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“signature styleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ .

Hear! Hear! FifthHouseSun will you marry me (if you’re a guy)? Be my BFF (if you’re a gal)?

FifthHouseSun: Can I copy this to another board? I think more people need to read this.

Well, I’m trying to post this wherever I can. For anyone who wants to have Want (hehehehe), here is an MP3 download link: http://www.sendspace.com/file/dajbz8

Spread it around, so sucky HiFi doesn’t make money off Adam’s back!!!

Even though I love to hear ANYTHING Adam sings, On this subject I feel it would be somewhat selfish of me to but the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Wantà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  single. Adam has made it pretty clear that heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s not happy with or agrees with the release of this. I stand by Adam and will wait for his à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“siiiiiickà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  songs.

If you really want it for your Adam collection but don’t want to line HiFi pockets, just do a search and you will see it’s already out there for free in mp3 format. Just sayin’.

Eh, this doesn’t seem like a big deal to me. If I like the music, I’ll buy it-same with his fall debut.

I don’t really feel like Adam is lying either-he stated that he recorded some tracks written by other people-which he probably did. And maybe he co-wrote some other tracks. I’m not sure how much he knows about the release of “On with the Show”. Regardless, he states that this sound doesn’t reflect where he is right now musically, so that’s fine with me.

These guys won’t have the wherewithal to push the song or the album very far. The only way it’ll get a lot of real exposure is if people actually like it. Then it might get bought and played on radio a little more. But it’s still in competition with the skads of major-label releases out there every day of the week, and those people have the clout to push their stuff into the prominent spots, so it’s have to be *really* popular to get a prominent sales position anywhere, including on Itunes for more than a day or so.

And if it should happen that people actually like it and start buying it in droves — and by people, I mean the general public, because no Idol’s show-related fans can really push them into a high sales position — then I don’t see how it ultimately hurts him. Yeah, it’s not the style he wants to do going forward. But people sometimes do switch styles, and if they do popular work in both styles, nobody cares.

As for reviews: Well, the big reviewers are going to look at the label that released the thing they’re reviewing. And they’ll probably notice that this is not, in fact, Adam’s debut RCA album!

This is really kind of a tempest in a teapot, as far as I can see.

Spread it around, so sucky HiFi doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t make money off Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s back!!!

IMO, if somebody wants Adam’s music, they should pay for it. If somebody wants to make a stand against the record company, they should neither buy it nor illegally download it. IMO, it’s not a stand if that somebody just steals the song instead. If I don’t like that Nikes are made in a sweatshob (just an example, I don’t know if they are), I don’t buy Nikes, but I also don’t feel somehow justified in stealing them.

The way that mechanical royalties normally work means that the songwriters will get paid for each download (unless they sold the rights to somebody else). Ergo, whoever wrote “Want” is being ripped off by every illegal download.

Also, in the past, MJ has asked people not to post links to illegal downloads because it could result in legal threats to her. Out respect for MJ, I would not personally do illegal business in her house.

Adam never had a contract either!!!!! He was a session singer, which is completely, totally, 1000 percent different!!!

I didn’t say Adam ever had a “recording” contract. What I said was:

I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think it does anything for the Idol franchise to be so cavalier about what exactly does and doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t constitute a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“currentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  contract.

I’m not attorney, nor do I play one on television, but I did take a B-Law course years ago, and my understanding is that any time money is exchanged, legally, for a product or a service, you have “consideration,” which creates a legally-binding “contractual” relationship between the parties involved.

My point wasn’t that Adam had a “current recording contract” or even a “former recording contract” but just that the Idol PTB play fast and loose with all these terms when it suits their fancy and, personally, I find it sullies their brand. Not that they give a rat’s ass what I think!

Rolling Stone has posted an article. However, it doesn’t say anything new.

http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/06/22/adam-lambert-addresses-on-with-the-show-as-want-heads-to-itunes/

It seems like one of the people who made a comment on RS has RCA/Sony and HiFi confused. Let this confusion be an indication of how the summer album will confuse the general public.

From what Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m reading people like it, ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s just not spectacular.

What’s amusing is that on Perez, almost all the commenting Adam fans seemed to love it when it was just “Adam’s new single”. But, then the tide turned when the story became that a “greedy company” was “exploiting” Adam. At that point, everyone suddenly decided that the song was pure dreck….

Oh, mandalay,, darling, how did I screw that up? Yes I agree with YOU. Sorry about that.

And at the risk of pissing some of you off, though “Want” is not the greatest song ever written, many craptastic, vapid songs become popular. Witness the banal “Umbrella” (ella ella ella eh eh eh — now that’s some great songwriting there, not). Or the current “I Like You So Much Better When You’re Naked.”
By comparison, “Want” is mind-blowing.

The lead single à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Wantà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  from Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s first to be released album is stinky because of the repetitive chorus and I wonder who wrote that clunker. But this album as a whole might actually be better than his second album that will be released from RCA. Anything is possible. Also it will be interesting to see the reviews on this album.

i plan on reviewing the single with the statement adam made regarding its release.

And at the risk of pissing some of you off, though à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Wantà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  is not the greatest song ever written, many craptastic, vapid songs become popular. Witness the banal à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Umbrellaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  (ella ella ella eh eh eh à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  now thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s some great songwriting there, not). Or the current à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“I Like You So Much Better When Youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re Naked.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  By comparison, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Wantà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  is mind-blowing.

LMAO. Sooooooooooooooooooooooo true!!!

I’m thinking that 19E/RCA has folks right now working on how this can be avoided in the future. Maybe contestants who’ve worked on demos that can’t be signed over to 19E will be prevented from appearing on the show.

I must be behind on my S8 stuff because I didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t know that Allison previously had a recording contract.

Allison won a spanish contest (similar to AI) when she was 15. The prize was a recording contract. Something fell through though, which is why she tried out for AI.

Maybe contestants whoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve worked on demos that canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t be signed over to 19E will be prevented from appearing on the show.

That will be almost everyone. lol At least anyone with a certain amount of talent.

First point: It’s in Hi Fi’s interests to say that Adam was closely involved with this material since that would make it more appealing to his fans and probably result in greater sales.

Second point: If Sony had any legal basis to stop this, they would. The fact that they aren’t doing anything tells me there isn’t anything they can do.

Third point: It’s sort of a compliment that some group would think your name is hot enough that they’d take some old demos and release them as an album. The fact that they’re beating RCA out of the gate and the fact that someone *cough* Perez Hilton *cough* initially characterized this as Adam’s new single is a real problem though.

Fourth point: Given that some people here are now calling Adam a liar, he should probably clarify what his position is.

hmmm… I just thought of the pictures. They are going to have to use old pictures of Adam too. I’m sure it won’t have his “eyeliner” look.

I’m annoyed at HI-FI. Adam does not seem to get a break. I hope this thing blows over as quickly as possible. Personally I will not buy this on ITUNES nor the album that will be released in a few weeks. I have read Adam fans from all over the internet from the idol forums to ONTD to Adamofficial that they will not be taking part of this parade. I’ll probably find other means of listening to the songs though, it’s Adam afterall.

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m thinking that 19E/RCA has folks right now working on how this can be avoided in the future. Maybe contestants whoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve worked on demos that canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t be signed over to 19E will be prevented from appearing on the show.

Why would they do that? Do you really think they’d rather have passed on Adam instead of dealing with this? I really doubt it. Actually, all of this just means that Adam’s name and voice is something that HiFi/Wilshire think will make them money, even with crappy material. It’s quite a compliment in a that sense. It also bodes well for RCA/19E (and Adam) since it shows there’s a demand for his music. RCA/19E clearly hope that Adam will become an international star and I seriously doubt that any of this will affect the chance of that happening in either direction.

someone else mentioned it above, but if adam indeed was a cowriter and was so excited and supported, etc etc by these people at wilshire (as they would have us believe), then why didnt he have some of these songs running on his myspace page like he did with his other pre-idol stuff.

probably because he had no idea he “co-wrote” them and was not all that invested in them.

personally, i’m torn between not wanting to support music that adam is not proud of and not wanting to give any of the “told you he wouldn’t live up to the hype” people any fuel for their fire if the song doesn’t sell.

now, WHAT IF this song, somehow, goes on to sell like crazy on itunes and although it is panned by critics, shows adam’s ability to move records… do we, as adam fans, do a happy dance or shake our fists at these people benefiting off of adam’s name? realistically, even though he might not get paid and he isn’t proud of it, it would be some sort of validation and indication of what he CAN do when the record is great. personally, i think i might do a happy dance.

i just dont know. but in the end, i really dont think this is going to matter all that much. the music industry and fans overlook entire albums of crappy music that have been fully supported by artists if they really like the artist. if adam releases a couple hit albums, no one will remember this little blip of an album.

This is such a struggle for me. Based on some blogs, others like the song. They recognized that its pre-idol and the voice is fantastic. It might not be at par with what we all want it to be but it delivers on the voice quality. There are people from other countries who liked the song as well. I guess Adam fans all over the world is willing to listen to anything Adam. So they will buy the album. Maybe (just maybe) supporting it might bring adam some good.

Thank you Kirsten. I used the illegal free download line as being a hypocritical example. I totally agree with you.

Maybe contestants whoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve worked on demos that canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t be signed over to 19E will be prevented from appearing on the show

Well, that may be true if they’re as worried about this as fans are. I don’t think whether we know that they are or aren’t, though!

And — wow — this would mean going in completely the opposite direction they’ve been going in, wouldn’t it?

They’ll have to bar a lot of people from being on the show. Of course, it would apply most to people who’ve lived in LA, Nashville, New York, etc. They’re the only ones with much access to this kind of session work, probably.

So maybe it won’t matter much just to exclude these folks. You’d be losing folks like Melinda and Adam, for example, some of the best singers they’ve ever had, but as a matter of numbers it probably wouldn’t include all that many people. I guess Elliott would have gone down on this, too, because of the Big Planz gospelly stuff, right?

On the other hand, if you’re going to exclude these folks, don’t you then rightly have to exclude people who have an actual *album* of some kind out there, like Carly, Chris Sligh, David Cook, and Taylor? After all, if work-for-hire demos could tarnish your winners’ brand so much, couldn’t you also run into the false-expectations problem with the albums? Like, your hands would be tied with Taylor or Carly (if she’d finished higher) because the album Sony might want to make with them would be completely different from and presumably better than this other product already out there, which would be confusing. …

Honestly, I don’t see where you draw the line, once you start doing this.

Kirsten Jun 22nd, 2009 at 1:25 pm

Seeing that the song is set to air on AOL radio and it go on sale tomorrow on ITunes, tells me that the REASON Adam/RCA/19E arenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t doing anything about it is because Hi-Fi/Wilshire have already set everything in motion to the point where they couldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t have prevented it even if they wanted to.

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m sorry, but I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think things work that way. 19 and RCA arenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t going to give up if they have a case simply because the song was played on the radio or sent to iTunes. When Taylor Hicks sued and got the record producer to stop, the song had been released to iTunes and spun on a few radio stations. I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think Taylor is a better lawyer than the people 19 and RCA have on staff.

The point I was making is that the wheels were already set in motion to release the song on ITunes and AOL Radio, so it would have been impossible to stop THAT immediately.

By the accounts I’m reading (even from Hi-Fi) is that 19E/RCA/Sony did NOT see this coming and they were ambushed. So I’m thinking any legal response they might want to make certainly wouldn’t have come to fruition over the week-end. It looks like, as far as the single “Want” goes, that horse is already out of the barn.

I’m still waiting for an official statement from 19E/RCA/Sony to get their take on it. Because right now it’s a bunch of he said/they said from Adam and Hi-Fi. And Hi-Fi has already been shown as twisting the truth as to the original source of the song “Want” anyways.

I wonderif all demo contracts or session singer contracts as draconian as the one Adam seems to have signed? Is that standard for all record labels in the industry? Because how then could you stop this situation in the future.

What next? Someone magically finds some of Kris’s demos if he has ever made one?

I’ve heard the song. It’s not a great song, but Adam sounds good on it. It’s not his “signature” style, though. The voals are strong but not “siiiiick.”

I’m a lawyer but not an entertainment lawyer, and I have no idea what kind of contracts a session singer signs — assuming there is a contract at all. So Hi-Fi may have absolute discretion to do whatever they want with these tracks. It doesn’t make sense to me that a session singer would record demos where he sings lead — I thought the definition of a sessions singer was that s/he sings back up — but perhaps Hi-Fi was interested enough in him that they had him record some demos, then never did anything with them until now. I’m sure that if Adam hadn’t been a sensation on Idol, these tracks would never have seen the light of day.

If RCA/19 thought they had a way to enjoin the release or sales of the song, I’m sure they would do it, since it does potentially create confusion about Adam as an artist. They want to package him based on his Idol performances and persona, not whatever he sounded like 2 or 3 years ago. But they simply not have the right to do it. I’m sure some high-priced legal talent in LA is busy looking at the issue.

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m annoyed at HI-FI. Adam does not seem to get a break. I hope this thing blows over as quickly as possible.

In my world, getting the cover of Entertainment Weekly before the season was over AND then the cover of Rolling Stone after finishing as runner up constitutes two pretty HUMONGOUS breaks!

The only reason this album is even being released is because Adam is HUGE right now. I may not like what Hi Fi is doing here, but they’re in the business to make money, and Adam SELLS. It’s as simple as that. I don’t really think there’s anything nefarious going on here. Kinda sucks for Adam at the moment, but there could actually be a couple of songs on the album that are good, in which case, Adam fans (and hopefully Adam too) wll have something to celebrate when all is said and done.

Believe me, there are other Idols whose fans would kill to get their hands on their old music, shitty or not.

now that im over my anger and annoyance… this might work out to adam’s benefit. we know that adam has a wide range of fans across a lot of different demographics and music tastes that came from him demonstrating he could do well across a number of different genres, so:

1 – if this album is more pop/ballad rather than rock/electronic he could maintain fans that may have deserted had he not done “softer” music

2 – having something out there that appeals to this part of his fanbase might get them to try out the music he will be producing now and might bring in people that weren’t part of his idol fanbase that, as casual listeners, might like this album and then will give his “real” album a shot (spreading a wider net in attracting new fans)

3 – it will continue to show his range. if/when his rock/electronic cd succeeds he also has examples of him singing softer, mainstream music (and his ability to make a crappy song sound good)

4 – those of us that wanted a double cd release with rock on one and ballads on the other are, sort of, getting that.

of course, im operating under the assumption that this OWTS cd is predominantly pop/ballads, but given that adam said it wasn’t in line with what he is doing now, i think that might be a safe assumption. adam has said he wants some ballads, but im guessing they wont be as syrupy sweet as “want”

What next? Someone magically finds some of Krisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s demos if he has ever made one?

What would be the point of that?

It doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t make sense to me that a session singer would record demos where he sings lead

It makes sense if the demos were for the song itself for the songwriter. A lot of songwriter’s songs are record by session singers for presentation to record companies and their artists.

I wonderif all demo contracts or session singer contracts as draconian as the one Adam seems to have signed? Is that standard for all record labels in the industry? Because how then could you stop this situation in the future.

What next? Someone magically finds some of Krisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s demos if he has ever made one?

Yes, to your first question. When you do a demo — just like just about any other kind of work-for-hire done by any kind of artist — they want you to come in, do your time, and then leave with a modest check and never ever ever ever ever come back to them again.

(This is at the root of some writers’ failed attempts to get money back from magazines and such that paid them for work-for-hire stuff decades ago and then suddenly start making new money from the stuff by posting it online, and such. The writers, like the session singers, sign away the rights to dictate anything about future and to earn anything, cash or a credit line, from future uses.)

Kris is way less likely to have anything like this because there aren’t a lot of people looking to hire demo singers in Arkansas. (I’m sure there are a few songwriters or people with unproduced musical plays or something who are, but a lot of them will go up to Nashville or someplace to hire their singers, probably.)

This whole situation has to be separated from a singer’s making his or her *own* “demo.” That’s a completely different matter. What we’re talking about with the Adam snafu is a demo that the songwriter is making, and just needs somebody to sing on. THe writer is trying to sell the *song*, not the recorded version of it, to a record company or publishing company or big-name singer or soup company as a jingle, or whatever. That’s why Adam has absolutely zero ownership of any kind in these songs. He signed that away because he was only a hired voice, period — even if he embroidered a song a bit, he was still a hired voice who signed an agreement saying that he would ask for nothing and get nothing for anything that happened to these songs, beyond his one check.

It’s hard to imagine this problem affecting any Idol hopefuls who have not lived and worked in fairly major music towns. That’s where you get session-singing-for-demo work.

hellothere Jun 22nd, 2009 at 2:20 pm

What next? Someone magically finds some of Krisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s demos if he has ever made one?

What would be the point of that?

Kris’s demos have already been discovered and are out there. It’s just that no one is trying to re-package them and sell them like it’s his “new” debut album.

RE: Session singers

Sessions singers don’t just sing back up. They sing lead on full songs for songwriters all the time. Sometimes the writer can’t sing themselves or they want a better singer to make the song sound better (and thus easier to sell).

Thanks, HannaB4 for the link to the song. I just listened…and I liked it. Will it be a huge radio single? Maybe not. I was thinking it would fit on a movie soundtrack for some love story (“Love, Actually” came to mind). It is a little weak lyrically. I just don’t want the release to hurt Adam in any way.

It doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t make sense to me that a session singer would record demos where he sings lead

On a songwriter’s demo, that’s usually the only part that anybody sings. They’re unlikely to have any backup singers on a demo like this, unless the song absolutely requires them. It’ll all be very stripped down so it can be done as cheaply as possible.

The songwriter is trying to sell the song. If nobody sings lead, then how will the record label hear the melody? lol.

Seriously, who else *would* sing lead? They can’t afford Robert Plant or Barbra Streisand to sing the lead! They can afford a session singer, whom you can pay — little — by the hour.

This was in no way meant to be an actual produced recording of the song, I’m sure. It was the kind of recording that constitutes a songwriter’s resume, period.

I still think some folks are confusing this kind of “demo” with the demo that a singer makes to show him- or herself off. This was a demo to show off the song and the songwriter. Who sang it was immaterial to them, except that they wanted somebody who would show the song to its best advantage. (Hence, Adam. lol)

Thanks for nice comments. Please copy all you want.

Just want to re-emphasize the “opportunity” moment. A Rolling Stone cover with no new material available is like the Grand Canyon of marketing holes. A lot of industries– music included– do not understand the new pace of info and business. And get caught flat-footed.

The niceties and legal trappings of AI “winner”, and old school American Idol ideas, like the tour comes first, and thinking about selling tour CD’s and t-shirts, left RCA/19 not having anything to offer new from Adam. This was– and is–a giant marketing error. AOL and radio stations getting free new Lambert material are thrilled. They hear the demand. They see the opportunity. They’re all going to play it. Even if they’re doing “what do you think?” games about it was his early stuff.

Waiting until November like nice, pre-Twitter, old-world of 2008, to release Adam’s “real album”, in some kind of tasteful coordination with the winner’s debut, with zero new Adam stuff, even videos, or something, seems unthinkably dumb. The guy is Elvis level sizzling. People want to know what he’s got, what he’s going to do muscially, can he deliver. They want it now. While he’s on the cover of Rolling Stone. November is light years away. If viewed strictly business level, nothing odd at all about someone with some Lambert product, like Wilshire/HiFi, seizing this moment. Especially when RCA isn’t. Possibly RCA/19 has this all covered. Hope so.

I love the escalating involvement of Adam’s in the press releases from this company. Each time Adam has done more, visiting them, to having worked on this for three years. Having been a part of the songs, to having co-written them all.

Hunh.

And after springing this on 19/Sony just last Friday ‘bet they know now,’ they’re releasing it on iTunes etc., a weekend later. That was fast. Gee, I wonder why?

Yeah, I don’t believe this latsest press release from these cockroaches either. Again, it’s sooo interesting that their story keeps on changing, and somehow it comes with Adam being more and more involved, so it keeps coming at Adam’s expense and justifying their actions and position. Funny that.

Wasn’t it the USA Today article a while back where Adam said he sort of wished he had put ‘session singer’ on his bio instead of being a Wicked castmember to avoid the ‘theater’ label. That reads to me that that is what he considered one of his jobs, when he auditioned for idol.

I think it is disrespectful for HiFi to launch music before Adam can put out his RCA album, but it’s predictable.

To be honest…I will buy it. One…because I love anything Adam has done. And Two…I would hate it to appear that something of Adam’s flopped on Itunes. I think we should support Adam’s music…PERIOD. Downloading it for free is just wrong.

blockquote>FifthHouseSun
Jun 22nd, 2009 at 12:35 pm

Fourth, all the demos are all as crappy as Want. Lousy material, beautifully sung by a rare singer. Which is why theyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re releasing now. This wide open window of no Lambertarian material is screaming: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Fill me, use me, money to be made here.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  There is no one in the music business who would not consider the same move. They might not do it. But they could see the opportunity. Holding back after the real album would mean sacrificing any chance at profit. Who would buy lousy stuff when great stuff was available? Plus there will be limited holiday budget in a recession with new albums from Kris and Allison as well.

So stop worrying about lies. Assume sleaze. And start hoping, that to keep the brand clean, that RCA releases some Bowie Medley tour videos on iTunes mid July. Or at least winks and allows them to flood YouTube for free. Theyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll make a nice funk tinged segue to Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s real à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“signature styleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ .

Your whole post is full of WIN! Of course, HiFi is capitalizing on Adam’s popularity. I only copied a couple bits of my favorite parts, but I love your idea of putting the Bowie medley on iTunes! What about his whole set?

This Want demo is just another preIdol Adam song that I really like. It sounds kinda Adult Contemporary, but not unlike some of the other preIdol stuff we already have!

IMO, this can’t hurt him, it’ll only give him more publicity regardless if it’s preIdol music. Thank goodness, it’s not about his sexuality anymore! On to more about his Post Idol music!

Just gave “Want” a listen, and the lyrics sound a whole lotta weak to me. And musically, the beginning sounds too weak to support the ending attempt to rock-ballad it (or whatever that was). This is not the Adam I would expect to hear on a first release AT ALL. I hate this had to surface. I hate this whole mess. I really hope Adam will find a legal leg to stand on before the album can get out (the single is bad enough).

The niceties and legal trappings of AI à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“winnerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ , and old school American Idol ideas, like the tour comes first, and thinking about selling tour CDà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s and t-shirts, left RCA/19 not having anything to offer new from Adam. This wasà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ and isà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’a giant marketing error. AOL and radio stations getting free new Lambert material are thrilled. They hear the demand. They see the opportunity. Theyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re all going to play it. Even if theyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re doing à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“what do you think?à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  games about it was his early stuff.

Good point about the marketing hole. I suspect we have that to credit with their leaving Adam’s “album” for sale on Itunes, along with the videos. Their impulse seems to be to take even those down ASAP, but with the buzz, it would be stupid. Maybe they’ll put up some tour videos and such, and I’m sure they’re racing now to get a single up.

I agree with you about some people playing the song with the “what do you think?” angle. But I still think that fears that it’ll be played a *lot* and for a significant period are overblown, mainly because with radio having very few local djs around, there is barely any time for local djs to program *anything.* I can see it being a passing fad, but I doubt that’ll be enough to engrave it into America’s consciousness. And I can’t see it getting “real” airplay at all. Who would push for that? And RCA will be pushing hard against it.

To Lucy: Your statements indicate that you have music business knowledge. I do as well. I live in Nashville and type session contracts for studio musicians. I am not as familiar with contracts that vocalists sign, but I know that there are several different types of agreements (contracts) for instrument players. Depending on the type of recording, those musicians *can* be entitled to future royalties and special payments. Demo recordings? No. UNLESS that demo is upgraded to limited pressing (less than 10K units sold), or master (used for most major artists)

So my question at this point would be exactly what kind of contract did Adam sign and was he/is he a member of AFTRA (vocalists labor union)?

To be honestà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦I will buy it. Oneà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦because I love anything Adam has done. And Twoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦I would hate it to appear that something of Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s flopped on Itunes. I think we should support Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s musicà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦PERIOD.

Agreed.

ravengirl
And at the risk of pissing some of you off, though à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Wantà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  is not the greatest song ever written, many craptastic, vapid songs become popular. Witness the banal à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Umbrellaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  (ella ella ella eh eh eh à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  now thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s some great songwriting there, not). Or the current à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“I Like You So Much Better When Youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re Naked.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 
By comparison, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Wantà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  is mind-blowing.

Or Bloodhound Gang’s “A Lap Dance is So Much Better When the Stripper is Crying”. LOL.

Re: the Adam/HiFi debacle – I’m still totally confused. Didn’t Adam say in his statement that he simply lent his voice to songs that other people wrote? Whatever. I just can’t wait for his *real* album to be released.

twinkle Jun 22nd, 2009 at 2:20 pm

now that im over my anger and annoyanceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ this might work out to adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s benefit. we know that adam has a wide range of fans across a lot of different demographics and music tastes that came from him demonstrating he could do well across a number of different genres, so:

1 – if this album is more pop/ballad rather than rock/electronic he could maintain fans that may have deserted had he not done à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“softerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  music

2 – having something out there that appeals to this part of his fanbase might get them to try out the music he will be producing now and might bring in people that werenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t part of his idol fanbase that, as casual listeners, might like this album and then will give his à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“realà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  album a shot (spreading a wider net in attracting new fans)

3 – it will continue to show his range. if/when his rock/electronic cd succeeds he also has examples of him singing softer, mainstream music (and his ability to make a crappy song sound good)

4 – those of us that wanted a double cd release with rock on one and ballads on the other are, sort of, getting that.

Thank you twinkle- you make it sound almost gnollishly serendipitous that this music get out.

I tend to agree with you in spirit, but would feel ever so much better if RCA and Adam would further clarify their positions.

I’m still not paying money for it, though.

Waiting until November like nice, pre-Twitter, old-world of 2008, to release Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“real albumà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ , in some kind of tasteful coordination with the winnerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s debut, with zero new Adam stuff, even videos, or something, seems unthinkably dumb. The guy is Elvis level sizzling.

Thanks for the enlightenment FifthHouseSun. Well said indeed. You appear to be very knowledgeable on the subject at hand.

I do think that “waiting until November” is a huge problem for some of Adam’s fans. They want it now, and it just might sell very well on iTunes? We shall see. Personally, I choose to wait (although impatiently, lol) until November for “therealglambert”s album.

I haven’t read all the comments, but I’m wondering about this.

I am a lawyer with some experience in this area and if Adam and his team had grounds to sue they would do so.

I’m not certain this is so. There are any number of reasons not to sue, even with grounds, not the least of which is cost. Litigation is extraordinarily expensive, and I’m willing to bet that 19/RCA’s position would be that the cost is Adam’s to bear (at least in part, and likely large part.) At the start of his major label career, I’m pretty sure Adam would be wise not to begin with protracted and expensive litigation, made worse by the economy and current music industry.

But that’s me.

About the discrepancy in what the material consists of, Adam may be speaking in a vacuum and be unclear about which — of the admittedly many — songs HiFi intends to release. So before declaring him a liar, I think it’s fair to consider the possibility that he could have guessed and/or is misremembering all of the songs he worked on with this group.

I stand by my assertion that this is opportunism, plain and simple. Three years worth of work with an unbending belief in the value and marketibility of the material? Yet no release. And hesitation as recently as January according to the prior press information. Only certainty, enthusiasm and release post-Idol success and unprecedented buzz. Yeah.

P.S. I won’t buy it.

To be honestà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦I will buy it. Oneà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦because I love anything Adam has done. And Twoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦I would hate it to appear that something of Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s flopped on Itunes. I think we should support Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s musicà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦PERIOD. Downloading it for free is just wrong.

Well, Norcal2009, you are just who Hi Fi/Wilshire is counting on and why they’re releasing material that is stepping on 19E/RCA and Adam’s rightful toes. It might all be legal but that doesn’t make it right. Adam had some kind of relationship with these folks to pay the bills, and Hi Fi/Wilshire is jumping on this opportunity to, in turn, make their own buck, riding on Adam’s current popularity. Opportunist? Sure, but only if Adam fans take the bait. You do have a choice here.

Adam has already made a statement that this material no longer reflects what his current style is about. I understand that some fans want it for almost historical evidence, so to speak. But by doing so, you’re lining the opportunist’s pockets. And you’re also helping to pump up a sound that is diluting what Adam is trying to accomplish, post Idol. Chances are that Adam will see nothing or very little of any profits here. And if these recordings get a large audience, it will be that much harder for Adam to carve out a new distinct musical identity that has nothing to do with this material. That’s obviously his goal, yes? Feeding this old demo music clearly gets in the way of Adam defining his own sound, especially if this gets radio play, which is more likely with big sales.

Just food for thought here.

edit: OFF TOPIC.

Wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t it the USA Today article a while back where Adam said he sort of wished he had put à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢session singerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ on his bio instead of being a Wicked castmember to avoid the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹theaterà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ label. That reads to me that that is what he considered one of his jobs, when he auditioned for idol.

This is a good point, it was mentioned in this article
http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2009-05-12-idol-peek_N.htm
“I feel like, from the moment they noticed that, they put me in a musical-theater box. I should have just put session singer. Oh, well.”

To be honestà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦I will buy it. Oneà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦because I love anything Adam has done. And Twoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦I would hate it to appear that something of Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s flopped on Itunes. I think we should support Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s musicà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦PERIOD.

Agreed.

That doesn’t help, I don’t think–Adam clearly doesn’t want us to buy this music, and most fans probably will not, so it would probably be better for as few fans as possible to purchase it rather than for some fans to do so and some not. These people are trying to cash in on Adam’s success, and I don’t think we should help them do that, personally.

People want to know what heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s got, what heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s going to do muscially, can he deliver. They want it now. While heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s on the cover of Rolling Stone.

This!

So thanks for nothing, Entertainment Weekly, currently streaming “Want” on their website under a headline reading “Adam Lambert’s New (Old) Single”. And thanks for nothing, Rolling Stone, for your online article presenting Hi Fi’s press release as FACT instead of the carefully-worded mindfuck it really is. And while we’re at it, thanks for fucking up royally, Ryan Seacrest, by running with this story on Friday afternoon. Perez Hilton could have been ignored, but you?

We have two weeks before the tour begins and fan vids hit the interwebs. Let’s hope for some other idol news to hit it between now and then.

Exactly. If Hi-Fi/ Wilshire are lying as many fans are reflexively believing, then they are doing a WHOLE LOT of lying, as they keep declaring that Adam co-wrote the album. And what Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m hearing is a whole lot of silence from the the Lambert camp after his intial statement release, not to mention his label and management.

By now, you would think that Adam would have denounced Wilshire/ Hi-Fi in the press, at the very least, if not filed his own lawsuit. And why is 19/RCA not getting involved?

Methinks Adam was a little more involved in the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“On With The Showà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  project, the he indicated on Fridayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.

The whole issue of rights is a complex one.

It could be that neither is lying. You can be credited as a co-writer by having contributed a line or two (a lot of bands credit the whole band as writers though they have contributed varying amounts to a track).

However, being credited as a writer and having written the entire song does not automatically give you rights to what happens to that song and what it is used for, or even being paid for it, if you have signed those rights away.

Many struggling artists/writers have done this in their desperation to get recording or publishing deal. It’s happened to the biggest and best of them. It happened to the Beatles in their early days. Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues, writer and performer of one of the biggest selling and most covered and performed songs of all-time, Nights in White Satin, does not get a penny from its sales because he signed away his rights at 16 for everything he wrote in the next five years so even when he performs it himself, money goes to the guy he signed the publishing deal with (well, his estate now as he died some years ago).

If Adam signed a similar deal in order to get his music heard, he neither has a say in what they do with it (and neither has RCA) or gets any money from it.

movin2thabeet,
I hear ya. I figured HiFi was counting on people like me. I completely understand, but I don’t want to hear that Adam flopped on iTunes. I don’t want all the haters to be like “told ya.” I would rather see anything Adam does SOAR to the top of the charts….even if it’s not as good as the amazing CD he will release with RCA. I want people to be like “the guy is so talented…even his PRE-IDOL stuff is the shiz.”

It’s a tough spot for all of us. It feels like no matter what we do there won’t be a win/win. It sucks.

Also, if Adam is listed as a co-writer, he WILL receive royalties.

Not necessarilly as I explained in my post just before this one.

FifthHouseSun: Are you connected with the industry, marketing or PR? What you say makes so much sense. I know non-Adam fans hate Adam fantards saying this, but Adam has so much buzz, that he is like the second-coming of Elvis. You can see his track record from the beginning: hits, buzz, e-Bay, articles, betting places, etc. Even coming in second hasn’t hurt him one bit. As you mentioned, cover of Entertainment Weekly, RS, 20/20, YHA artist award (you would think the winner would have gotten that, i.e., Kris), Hottest Bachelor, Access Hollywood two-day interview, co-hosting Extra TV show, and the list goes on.

Adam fans want more Adam!!!! I’ve heard so many people saying they will buy this HiFi album because they want something of Adam NOW. Someone at 19 was not paying attention.

So, FHS, how do you see this album will affect Adam’s career. IMO, I don’t think it will hurt — but not sure the impact.

That doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t help, I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t thinkà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’Adam clearly doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t want us to buy this music, and most fans probably will not, so it would probably be better for as few fans as possible to purchase it rather than for some fans to do so and some not.

Where does Adam say he clearly doesn’t want us to buy this music? Is there some unknown tweet that says: “Hey kiddies, don’t buy that `Want’ thing. It’s not siiick.”????

His response, to me, simply states that he did this stuff when he was a struggling artist looking to make a buck and that it does not reflect the kind of stuff he’s doing now and that he is excited about that but not this. I read that as separating himself from the old stuff because it isn’t polished or fantabulous or siiick. But it’s still music, and it’s still him, and as long as you know the difference between old and new, session singer and superstar, what’s the harm?

There are people from other countries who liked the song as well. I guess Adam fans all over the world is willing to listen to anything Adam. So they will buy the album. Maybe (just maybe) supporting it might bring adam some good.

Many people from all over the world, like me, know what ´s going on, and WON ´T buy it. We also have access to the Internet I am willing to listen to anything Adam, but I am not going to give my money to HI-Fi.

Double standard?
Downloading the song for free is a sin
Buying from a company who is taking advantage of someone is commendable.

Just re: why HiFi is coming off as “skeezy” in all this…

They recognized his talent early and are trying to make a buck. Those à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“bastards.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

They say they’ve been working closely with him for three years, that he’s brilliant, that his work is phenomenal, that they pretty much owe it to the world to put his work out there. They certainly have the wherewithal to sign artists — see: melinda, etc. — but his (undisputed! by me anyway) brilliance apparently never moved them enough to sign him and support him with a big single and solo album debut before.

So it seems really whack to me that it’s only now, when he’s becoming more famous every day, that they’ve decided they discovered him and are interested in “helping” him and in fostering his success. Any legal issues aside, they didn’t support him when he was struggling, but they’re happy to make a buck off him now that he’s not.

That makes them fair game for name-calling in my book.

movin2thabeet your post ^^, totally and utterly.

I don’t see how rewarding these rats at HiFi who are clearly screwing Adam over, is the best way to show one’s fandom of Adam. This music would never have seen the light of day if Adam hadn’t become popular on his own, using another venue. There isn’t any way that this stuff was produced and was ever going to be used to help Adam’s career, if not by dint of his own hard work and perservence, he hadn’t gotten famous on his own. Famous enough so that these jackals can now try and use it to make money off of him, at his expense.

And while I agree, the best response to not wanting to give these jerks money is not to download the song at all, I think that isn’t realistic for everyone. So I have to say I say IF one simply can’t resist the impulse to hear Adam’s voice and hear the song, then yeah, pirate it. And these views are stictly my own and I respect mj’s stance against it. I agree as a rule with her stance and rather that people just would ignore this completely.

Is this going to be just a digital single???

no prob Buderschnookie

im still torn, but since it seems inevitable, i thought i should take up residence on the sunnier side of the grassy knoll. silver linings and all that jazz.

To be honestà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦I will buy it. Oneà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦because I love anything Adam has done. And Twoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦I would hate it to appear that something of Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s flopped on Itunes.

Buying this will deflate the value of the RCA debut. Adam has said so in the words he is able to express at this time. What don’t people get? Now I see how easily HiFi is going to get what they want. People are confused when there should be no confusion about it.

Not to add more confusion to the debate but if Adam was just going in as a session singer he probably didn’t care about or even like a lot of the stuff he was singing. Really it would be like singing the phone book for him wouldn’t it? Not a lot of investment. If he wrote these songs then he was trying to sell his own stuff which would mean they were “his babies”.(Don’t all songwriters call their songs this?) When you are trying to decide whether or not to buy recognize he may be singing a piece of crap he would never encourage anyone to buy.

CCAdamfan wrote:

So my question at this point would be exactly what kind of contract did Adam sign and was he/is he a member of AFTRA (vocalists labor union)?

And I agree — those are the questions all right!

I was going on the basis of this being a demo — in which case, as you mention, the thing has pretty much zero chance of being upgraded to a “real” released recording of any kind. …

And I would think that this would go double for the *singer* on the piece, because, while you might use the instrumentalists’ tracks later behind the actual singer who released the song — thereby upgrading those tracks to the status of something you’d pay royalties for — you clearly have no intention of having the demo vocalist sing it “for real.” You’re just using him/her to shop the song to the real singer you hope to interest.

So I would think the demo singers’ agreement would pretty much *never* include this part. (demo backup singers’ agreements might have it, though, for the same reason instrumentalists’ would …)

They don’t seem to be talking about him getting any monetary reward out of it, so I’m thinking that means — Hey, Adam! You signed all of that away!

The union question is interesting, too. I guess he belongs to Actors Equity. But I don’t know that he would have had reason to join AFTRA … especially back in 2005, when he apparently did this.

The cynic in me says that RCA are not doing anything about this because it is in their interest not to.

The much-vaunted runner-up who they now can’t shift in favour of the winner is got rid of without them even having to break a sweat.

@FifthHouseSun

Interesting posts. It does seem like RCA got caught flat-footed. They have a hot property with tons of hype following his every move but nothing tangible to give people. The question I have is what can they do about it? It seems pretty clear they don’t have legal grounds to stop this release so now what? Should they rush out some kind of new Lambert product pronto or even a single of their own?Or should they just view this as more publicity and wait?

I have no idea how this single will sell. Despite what Hi Fi is putting out there many fans seem on to them and say they won’t buy it. But with nothing else from Adam out there I’m wondering if in a moment of weakness people are going to buy it anyway, especially if they can’t find another means to get it. Some fans admit they’ll buy it and some people will just be clueless and have no idea what they’re buying. It’s a real mess.

For those that feel that they deem it neccessary to “support” Adam on Itunes by buying this single really need to go out and buy numerous copies of “no Boundaries” which is a 19 recording and which Adam IS GETTING compensation for.

By the way, I haven’t heard anyway say how “No Boundaries” is ruining Adam’s career or Kris’ for that matter.

Sure, all of this is unfair. Unfair to Adam, unfair to his fans, and really unfair to any future “session” singer who may one day become famous. But “fair” is just not a term used in the entertainment industry.

Also, I seem to recall that there were numerous postings from numerous fans during the Idol run on TV that kept saying that “very few” fans of the show were online. So, unless HiFi puts up tons of marketing money for this song and this album it won’t really reach a lot of people. Besides Adam isn’t promoting it, and as soon as radio stations really understand that it will die on the vine.

I also bet that Adam won’t be saying anything about this in any press or interviews. And if he does he will only be to reply to a direct question and his answer will be short and sweet: “I recorded that as a session musician and I am not supporting its release” or something to that effect.

If Adam/RCA/19 really cared about this release and thought for one second that it would hurt his career they will be in court today seeking an injunction, regardless of whether HiFi/Wilshire has the rights to release the music (any good lawyer can come up with a legal theory that will at least slow down the distribution for a time). Frankly, I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think they care beyond letting the public know that this is pre-idol/years ago recorded material that is different in style from his post-idol to be released in the fall. The HiFi material gives the public new material (at no cost to RCA) and keeps him in the public eye while Adam is on tour and recording the new albumà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦I have no doubt that both 19 and RCA knew about Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s prior recordings (be they his own demos, session work for others etc.) and that there was a possibility someone would seek to release themà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think Adam is lying, nor do I think Hi Fi is lying (altho they are certainly stretching the truth to get good PR.) If you like the music buy it à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  if not donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢tà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t cry for Adam or RCAà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.they will be fine, this will not in any way ruin his careerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦FWIW most people that I know that have heard Want like it à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  albeit the lyrics are cheesy and repetitious (but no more cheesy than mountains and hurricanes)à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦this is hardly a disaster, and who knows, maybe Want/Show Must Go On (love that title) will prove popular

Thank you mmb, DEFINITELY!!!

I’ve been wading through these responses and (sorry still haven’t made it through all of them and this makes the most sense, by far!)

In creative circles, products are made on spec all the time. Scripts are bought and never made, films are made and never released or first novels get little or no promotion until the second novel takes off (see John Grisham and “A Time to Kill”).

Chances are Adam worked the people from Wilshire in the studio and they cut several demo tracks for them that were “under consideration,” read: we may or may not release them, depending on timing, the market, etc., or maybe we’ll give them to one of our other artists to consider. The studio would own those tracks and if Adam so much as changed a word could conceivably get a writing credit (whether or not he gets royalties is a question that remains a mystery) and UNTIL I am sure Adam has no problem with the downloading of the tracks, I will wait to do so.

Now, it could be true that Wilshire was “working” on the tracks or they could have been sitting on a shelf until a producer with some cajones decided to release them. Since Adam has now proven a hot commodity, it’s being done.

By every indication, any work Adam sang or submitted was done as a freelancer and he WAS NOT under contract; he was essentially an employee. I have written volumes of work for my company and do not have the legal rights to any of it because it was done as either a contract worker or an employee.

This is still going to be great PR for him and is NOT going to end his career. At this point he could be thrown in jail and still have a career. Now, being suddenly struck mute, THAT could be a problem …

Belle, that just makes me sad. The optimist in me keeps reminding myself that producers like RedOne would not be working with Adam if they wanted him to just fade away.

I must admit – I still haven’t listened to the track (just found out about it today), and will probably base any purchase decision on whether I really like it or not.

However, my gut feeling is to take Adam’s statement as his way of distancing himself from the work. He mentions that he did it to make cash, etc. and to me it is sort of the equivalent of a fashion model doing some not so tasteful photo shoots while trying to make it/pay the rent, and now those pics are hitting the web (ok, a little extreme of an example, but hopefully you get my point).

I would say if they label it as “new” that would be really crappy, and incredibly unfair to Adam, and that may be my biggest peeve about it. Ok, release the tracks, make some dough because of his popularity, but don’t push it as new, when he made it years ago, under circumstances that had nothing to do with technically cutting an album.

Thanks Lucy for your very informative reply – I wondered if LA, Nashville and maybe NYC were the cities where you could get a lot of session work. And in Adam’s case he is just the lucky [sic] Idol finalist who did enough session work to create an album’s worth of material.

Any legal issues aside, they didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t support him when he was struggling, but theyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re happy to make a buck off him now that heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s not.

YES, THIS! Well said.

Adam has said all that he can say at this point. And to me, he’s said that this music is not “his” in the sense that it does not represent who he is now nor does it reflect his artistic vision or the current sound he’s striving for with his art.

To me, that says, Adam would prefer that neither his fans nor the public be introduced to this music under the guise that it’s his, nor that the release has his blessing and support.

Interpreted, don’t buy it. For me, this doesn’t seem much of a stretch. So, I’m not buying it.

Worrying about it flopping, to me, seems misplaced, when Adam doesn’t seem to share the worry. And, it’s easy enough to explain away, what with Adam’s statement and the curious circumstances and timing of the release.

I suspect people will distinguish between the two upcoming incarnations of recorded Adam, and I further suspect any comparison will redound to Adam’s professional and financial benefit.

I don’t like the song so I wouldn’t buy it but if I did like it I would need to know
1)if Adam was seriously involved in writing it 2)Would Adam receive his share of royalties for the download and 3)does Adam want me to download it or would he like this to fade away. I would have to know the answers to all three before I would buy this song or any others from the HIFI cd.

The cynic in me says that RCA are not doing anything about this because it is in their interest not to.

The much-vaunted runner-up who they now canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t shift in favour of the winner is got rid of without them even having to break a sweat.

It’s possible that RCA is actually doing something and we just don’t know about it yet. Courts are closed on weekends, right? So this would be the first day they could do any legal action, and that will take at least some time. And it’s possible they want to see if there’s anything they can do on that front before making any press releases. I’d expect a press release either today or tomorrow morning anyway. Or they could just try to ignore the whole issue and hope it dies down, but it seems Adam’s buzz may be too big for that. We’ll see.

And I really, really doubt they’d want to get rid of Adam. Why would they? All of this is happening because he’s popular! They also seem to be very invested in him. They are getting him top producers like RedOne, for example.

RCA doesn’t have the winner in any case, Jive does. My pet theory is that Kris is on Jive (which seems like an odd match for him) because RCA, which would have suited him better, didn’t want him. I think RCA wanted only Adam so that they could put everything they had behind him. This is just my theory, of course.

I have to say that I have learned a lot about the music industry today from this thread. Thankyou to all.

Also, I imagine that a session singer recording a song for the sake of promoting the song for the author probably hopes that when that recording makes it’s rounds someone out there will recognise the quality of the vocals and pursue the singer.

Apart from Adam needing to pay his bills, this hope had to have been there, and he needed it then….not now.

Personally, I love his vocals no matter what he sings (I wouldn’t care to tell you how many times I have even played the Ten Commandments DVD just to thrill at how in an ensemble of 40 some odd cast singing en masse, you can still distinguish his incredible voice).

Newsflash Adam – you could not have hidden your musical theatre background in any event. Not in the age of You Tube and Google.

The reason RCA is not doing anything in my opinion, (I could be wrong though and they are doing something) is because its not actually that big a deal as people are making it out to be. The reason Hi-Fi are releasing statement after statement is because thats the only way that they can promote it. 19 owns Adams image so they cant even use new photos of Adam to promote it, Adam himself isn’t going to promote it. Every article and DJ are now saying that its pre-Idol work, it wont get much radio support, only plays this week then something else be news. This has happened to many artists Christina Aguilera for example.

Belle
Jun 22nd, 2009 at 3:37 pm
The cynic in me says that RCA are not doing anything about this because it is in their interest not to.

The much-vaunted runner-up who they now canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t shift in favour of the winner is got rid of without them even having to break a sweat.

Are you saying that RCA wants to get rid of Adam? PLease esplain.

Considering that the “winner” isn’t even on RCA, that doesn’t make any sense. Also, considering Barry Weiss’s comments regarding the signing of Adam, it also doesn’t make sense. Paying for the producers that Adam listed as wanting to work with the most surely doesn’t indicate any desire to get rid of him either. Seeing the buzz surrounding him (not paparazzi buzz, but musical buzz by heavy-hitting producers, writers and music industry professionals) I can’t see any reason why RCA would be chomping at the bit to get rid of Adam.

nevah mind.

I’m finding it really strange that Adam hasn’t made a statement today. It’s going on sale tomorrow and a lot of people will buy it. Is he just going to ignore the whole thing? He did sing the song(s) and his voice shines in it. Personally, I think it would be better if he made an “official” statement reiterating that it’s not the type of music he’s making currently, but that he hopes people enjoy it. It will be out there. Played on some radio. Talked about. It could chart. Wouldn’t it be better career-wise for him to acknowledge, accept and promote it as an early representation of his music? He’s going to look pretty stupid if Want becomes any kind of hit if he doesn’t take credit for it when it comes out. If people like it and buy it, will he later be singing it at concerts after ignoring it? If he gets bad reviews, well he said he made it a long time ago. And if it gets good reviews he can be proud of it.

edit: don’t question the motives of your posters

I have to disagree with the statement made that Kris is on Jive because RCA didn’t want him. Many peeps here see Jive as the preferable Sony arm. Most people were thrilled that both Allison and Kris got the Jive contracts.

RCA and Jive just have different mandates and different reaches and for now it seems like the right Idol contestants have been matched up with the right divisions.

“Wantà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  was actually a song called à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Decemberà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  recorded by another artist. If it is good enough to become a hit, it already did. I think fans listen to it because the singer is Adam. Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s voice can stand out amazingly in this crappy but simple song. I like his voice but really not this song. Most of the critics are on the song or the way how Hi-Fi is taking advantage of Adam but not on the vocals. So, if the song by chance becomes popular, it may help attract casual audiences to love Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s music and look forward to his RCA debut album. If the song/album sucks, the clear message put to the market is that they are pre-idol old stuffs à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ amazing voice but crappy songs. Then, just let people hear what Adam’s voice will be on his true debut album. The pressure is rather on Adam/RCA to make the real debut album a big hit, and I am looking forward to it! For me, I wonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t support the Hi-Fi album purely because I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t like the way they handled it.

Belle Jun 22nd, 2009 at 3:37 pm

The cynic in me says that RCA are not doing anything about this because it is in their interest not to.

The much-vaunted runner-up who they now canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t shift in favour of the winner is got rid of without them even having to break a sweat.

Yeah, cause that’s why they’re shelling out the big bucks for red hot producers like RedOne and Dr. Luke to work on Adam’s big debut. In reality, they’re just dying to ditch Adam.

The much-vaunted runner-up who they now canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t shift in favour of the winner is got rid of without them even having to break a sweat.

I totally disagree. :thumbdown_tb: Makes zero sense at all.

Case in point: Adam’s Season 8 album is still #53 on iTunes and he is the only S8 idol on this chart, his videos are still selling, etc. and his fans are obviously begging for more.

I think it would be better if he made an à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“officialà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  statement

He made an official statement. Nothing has changed. He doesn’t support the new song. period.

Meantime, HiFi has had YouTube do a sweep. “Want” is being taken down all over YT. They sure are acting like sharks.

Belle, that doesn’t make any sense. If RCA didn’t want Adam, they wouldn’t have signed him at all.

I’m not buying the song!

hopefully that says it all

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m finding it really strange that Adam hasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t made a statement today. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s going on sale tomorrow and a lot of people will buy it.

Adam already made a statement. The more he talks, the more press/buzz it’ll get.

Meantime, HiFi has had YouTube do a sweep. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Wantà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  is being taken down all over YT. They sure are acting like sharks.

How do they expect people to hear it then and know its out there?? lol

Of course to be devil’s advocate, if there has been any impropriety on Adam’s part, it would also be best for him and 19 and RCA to stay very very quiet because clearly, any breaches of the AI/19 contract are not going to stop the current plans, that should be plainly obvious to all.

But you certainly don’t want any information about any impropriety to come to light or give people opportunity to dig further. Just saying. Especially given what happened to Ms. Pacitti.

Now the thing about RCA is they have signed Idol contestants and have shat upon them in the past. I’ll never understand the whole situation with Kristy Lee Cook. But I can’t see that happening here.

Meantime, HiFi has had YouTube do a sweep. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Wantà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  is being taken down all over YT. They sure are acting like sharks.

Probably because the comment sections were full of Adam fans calling them out for their shitty profiteering.

Adam’s silence? If you can’t say anything nice, say nothing at all. Let your lawyers do the talking.

they won’t have a music video either.

edit: don’t question the motives of you fellow posters

Sunn Jun 22nd, 2009 at 4:24 pm

The much-vaunted runner-up who they now canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t shift in favour of the winner is got rid of without them even having to break a sweat.

Everyone sees what they want to see in I guess.

I’m tempted to post a clip of Danny Gokey’s “Dream On” scream in response! LOL!

The reason RCA is not doing anything in my opinion, (I could be wrong though and they are doing something) is because its not actually that big a deal as people are making it out to be. The reason Hi-Fi are releasing statement after statement is because thats the only way that they can promote it. 19 owns Adams image so they cant even use new photos of Adam to promote it, Adam himself isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t going to promote it. Every article and DJ are now saying that its pre-Idol work, it wont get much radio support, only plays this week then something else be news. This has happened to many artists Christina Aguilera for example.

yup!!

Joanna was disqualified because she had personal relationships with two members of Idols production team nothing to do with previous experience and past contracts. If you want to compare Joanna to someone it would be Carly Smithson who knew Randy Jackson before Idol apparently.

Belle, that doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t make any sense. If RCA didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t want Adam, they wouldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t have signed him at all.

Right. Adam didn’t win so they didn’t have to sign him at all if they didn’t want him.

I usually don’t comment this much but I think this story is important.

In creative circles, products are made on spec all the time. Scripts are bought and never made, films are made and never released or first novels get little or no promotion until the second novel takes off (see John Grisham and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“A Time to Killà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ).

The difference in this situation is that John Grisham and Christiana Aguilera and Alice Sebold et al already had strong, popular products reflective of their styles, passions, and talents in the market when their “early works” surfaced. This Hi Fi project is being touted as Adam’s debut. It’s being touted as having his “signature”. And it’s getting a long head start over his actual album.

As a writer-for-hire, I’ve written many journeyman pieces that certainly don’t represent who I am as an artist. I would hate for them to surface on the eve of my formal debut. I feel for Adam. This must be frustrating for him. I don’t think it will “end” him, I just think it will make it rockier for him right out of the gate.

…just ask MJ about the letter she got [from 19's active lawyers].

What happened, MJ???!!!!!?????

On the hi-fi site, they’re using a really old picture of Adam. The one with the torn jeans and the soul patch, where he’s sitting on the floor. It is a good picture, lol.

snuffles
Jun 22nd, 2009 at 4:26 pm
Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m tempted to post a clip of Danny Gokeyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Dream Onà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  scream in response! LOL!

Lol! Please don’t it’s late, and I don’t need the nightmares Lol!

Belle, that doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t make any sense. If RCA didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t want Adam, they wouldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t have signed him at all.

But they did and I’ll bet they were first of a very long line of labels who wanted Adam. :doh_tb:

Also eventhough ‘Want’ is being released in Adams name, its not his song. No matter how successful ‘Want’ is Adam cant perform it or record it in his own right even if he wanted to because Hi-Fi have all the rights to it.

I finally listened to Want on youtube. If this is Adam’s “signature sound” then I’m bored already. Vocal are good, but I think it is the music that makes the song cheesy.

I find it odd that 19 isn’t having issues with this. I thought 19 owned all rights to past as well as future works by any Idols they signed. Or does that apply to only the winners, and since Adam is the runner up his contract is different than Kris? Of course that could have changed. The Idol/19 contract seems to change every year.

Only reason 19 and RCA are letting this slide is because they have to. No way did Hi Fi / Wilshire “slip something” over them. And no way Itunes sells this unless 19 is ok with it. They don’t want to lose their “partnership” with Idol.

I’m looking forward to the promotions of his first ‘real’ single on the talk show circuits and his own tour. Hopefully ‘Want’ will just die on it’s own. Maybe we’ll see some flaming appendages out of Adam, after seeing Lady Gaga. :kiss_ee: You just know he was thinking, ‘crap, I wanted to do that!”

sallyas1 Adam has already said that this is not his signature sound, and this doesn’t reflect his new music at all. Also 19 has the rights to all Adams previous music that Adam himself had rights to, which probably includes stuff like Crawl through fire. But as the Hi-Fi CD only includes demos which Adam has no rights to himself 19 has no rights to them either.

This discussion is fascinating, I always learn a lot about popular music business here.

I was surprised that right after Adam signed his contract he started talking about writing songs. I didn’t follow him closely but I didn’t think that his writing was brought up often while on Idol, was it? If he, in fact, wrote or co-wrote two albums worth of stuff, then it seems that he didn’t want this to be known. Judging by “Want” he was right, it’s nothing special. However, considering that almost all of Idol winners and runner ups get stuck with pretty uninspiring stuff on their first album, Adam’s summer release might just bring him some cash if not a grammy. I know that people ooze when they hear RedOne, Dr. Luke and such but Idols tend to end up with lots of bad songs on their albums.

Also 19 has the rights to all Adams previous music that Adam himself had rights to, which probably includes stuff like Crawl through fire.

I doubt that is true. They can buy those rights if they like, but they don’t get to own everything he’s ever done. We’ve had previous Idols (winners and others) that have sold their pre-Idol stuff independently.

It’s not that big a deal and it happens all the time. It’ll get played on the radio as a novelty and I’ve haven’t a clue how many downloads they’ll sell. Since HIFI can’t really promo the album much, it’ll probably sell around 15-25K albums total. By the time, the official album comes out and 19 does their promo blitz, this will be forgotten. I doubt even die hard fans will shell out $10 for an album of music that’s seems kind of meh.

.

If he, in fact, wrote or co-wrote two albums worth of stuff, then it seems that he didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t want this to be known. Judging by à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Wantà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  he was right, ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s nothing special.

Well, that would make sense if he wrote it! But he didn’t write it. If he had written it, it wouldn’t be out there as a produced song with somebody else singing it and somebody else’s name on it as writer! Even a session singer would try to sue if that had happened to them.

Their story that he wrote it is just crazy, and they probably justify it to themselves by saying that he switched up one line so that, where the writer had put down a B flat, Adam slid up to a D or something — so he’s the writer; now everybody please buy these songs!

Agreed that big-name producers and songwriters can also produce crappy songs. And often seem to save those especially for the albums of Idol alums!

Judging by à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Wantà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  he was right, ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s nothing special.

Anya, Adam didn’t write Want–he was a sessions singer, and he simply provided vocals for it, as he himself has said. He didn’t write Want–he did co-write songs like Pop Goes the Camera, Crawl Thru the Fire, etc.

And yes, I am with those who think this just isn’t a big deal–annoying, but not a big deal.

edit: please don’t generalize, question the motives or speculate on the motives of your fellow posters

Peeps, don’t stress!

HiFi was never interested in developing Adam’s career. Someone from the company saw Adam on AI and figured what the hell, let’s make a buck, simple as that. They dust off the demos and the rest is history, meanwhile we don’t know what has transpired between 19/RCA and HiFi and can only speculate.

This is not going to hurt Adam’s career. HiFi releases the song(s), after two or three weeks everyone forgets about them. The AI tour starts, Adam gets lots of great buzz from the tour. RCA drops a single, then an album and if it’s kick ass Adam is a star. My point being that Adam’s future success or failure depends on the music he is working on NOW, not music he made as a mere session singer.

Remember Gokey-gate? That all turned out to be a grassy knoll story. I’m not falling for any more conspiracies! It’s just business as usual, record companies are infamous for taking advantage of young singers.

The Black Eyed Peas story was way more interesting! Can you believe Perez is “seriously” injured and instead of calling the police and/or a doctor, he tweets about it? Its not like he’s in Iran trying to start a revolution. What a nutbag.

Peace & Love :smile2_ee:

I understand more fully now Adam’s statement that it’s really tough in the music industry today! Just when I thought he had it covered…this! I would still like to get more truth (will that be possible?) on this story. Hope this hurries not hampers getting on with the job of getting his RCA album out asap.

I’d be more worried they would rush and put out something mediocre in light of this. The important thing is going to be quality reasonably quickly. Can RCA do it?

The much-vaunted runner-up who they now canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t shift in favour of the winner is got rid of without them even having to break a sweat

Are you suggesting that they are not taking care of the winner first?? Why the eff do you think that they would want to “shift” over this? Kris won, no? Adam is still the hottest thing AI has ever produced, imho …. if they dropped him …. next in line please.

I have no doubt Adam would have been signed because he was their pet, their chosen one, their STAR. But seriously, every single runner-up has been signed. They signed every runner-up, even the ones they didn’t drop a cent into promoting once album release time came. Didn’t Blake get hot producers too?

I am not worried about Adam ´s career. He is too good not to succeed. What bothers me, to say the least, is what is being done to him by hi-fi. They are real vultures. This is no fair play.

But Blake didn’t get the media and industry attention that Adams got and to be blunt maybe fans thought that he be more successful than he was but I cant remember any big names predicting great things for him (and I like Blake by the way).

Adam ´s official site (adamofficial.com) has Adam ´s statement on the front page. Fans are sending messages of support to Adam and saying they won ´t be buying the song nor the album.

Lucy “Well, that would make sense if he wrote it! But he didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t write it. ”

Ok, my bad, he didn’t write “Want”. According to various media releases, though, that are quoting the producers, Adam wrote or co-wrote eight of the 11 tracks. Imo, he should just own up to it, if it’s truly his material, as representing an early Adam. If he wrote the stuff, he can get royalties. By denying it, he seems slightly dishonest.

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d be more worried they would rush and put out something mediocre in light of this. The important thing is going to be quality reasonably quickly. Can RCA do it?

There’s not a doubt in my mind that even the demo-est demo in the roughest stage ever of Adam’s new material could wipe this “Want” thing right off the map- obliterate it.

I think RCA was pushing hard to get something ready early long before this little problem ever surfaced and now they are just that much more motivated to get it right and present Adam in the best light possible.

If “Want” is the best thing on the “album”, and it likely is, then we have zero to worry about.

This is but a fart.
The real first single will be a sonic boom!

Lucy, at 2:23 you posted that a contract that excluded demos over which the competitor did not have control would (or should) exclude people who had actual albums out there, and you referenced David Cook, among others. I want to point out that the important thing was whether the person had control over the album, enabling them to sign over those rights to AI. David Cook had control over his album, because it was DIY. There was no contract, he wrote the songs, he produced it, he arranged for and paid musicians who were used, he did the cover art, he did all of the singing except for one or two backup vocals, etc. Because of this, AI barred him from selling it, making him take it down when it hit #1 in sales on iTunes. This is exactly the type of control AI wants and does not have in Adam’s situation. Apparently David’s Axium albums were treated differently as the work of a band, not just David, and they were not barred from sale. Similarly, no one tried to bar sales of the cast album Adam is on, as it affected others not on Idol.

I can’t speak to the situation for the others you named, but such a contract would not have barred Cook from competition.

http://www.adamofficial.com/news/official-statement-adam-lambert

The more I read the more I realize how NONE of us really understand the intricacies of copyright law and that we know even less about what really went down. So the more people talk, the more the situation gets confused.

Adam has made his statement and I think that will pretty much be the end of it on his end. Meanwhile Hi-Fi continues to put out more and more statements (each more contradictory than the next) and continues to dig themselves into an ethical hole.

I believe I’ll wait for his real new CD. But some new videos of the tour performances would be really, really nice!!!

To be honestà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦I will buy it. Oneà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦because I love anything Adam has done. And Twoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦I would hate it to appear that something of Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s flopped on Itunes. I think we should support Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s musicà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦PERIOD

But this isn’t Adam’s music. These are old session tapes.

Anya, Hi-Fi will say whatever they can to sell the album. Adam cant get royalties because they are demo tracks that he recorded as a session singer, he has no rights to these songs.

Didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t Blake get hot producers too?

It looks like he got some typical Idol producers (which Adam seems to be linked with as well as Dr. Luke and RedOne), like Ryan Tedder and Hodges. He also got team who does a lot of indie producing (S*A*M & Sluggo).

The difference with Blake is he has a style more suited for the underground and a rather weak pop voice. I actually liked Blake on the show AND own an album of just beatboxing (not Blake’s) and my favorite group uses beatboxing instead of drums, but even I could have told you that wouldn’t take the world by storm. Also, Blake didn’t have tons of promotion, media-love, hype outside of American Idol or what appears to be Adam’s label-backing. It’s really hard to directly compare except they both aren’t typical Idol fare.

Doesn’t mean Adam’s going to be the biggest thing ever, but I think he lends himself to stardom more than Blake even at a quick glance.

Sneek peek on Adam ´s at E! News Live

http://www.eonline.com/videos/v27127860001_material_advice_for_adam_lambert.html

Tonight at 7

Anya
Jun 22nd, 2009 at 5:15 pm
Lucy à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Well, that would make sense if he wrote it! But he didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t write it. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

Ok, my bad, he didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t write à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Wantà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ . According to various media releases, though, that are quoting the producers, Adam wrote or co-wrote eight of the 11 tracks. Imo, he should just own up to it, if ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s truly his material, as representing an early Adam. If he wrote the stuff, he can get royalties. By denying it, he seems slightly dishonest.

Co-writing a song could be as simple an act as changing a few notes when singing it. In the end It depends on who you choose to believe. A guy you’ve been watching for the past six months confront controversy without deceit or duplicity? Or some press statement from some CEO out to make a buck quoting some strangely silent producers?

It’s all down to whom we Choose to believe. I choose Adam.

I understand that it’s not the music Adam wants to make now, but technically how can anyone say it is not “his” music. Other artists sing songs by other songwriters. Other artists might not really like certain songs on their albums. Unless the guy comes out and says “That was shit and they held a gun to my head to make me sing it”, it’s his music.

I choose Adam too, Sunn.

The only people that Adam worked with on these songs was Wilshire Records, not Hi-Fi. Hi-Fi admits they were approached by Wilshire Recordings.

“Hecker says he was approached by Wilshire Records about releasing Lambert’s material soon after the singer made his first appearance on “Idol” in January 2009. “When they first discussed it with me I was really hesitant, because usually when there’s music that’s been recorded earlier, the stuff isn’t so good. This stuff is unbelievable. We saw that it was the right thing for fans to hear this music. We’re doing everything on the highest level, from the mixes to how we’re promoting it.”

I think it’s really telling that the people at Wilshire and the producer who did work on it aren’t commenting:

“Adam Lambert’s “Want” was produced by L.A. based New Zealand expat Malcolm Welsford, a principal at Wilshire Records, and features additional production by Mark Endert. Endert declined to comment, while his manager at Nettwerk, Alia Fahlborg, admitted that they knew it would be controversial. “He’s very proud of the work he did,” she said. Welsford does not have a listed number, nor does Wilshire Records.”

Yeah, Endert’s probably proud of the work he did on the single, not proud of what Wilshire/Hi-Fi are doing.

I’m convinced that Adam will be fine through all this, but it definitely makes me think twice about ever purchasing anything from Hi-Fi/Wilshire in the future. Sorry Melinda, I was actually thinking of buying your cd.

One more question. Everyone is assuming that he is not going to make any money from this. Not saying that I know he is. But I’d love to see a link to an official statement confirming that. Anyone got one?

I read in another blog that Adam is vocal ‘filler’ on “Want” – and that “backup vocals (were) pushed to the forefront through electronic manipulation”. Don’t recall seeing anything on MJ about this… Those that have listened to it, what do you think?

Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s all down to whom we Choose to believe. I choose Adam.

Amen, sister! If songs we know he had a big hand in writing end up on the album, that’s one thing. But if not, I’m guessing it’s a case of Adam doing a few tweaks here and there and Hi-Fi jumping all over that shit to claim that Adam “co-wrote” the tracks. What better way to help them promote the album than by claiming the songs were written by Adam himself? It’s a shitty thing to do, but this is business and it doesn’t shock me. I just hope Adam is handling this okay and RCA is being supportive of him.

What is Adam’s twitter address???

No matter how successful à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Wantà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ is Adam cant perform it

Yes, he can. He can perform it at any of his shows that he wants to. In fact, Kris could perform it if he wanted to. This is no different than when a band covers another band’s songs live. It happens all the time.

Unless the guy comes out and says à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“That was shit and they held a gun to my head to make me sing ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ , ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s his music.

Well, that’s pretty much what he did say in his official statement when he talked about needing money and being desperate to get into a real recording studio. It’s not “his” music in the sense that as a session singer I doubt he was able to pick songs he connected with or even really liked. He was trying to make a buck and gain experience.

I understand that ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s not the music Adam wants to make now, but technically how can anyone say it is not à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“hisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  music. Other artists sing songs by other songwriters. Other artists might not really like certain songs on their albums. Unless the guy comes out and says à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“That was shit and they held a gun to my head to make me sing ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ , ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s his music.

He sang it because he was paid to do so and he needed the money. It was never meant to be associated with him in any way and in no way reflects anything he ever wanted to do as his own music. Session singers don’t sing songs that are meant to be released by them as recording artists. This was a demo for the song, not Adam, and it wasn’t supposed to be ever released under his name. He just sang it on behalf of the songwriter(s) so they could sell it better to other artists/companies.

In the Stars
Jun 22nd, 2009 at 5:30 pm
What is Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s twitter address???

http://twitter.com/therealGlambert

Blake had some buzz and Clive Davis even executive produced his album. He doesn’t do that for everyone. But Adam is a much better singer and a more interesting personality. However, I’ve found that in general the market place is more important than any Idol. Adam still has to find the right genre to make it as an artist.

And no way Itunes sells this unless 19 is ok with it. They donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t want to lose their à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“partnershipà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  with Idol.

19E cannot act with iTunes to prevent HiFi from selling “Want” on iTunes if HiFi complied with the legal terms of sale to do so. That would be the equivalent of collusion and price-fixing on the part of 19E and iTunes.

Thank you Sunn

http://www.eonline.com/videos/v27127860001_material_advice_for_adam_lambert.html

this is an adam preview in the studio with redone….man to be a fly on the wall!

it will actually air tomorrow night, not tonight!

This is not really a big deal. This has happened to numerous recording artists. The only difference is in the last couple of years iTunes has made a surge in popularity and songs can be loaded on there in no time instead of pressing CDs. Adam has freely admitted in numerous articles and interviews that he has been trying to break into the music business for a few years, that he was apparently not knocking on the right doors, that he has been recording on his own to get someone to listen to his work. Nothing happened for him. A lot of singers will do demo for a one time fee and also will do demo work in trade for recording time. He had been trying to get a recording contract with The Citizen Vein, it didn’t happen. So what if he has recording sessions out there that he had to sign away the rights to? He had NO recording contract. L.A. is an extremely hard town to get a shot at entertainment. The U.S. is too and that is why bands go to Europe and Japan and find success there first. Adam could have done that but at least he had the theatre work that was becoming more and more a full time job. The Adam detractors will just jump on this and the true Adam fans will believe in him and the ones who aren’t fans but like his voice will do what they will do. It’s time to let this go the way of Gokeygate.

The cynic in me says that RCA are not doing anything about this because it is in their interest not to.

The much-vaunted runner-up who they now canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t shift in favour of the winner is got rid of without them even having to break a sweat.

Well, that makes absolutely zero sense. :rolleyes_tb:

Stormy, very good point in that yes, in the cases of Grisham, Aguillera, etc. they were allowed to put out their signature work first before those past samples surfaced (although “Time to Kill” was certainly released and out there, it just didn’t get a national media blitz until after “The Firm” became a blockbuster).

I’m hoping the difference will be that most of the headlines are specifying that these are “new old” works. The headline on the Yahoo! homepage says, “Old Adam Lambert album to be released” and when you click on the thumbnail, the hed reads, “Adam Lambert’s old album.” Here’s the link to the actual story: http://new.music.yahoo.com/adam-lambert/news/album-with-adam-lambert-tunes-expected-this-summer–61989109

The headline once you click on the story is more ambiguous, but I think it was written yesterday.

Either way, I think most people will have had to be living under a rock (and there will be those, of course) that are going to hear the song with no prior knowledge of Adam and be completely ignorant to its origins enough to be forever turned off because of this non-representative sample.

here is another sneak peek at interview with adam and redone…………..REDONE SAYS “ITS GONNA BE CRAZY…ITS GONNA SHOCK THE WORLD” lol whatever that means!:)

One more question. Everyone is assuming that he is not going to make any money from this. Not saying that I know he is. But Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d love to see a link to an official statement confirming that. Anyone got one?

When pressed about if Adam would make money from these recording, Hackler, er, Heckler, said that “Adam would share in the success,” which doesn’t actually mean he makes money with them. It’s just going along with the crap that they were trying to sell about how this would all be soooooo great for Adam, so of course it’s what he wants!

Oh and these are the same guys who keep on changing their timelines and giving Adam and more active involvement with these songs. And doing things like taking down the song from their website that they did make, and clearly “Want,” was just a previous version of. Funny how they don’t make mention of “December,” and took it off their site after people found it and made the correct connection about it to “Want.” Hmmmm. Gee, why wouldn’t I believe these guys?

So yeah, just more BS and no, Adam isn’t make money from this. As for people wondering if he was suddenly credited as “song writer,” wouldn’t that mean he would get royalties? Just ask The Beatles about necessarily getting money from work you wrote. One can sign away one’s rights for a song. Not that I think this is the case here, because again, these guys have established themselves as lying douchemongers. At least to me, MMV.

From BestWeekEver

Adam Lambertà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s New (Old) Release à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Wantà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ : Love It or Hate It?
By Michelle Collins

http://www.bestweekever.tv/2009/06/22/adam-lamberts-new-old-release-want-love-it-or-hate-it/

sorry here is the link:

http://www.eonline.com/videos/v27126467001_adam_lambert_dishes_on_debut.html

REDONE: “it’s gonna be crazy. its gonna shock the world.”

Wilshire/hifi have been thinking about and planning this since January. They have been figuring out with the help of their lawyers the best way to capitalize on Adam’s exposure all the while crossing their t’s and dotting their i’s. Is it possible that Adam was somehow involved? Making sure that he got something out of his idol run should he not make it far in the competition? This begins in January when no one is really sure how the audience will embrace Adam. If he was cut early and they could drop a cd within weeks that did not break any contract he had with 19 would he give them his blessings? I don’t know. It seems possible.

The reason Hi-Fi are releasing statement after statement is because that’s the only way that they can promote it.

That, Bliss the Assassin, in a nutshell, shows how all the rules of last century business are off in an Information Age. One Perez Hilton post, followed by one Ryan Seacrest ditto tweet and Ka-boom. We don’t have a clue how those two little posts happened. But that’s all it took. Presto, this low-rent track is streaming on RollingStone, MTV, EW, Yahoo, and AOL. Instantly. With zero effort. Leaping over the hundreds of releases wishing for a tenth of the placements.

Word-of-Mouth is the obsession of every brand on the planet. Because WOM (as it’s called) creates profit. Ads steal profit. PR’s goal is to create WOM. Without WOM, you have no profit. (Those five phrases just gave you an MBA) Adam Lambert has thousands of echo chamber devotees trolling the internet looking for news. Eager to WOM it up for him. This is biz bliss. Never seen anything like it.

One interesting biz aspect to this HiFi release is it will be a case study in new media impact. Like: how much do record companies need radio?. And how much does radio need to follow the web? Also, since it’s a lousy song, with demo quality non-orchestration, it will also be interesting to see how many it sells. Because the hard-core Lambertarians known the back-story, and won’t buy it. The casual listener, who would hate Whole Lot of Love, and never want to hear the funk, may.

So is RCA letting this happen without protest in an expand the market lemonade made out of a lemon situation? Don’t know. If so, I think that’s a poor move. Too risky a lead-off with a guy who has a chance to be something landmark in originality. One song on iTunes, Adam can survive. 11 wretched la-la’s unchallenged for 4 months, and all that rough edge is gone. And they’ve made the biggest stupid move since the studios that passed on Gone With the Wind.

Conditions are so unknown now, both about rules of business in general, and what HiFi has actually got, they have to get cracking on image control.

Old school didn’t think they needed plenty of high-quality, original product in the pipeline between show close and album release. Well, wake up, RCA, you do. And the tour looks like the most likely place to get that. Tour videos. Make-Your-Own- Pay-Per- View. (Though PPV also not impossible after tour sells out.) Would have the web site be ten thousand percent classier, unique, and more interactive. And have Adam posting a new video at least weekly, at the same time every week. With mobisodes to signees phones. And have a Twitter staff on the job daily. Tweety interesting, non fan girly stuff. “Here’s a link to the Memphis Horns, I loved Al Jackson on drums”. Smart things. Not very often. Cannot risk turning him into Just a Tween Idol. But surprising stuff. They could be muzz-muzzing about artistic possiblities as much as possible. The visual aspects of a potential Lambert Video. In talks with various directors kind of thing. High End, little known wunderkinds, Sofia Coppola, anything interesting.

Adam has a chance to be new Info Age Madonna. Except he can sing. Last forever, pioneer, and re-invent in ways no one has though of yet. There’s a lot of old school still happening. When he comes up for air, I hope he hires some smart, new media advisors. Not necessarily show biz ones. More inventive, more original, less afraid, less interested in see-and-be-seen, except for their clients.

I love this part of that eonline article:

Lambert, who is busy laying down tracks with producer RedOne at the Jim Henson Company in Los Angeles, insists he got exactly what he wanted from A.I., despite coming in second place.

“Look, I’m in the studio with this guyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ a wizard,” Lambert said. “And I’m getting to make an album. I mean, that’s why I entered the show. I wanted an opportunity like this and I’m getting it.”

Meanwhile, RedOne had very strong feelings about Lambert from the moment he saw him onstage.

“Before the finals or anything, I called the label,” RedOne told E! News. “I was like, if that guy wins, I gotta work with him. And if he doesn’t win, I gotta work with him.”

He’s got so many great industry professionals wanting to work with him! It’s also sad that all he’s ever wanted to do is make an album and now Hi-Fi is taking his session work he did to make a living, and putting out an album that he feels isn’t him. They’re taking that excitement and joy from him. NOt right.

Weese, I dont watch the audition shows and I first heard of Adam back in December through spoilers and heard a quite deal about him without even seeing him until Satisfaction. If thats the case for me it wouldn’t have been hard for someone associated with Wilshire/hifi to know that he was on the show and had some hype behind him. Adam was a favorite before his audition even aired. Edit – And i’m saying this as a big fan.

I love this part of that eonline article:

Lambert, who is busy laying down tracks with producer RedOne at the Jim Henson Company in Los Angeles, insists he got exactly what he wanted from A.I., despite coming in second place.

à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Look, Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m in the studio with this guyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ a wizard,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  Lambert said. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“And Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m getting to make an album. I mean, thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s why I entered the show. I wanted an opportunity like this and Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m getting it.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

Meanwhile, RedOne had very strong feelings about Lambert from the moment he saw him onstage.

à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Before the finals or anything, I called the label,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  RedOne told E! News. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“I was like, if that guy wins, I gotta work with him. And if he doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t win, I gotta work with him.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

Heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s got so many great industry professionals wanting to work with him! Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s also sad that all heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s ever wanted to do is make an album and now Hi-Fi is taking his session work he did to make a living, and putting out an album that he feels isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t him. Theyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re taking that excitement and joy from him. NOt right.

Totally with you!

I understand that ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s not the music Adam wants to make now, but technically how can anyone say it is not à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“hisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  music. Other artists sing songs by other songwriters. Other artists might not really like certain songs on their albums. Unless the guy comes out and says à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“That was shit and they held a gun to my head to make me sing ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ , ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s his music.

Being a session singer/player is not like singing someone else’s song on your own album.

1. Suppose that, instead of Adam becoming famous, it was whoever plays lead guitar on some of those songs. Wilshire/Hi-Fi might then be claiming these as that guy’s music. They could hardly do that if it was really Adam’s stuff. It’s the fact that it’s a bunch of no-name session musicians that makes it possible.

2. Adam did a lot of other kinds of singing other people’s stuff, besides his session work. It’s a novelty to hear his H.S. graduation performance and a cut from him in Brigadoon, and see him do a group number on A.I. Some people may like those in and of themselves, some people may like it only to see what all he can do (and some people might not like any of it). But it would be ridiculous to call that “his music” and put it out as anything other than a novelty album. This is the same kind of thing: it has a curiousity value to hear him as a session singer, like hearing SRV backing Bowie. But it’s not his music, if it’s just session work.

i heart michelle collins.

it seems most of the comments on her post seem to be of the “if adam doesn’t support or profit, i wont buy” variety

but this one nearly made ME choke:

“Agree with Leah and Jimminy. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s better than No Boundaries. At this point Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d download the musical sounds of Adam choking on a piece of steak.”

E! Online Interview videos:

http://adamdaily.com/index.php?subaction=showcomments&id=1245708497&archive=&start_from=&ucat=&

I understand that ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s not the music Adam wants to make now, but technically how can anyone say it is not à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“hisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  music.

It’s his voice but I don’t really think of the product as his music. I don’t know if he liked the songs or not. He says he just sang them for $$$ so he could pay his bills. That’s what session singers do.

I have this youtube to share with you guys. It’s a beautifully done artistic visual redesign of Ada’s live performance of A Change Is Gonna Come. I think it brilliant.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ECuZ8H35EQ

Enjoy.

One Perez Hilton post, followed by one Ryan Seacrest ditto tweet and Ka-boom. We donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t have a clue how those two little posts happened. But thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s all it took. Presto, this low-rent track is streaming on RollingStone, MTV, EW, Yahoo, and AOL. Instantly. With zero effort. Leaping over the hundreds of releases wishing for a tenth of the placements.

Word-of-Mouth is the obsession of every brand on the planet. Because WOM (as ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s called) creates profit. Ads steal profit. PRà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s goal is to create WOM. Without WOM, you have no profit. (Those five phrases just gave you an MBA) Adam Lambert has thousands of echo chamber devotees trolling the internet looking for news. Eager to WOM it up for him. This is biz bliss. Never seen anything like it.

One interesting biz aspect to this HiFi release is it will be a case study in new media impact. Like: how much do record companies need radio?. And how much does radio need to follow the web? Also, since ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a lousy song, with demo quality non-orchestration, it will also be interesting to see how many it sells. Because the hard-core Lambertarians known the back-story, and wonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t buy it. The casual listener, who would hate Whole Lot of Love, and never want to hear the funk, may.

So is RCA letting this happen without protest in an expand the market lemonade made out of a lemon situation? Donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t know. If so, I think thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a poor move. Too risky a lead-off with a guy who has a chance to be something landmark in originality. One song on iTunes, Adam can survive. 11 wretched la-laà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s unchallenged for 4 months, and all that rough edge is gone. And theyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve made the biggest stupid move since the studios that passed on Gone With the Wind.

Conditions are so unknown now, both about rules of business in general, and what HiFi has actually got, they have to get cracking on image control.

Old school didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think they needed plenty of high-quality, original product in the pipeline between show close and album release. Well, wake up, RCA, you do. And the tour looks like the most likely place to get that. Tour videos. Make-Your-Own- Pay-Per- View. (Though PPV also not impossible after tour sells out.) Would have the web site be ten thousand percent classier, unique, and more interactive. And have Adam posting a new video at least weekly, at the same time every week. With mobisodes to signees phones. And have a Twitter staff on the job daily. Tweety interesting, non fan girly stuff. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Hereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a link to the Memphis Horns, I loved Al Jackson on drumsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ . Smart things. Not very often. Cannot risk turning him into Just a Tween Idol. But surprising stuff. They could be muzz-muzzing about artistic possiblities as much as possible. The visual aspects of a potential Lambert Video. In talks with various directors kind of thing. High End, little known wunderkinds, Sofia Coppola, anything interesting.

Adam has a chance to be new Info Age Madonna. Except he can sing. Last forever, pioneer, and re-invent in ways no one has though of yet. Thereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a lot of old school still happening. When he comes up for air, I hope he hires some smart, new media advisors. Not necessarily show biz ones. More inventive, more original, less afraid, less interested in see-and-be-seen, except for their clients.

Oh, FifthHouseSun, how I worship the space you comment on.

“When he comes up for air, I hope he hires some smart, new media advisors. Not necessarily show biz ones. More inventive, more original, less afraid, less interested in see-and-be-seen, except for their clients.”

FifthHouseSun…. i think this sounds like a job for YOU. loving all of your input!

Ditto on the love to FifthHouseSun. Thanks so much for posting here.

FifhHouseSun: BRILLIANT!! Can I put that MBA on my resume now? Actually, as much as I write about business, I should have an honorary one by now.

I love your thoughts about new media and I’ve often thought about how digital music is changing the whole music-marketing dynamic. The listener/buyer has infinitely more say in the matter now. THAT’s why I think it’s the perfect time for a cross-genre possibility such as Adam wants to make. We don’t have to rely on record execs picking one or two singles to spoon feed us, then wait for station managers and DJs to decide if it will or won’t make the playlist.

We now have the prerogative to download any tracks we want, or the whole album, we can circulate links around the world in a hot second and further proliferate the marketing with social networking avenues. We’re taking some of their power and they better figure out how to make it work to their best advantage. Your suggestions are inspired.

FifthHouseSunà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦. i think this sounds like a job for YOU. loving all of your input!

Wow, FifthHouseSun. Please call RCA and get hired there right away! They need your help!

FifthHousesun, thanks for all your insight. You’re the bomb, or as Adam would say, you are siiiiiick (which is good).

It seems to me that 19 and Adam are not going to say anything so as to not give HiFi any more publicity, or the legal team are still meeting. Even Ryan Seacrest, who always tweets everything going on has been mum. So there must be some directives coming from 19.

Well, I would pay big bucks for a Idol Pay for View of the tour. And be happy to buy any of Adam’s new live videos from the tour. I’m really hoping they will do that!

Thanks, FifthHouseSun for the comments. Food for thought.

About artist vs. record labels, it is an old story. Remember when Prince lost his frigging NAME for how many years? The labels are losing power every second, with all the new media as discussed, and they will cling to whatever they can do to make money.

This story is not going away anytime soon, and yes, I completely agree that RCA better get something out from Adam (a viral video, song snippet, tweets, whatever!) ASAP (and keep it coming until the record is ready).

Should they rush out some kind of new Lambert product pronto

Original music wise – As others have wisely advised: It’s better to wait and be great, than be fast and just okay. “Just okay” would be anything that sounds like the over-produced “me-too” stuff, where you can’t tell which of 47 white boy artists is singing because they all sound the same, that has torpedoed the music biz in general. Or anything imitative of currently popular hits. No “Lord GaGa”. But, as mentioned in other post, four months with no new product – foolish. Got to have some brand-enhancing filler – Tour videos, TV guest shots of Bowie Medley, Charity duets, interviews, something.

And that would be true without the “Want” blur.

FifthHouseSunà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦. i think this sounds like a job for YOU.

Actually, this is a job we’re all doing here today. Because RCA/19/JIVE/AI, and we can only hope Adam’s Management (do we have person’s names on them?) must have four or five interns combing the web daily. Besides their Google alerts for media watch, they’re monitoring the fanbase at all times. And after examining all the likely suspects, it’s clear MJ runs a must-read, high-quality blog. So if they’re so new-media clueless as to not be reading every post here everyday, then good thing Adam can sing. Free advice is always worth a billion times what you paid for it. But I’ve learned a lot from Adam Lambert. He’s enchanting, entertaining, sociologically fascinating. Almost archetypal when he sings. (Small reference to my screen name) Perhaps this is returning the favor.

Lucy you should gather all your great posts from this thread and put them up at some fast made free spot, like Blogger. “Lucy Explains the Music Business”. Then you won’t have to type them again for people who don’t understand the iron clad sleaz-a-roma that is music biz.

I just saw the E! interview with Adam. Was that RedOne standing with him? Whoever it was said that Adam’s album was going to ‘shock the world’!!! I can’t wait!

I just saw the E! interview with Adam. Was that RedOne standing with him?

Yes. That was RedOne. The entire interview airs tomorrow, but they leaked out a piece of it. Maybe they will let us hear some singing.

Tour videos. Make-Your-Own- Pay-Per- View.

I doubt the PPV is going to happen. Too many releases to obtain for too many high profile songs. Tour videos of Adam, maybe but I still think Bowie and Muse releases can be an issue. :sad_tb:

I sincerely hope it does though.

So is RCA letting this happen without protest in an expand the market lemonade made out of a lemon situation? Donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t know. If so, I think thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a poor move. Too risky a lead-off with a guy who has a chance to be something landmark in originality. One song on iTunes, Adam can survive. 11 wretched la-laà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s unchallenged for 4 months, and all that rough edge is gone. And theyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve made the biggest stupid move since the studios that passed on Gone With the Wind.

You had me until this line. I do not think in any way this is a career destroying moment. Its unfortunate yes, but the end of Adam and his “brand” no.

Hi Fi will be using old songs, old vocals, old PICTUREs, old everything. Everything with Adam starts at American Idol, and that is the image that will market and in my opinion will sell.

I really think people are blowing this out of proportion. No one in my office even knew about it until I brought it up. They aren’t on MJ, Rickey, EW, Aol Radio daily to know about this stuff.

Anyways, time will tell. I think the more that is said the more attention will be brought to it. Its the same with movies, the more people bitch, the more money it makes… people want to see what the “controversy” is about. Adam made his statement and everyone is reporting this is pre-idol work.

Adam just tweeted:

therealGlambertmore rumor mill control: I have never thought about getting permanent eye makeup tattoo’d on… OUCH! The tabloids are HILARIOUS

less than 10 seconds ago from web

The comments here are examples of exactly why this is such a bad thing for Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s career. Already there are people calling Adam a liar, people who are confused about what Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“soundà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  is and isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t like, people who think that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Wantà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  is what Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s music sounds like. This CD is going to cause a lot of unnecessary crap for Adam.

Perhaps Adam should have been a little less eager to embrace being a celebrity and laid off the self-promotion a bit. He isn’t entirely blameless in this scenario.

Adam Just tweeted:

therealGlambert more rumor mill control: I have never thought about getting permanent eye makeup tattoo’d on… OUCH! The tabloids are HILARIOUS
less than 10 seconds ago from web

I’m not looking forward to 11 “wretched la-las”. I agree 1 Want isn’t a big deal but this label says they have 2 or 3 albums worth of stuff. I hope RCA doesn’t allow them to continuously roll out the schlock without some kind of response.

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m not looking forward to 11 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“wretched la-lasà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ . I agree 1 Want isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t a big deal but this label says they have 2 or 3 albums worth of stuff. I hope RCA doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t allow them to continuously roll out the schlock without some kind of response.

If the first one doesn’t sell, they probably won’t. Another good reason to not buy it.

wonderwhy Jun 22nd, 2009 at 8:12 pm

The comments here are examples of exactly why this is such a bad thing for Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s career. Already there are people calling Adam a liar, people who are confused about what Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“soundà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  is and isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t like, people who think that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Wantà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  is what Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s music sounds like. This CD is going to cause a lot of unnecessary crap for Adam.

Perhaps Adam should have been a little less eager to embrace being a celebrity and laid off the self-promotion a bit. He isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t entirely blameless in this scenario.

What self-promotion? The press has been all over him when he was still on Idol. This same thing has happened to a lot of recording artists, this is not the first time it will happen nor the last time. People who don’t like Adam will say things like you have, others will ignore this stupid stuff and others will download or buy the song because the public wants to hear something, anything, from Adam.

Ah, fandom….where the victim becomes the villian in the blink of an eye!

After reading a lot of fan posts I am amazed that Adam hasn’t hired himeself out as the next Einstien…since he is being credited with orchestrating all of this. The man must have been spending every available second before AI (because of course he knew he was going to finish in the top 2 since he’s a genius ya know) getting all of this recording stuff into the works and making sure that it would be all set to go just before the show.

Now he has so much spare time that he is working in cahoots with a record company that he has never had ANY prior relationship with getting everything set while at the same time lying through his teeth to the public and the media and 19 and American Idol. This guy just has a brain that won’t stop. And, less we forget, he’s made sure that Wilshire is not answering their phone or talking to the media.

He is so egotistical that he thinks the stuff he recorded 3 years ago is so fresh and current and so representative of his ultimate style that he is making sure it’s out there for everybody to comment on. My gosh…he’s kicking butt getting out of the gate first with his album, leaving Kris and Allison in the dust.

Man this guy is smart….oh, and by the way, he’s doing all of this without getting compensated for any of it…because he must just be independently wealthy! Geesh…..

Pure and simple Adam is a victim of the system…ya know, the one without any conscience or heart. And now, apparently, he is the victim of all those wonderful fans that think he is the mastermind behind all of this. Sad.

So thanks for nothing, Entertainment Weekly, currently streaming à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Wantà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  on their website under a headline reading à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Adam Lambertà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s New (Old) Singleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ . And thanks for nothing, Rolling Stone, for your online article presenting Hi Fià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s press release as FACT instead of the carefully-worded mindfuck it really is. And while weà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re at it, thanks for fucking up royally, Ryan Seacrest, by running with this story on Friday afternoon. Perez Hilton could have been ignored, but you?

They are journalists, doing their job. I’m a blogger. This is a story. I cover it.

I’ll be posting links to the download tonight when it becomes available too. Sorry. Buy it or not.

Also, as a general reminder to everyone. Keep your standards of “true fandom” on your fansites. There is no such thing here. I won’t tolerate peeps piling on fans who aren’t towing some imaginary line that’s been drawn in the sand by the loudest fans.

I finally listened to Want on youtube. If this is Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“signature soundà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  then Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m bored already. Vocal are good, but I think it is the music that makes the song cheesy.

I find it odd that 19 isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t having issues with this. I thought 19 owned all rights to past as well as future works by any Idols they signed.

Yeah, they tend to buy rights to everything you’ve done before, it seems. But that can only apply to things that you *own.*

To me, that’s more proof — if any more were needed — that this song was done as a session-singing work for hire by Adam. RCA/19 didn’t get the rights to it since Adam had no power to negotiate with those rights — he didn’t own the first place in the first place. He can’t give away or sell what he never owned. If he could, it would be like saying that the guy who mows my grass could sell my yard because I pay him to come in and make it pretty. Performing on a piece and having it be “yours” are two completely different things.

I’m wondering if Madonna is going to be doing something with Adam very soon. Could it be a clue when the last few interviewers brought her up? I’m sure he has met many, many celebrities recently, but she is the one being mentioned.

Adam’s sooo cute!! Guys, all people will want is the stuff that is going to shock the world! It’s going to be epic. Who cares about old stuff and Idol stuff even if it keeps dribbling out. Kris, All and Danny…all of them may get some old stuff dribbled out. Adam STILL has old karaoke stuff on itunes. People appreciate he’s worked his butt off his whole life, really really wants this, and has tons of old stuff. They’ve heard his old writing in Pop and Kiss. It’s all such old stuff.

Adam’s statement is on his official website: http://www.adamofficial.com/

Lucy, at 2:23 you posted that a contract that excluded demos over which the competitor did not have control would (or should) exclude people who had actual albums out there, and you referenced David Cook, among others. I want to point out that the important thing was whether the person had control over the album, enabling them to sign over those rights to AI. David Cook had control over his album, because it was DIY.

No, sorry. That’s not what I meant to say — i guess I was being unclear.

What I was trying to say was that once you start excluding not just people who have had an actual record-label recording contract but have *any* music out there that they’ve been paid for, it will be hard to find a place to stop. Partly because some people are arguing that the *reason* this music makes Adam damaged goods is because the very existence of this music in the public eye wrecks his brand. What I was trying to say is that, if you use that as your reason — rather than the hard line of: ‘record-label recording contract or no record-label recording contract — then you’re going to have an awfully hard time trying to decide who to refuse and who to accept. Of course, you’re completely right about Cook’s situation — I never meant to imply anything different.

I realize that the issue of “control” is different for different people. But doesn’t the whole area just become way too gray? It most certainly would exclude Melinda, for example, since she cannot get back the rights to any backup tracks she sang. I why is it fair — or even useful — to penalize people just because they chose to make a living by singing rather than bartending or something?

And I suspect there are a lot of gray areas in there — where you might have sung with somebody else’s band or done a local commercial jingle or the like. I just don’t see a very hard line. And, of course, I see it as penalizing people who tried to make an actual living in music and got a chance — What would be the point, unless RCA itself were going to be hurt by the existence of these songs? And I don’t see why they would be. They’ve hired the voice — which is good, even on the crap songs. Nobody will connect RCA with the songs themselves.

this maybe a bit off topic, but then again not. this shows that HIFI/Wilshire are the furthest thing from Adam’s mind. LOL he posted this on twitter about an hour ago:

therealGlambert more rumor mill control: I have never thought about getting permanent eye makeup tattoo’d on… OUCH! The tabloids are HILARIOUS
about 1 hour ago from web

As what his idol Madonna said – Just keep your eye on the prize and don’t mind the other crap. That is what is Adam is doing right now. He already made a statment last Friday. Making another statement will make him look so desperate or defensive. Less talk, less mistakes. RCA is just letting this unofficial album go because it will keep the people talking while waiting for the real thing….a publicity at no cost to them.

I just watched the E! Online news and you can feel the determination of RedOne in making Adam’s own signature in the music industry. That’s pretty good.

this shows that HIFI/Wilshire are the furthest thing from Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s mind.

Well, I suspect that Adam would say that if he can’t do anything to stop it, then there is little point worrying about it. Just make the new “new” album good!

This is just marvelous – enjoying comments so much – love it that we CAN’T stop talking about this guy! Everything he does we find so interesting – even every little crumb of info. Who else inspires such fascination? The guy is a goldmine. They could cancel the AI tour and just send Lambert out and they’d fill the biggest stadium around. And who cares about “Want”? It’s OK – add it to the rest of the pre-Idol stuff around and wallow in it – it’s enjoyable. The guy’s so damn talented it’s crazy – and on top of this add that indefinable thing called charisma – hey, people – enjoy the ride!

After spending half a day reading all the posts here, I have to say I am very impressed by how intelligent and knowledgeble Adam’s fans are. Everyone seems like a “pro” here. I don’t know anything about the music and entertainment industry, I am just another fan girl. But I am so happy that smart people like you guys like Adam too.

I like the list of tags at the bottom of Michelle Collins’ Best Week Ever article:

Categories: Entertainment, Adam Lambert, American Idol, C*ckblocking

Here’s what I think of the whole thing.

BFD

hothothot and LeeTravers I agree with you both 100%

MJ has the E! Online interview up and running.

SparklesATL
Jun 22nd, 2009 at 9:36 pm
Hereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s what I think of the whole thing.

BFD

ITA SIAT :grin1_ee:

At the end of the day with millions still buzzing about Adam, more exposure, more anticipation of the future, lost sleep blogging on MJs, etc……It’s all good! :bye_tb:

I know there is Adam’s pre-Idol stuff out there and I want it badly. Had HiFi/Wilshire come right out and said, hey, after Adam has dropped his first album we are going to release some old demo stuff in time for Christmas – guess what, I would have purchased it.

Don’t support HiFi/Wilshire by buying Want. Download it for free. This might be unethical, but no more unethical than what HiFi/Wilshire is doing. Financially you are not hurting Adam as he doesn’t have any right to the song. Don’t fall for the garbage that he’ll participate in the success. Stupid doubletalk, that’s all.

Actually, I really like Want, I like it a heck of a lot better than No Boundaries, and Adam’s voice draws you in as it usually does.
I got Want on my MP3 already.

I am sure Adam would have protected his rights, but ASCAP lists Adam as performer and co-writer of 5 songs only:

1. CRAWL THRU FIRE
(Title Code: 333655791)
2. I GOT THIS
(Title Code: 393433131)
3. KISS AND TELL
(Title Code: 410827397)
4. POP GOES THE CAMERA
(Title Code: 462661996)
5. SACRIFICE
(Title Code: 495998571)
reference:
http://www.ascap.com/ace/search.cfm?requesttimeout=300&mode=results&searchstr=ADAM LAMBERT&search_in=a&search_type=exact&search_det=t,s,w,p,b,v&results_pp=30&start=1

By now not only December has been removed but all the Dublyn Jones songs have vanished from the Wilshire Player. This seems to indicate that Adam got hired to make the demos in 2005 and that HiFi/Wilshire found their man in Dublyn Jones to do the actual recordings in 2007/08. They said the songs were recorded in 2007/08, but they neglected to name the artist. More doubletalk: They want you to fill in the blank with Adam Lambert when in reality the artist was Dublyn with a y Jones. I wonder how much they pay him to keep quiet. Probably a new contract under a new name.

Don’t support the bottom feeders and remember, Adam does not get any money from the sale of Want.

So thanks for nothing, Entertainment Weekly, currently streaming à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Wantà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  on their website under a headline reading à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Adam Lambertà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s New (Old) Singleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ . And thanks for nothing, Rolling Stone, for your online article presenting Hi Fià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s press release as FACT instead of the carefully-worded mindfuck it really is. And while weà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re at it, thanks for fucking up royally, Ryan Seacrest, by running with this story on Friday afternoon. Perez Hilton could have been ignored, but you?

They are journalists, doing their job. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m a blogger. This is a story. I cover it.

Respectfully, my issue isn’t with the fact that they’re covering the story, it’s with the way they’re covering it. I don’t think a simple fact-check and a non-sensationalized version of the headline is too much to ask. But I’ll also freely admit I’m looking through my “fan goggles”, as per usual.

This is just marvelous – enjoying comments so much – love it that we CANà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢T stop talking about this guy! Everything he does we find so interesting – even every little crumb of info. Who else inspires such fascination? The guy is a goldmine. They could cancel the AI tour and just send Lambert out and theyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d fill the biggest stadium around. And who cares about à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Wantà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ? Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s OK – add it to the rest of the pre-Idol stuff around and wallow in it – ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s enjoyable. The guyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s so damn talented ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s crazy – and on top of this add that indefinable thing called charisma – hey, people – enjoy the ride!

Damn straight, Lee Travers! I am enjoying the ride. What a trip!

Just bought Want from Itunes 12:01am central time. Couldn’t resist I just had to do it!

Perhaps Adam should have been a little less eager to embrace being a celebrity and laid off the self-promotion a bit. He isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t entirely blameless in this scenario.

How was he exactly promoting himself? Or do you mean he should have turned down the Rolling Stone cover, refused the Young Hollywood Award and declined the 20/20 interview?

Ah, yes, some opportunistic media producer wants to ride his coat tails to make some easy money and Adam is blamed for being too famous.

How was he exactly promoting himself?

In the sense that he has appeared to whole-heartedly embrace the attention associated with being a celebrity, and “celebrity” could overshadow “music” that he hasn’t yet delivered.

I am sure Adam would have protected his rights, but ASCAP lists Adam as performer and co-writer of 5 songs only:

ASCAP often tells you nothing. It’s very incomplete. It almost never lists an artist’s FULL discography and, on the other hand, some, songs will just show under their listings that are never even recorded/ released.

In the sense that he has appeared to whole-heartedly embrace the attention associated with being a celebrity,

As opposed to not embracing it how? by going into a cave and never coming out again? or maybe by punching a paparazzo or issuing a statement “to leave him alone!”? :rolleyes_tb:

“They could cancel the AI tour and just send Lambert out and theyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d fill the biggest stadium around.”

You’re going to be so shocked to find out this isn’t true. The first shock will be ticket sales for the tour because they won’t all sell out. Then first week album sales. If 1% of the finale audience buy Adam’s album it’ll be amazing. I think he has the potential to do well but he’s not Madonna just yet. And buzz is quite transitory.
Right now he isn’t 1/10 the celebrity that Jon and Kate are. And they just have some insignificant cable TV show.

I’d just keep those expectations in check this early on.

I’m too late for this party, but to reiterate some of the posters’ thoughts here, 19/RCA is not a pushover. They could have petitioned for a restraining order for the release of Adam’s purported single. But they have not, as of yet.

Would the release of the said single cause damage to Adam’s career? At this point, I think it remains to be in theory.

After reading various articles about HiFi Recordings/Wilshire Records releasing à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“On With the Show,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  and most importantly, after watching the interview from E Online conducted by Kristina Guerrero, I have decided that I will NOT buy the CD à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“On With the Showà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ . :thumbdown_tb:

I will wait until the fall when Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s NEW DEBUT CD with 19 Recordings/RCA label drops. RedOne predicts that the album Adam is currently working on will à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“shock the worldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Now ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s himà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s all about himà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  claims RedOne.In the interview, Kristina asked Adam, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Who is your dream? Who would you love to have on your album?à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ Adam responded à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“I have a lot of dreams.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  He then went on to state that Madonna gave him advice on how to deal with all the fame and craziness. Concerning Madonnaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s advice to Adam, he stated that she told him to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Keep your eyes on the prize. Remember what it is that you want to accomplish.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  Adam then pauses saying, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“and um, try to ignore all the other (he phases and then emphasizes) CRAP!à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 
To me, that is about as clear of a statement as what he can give us.
I plan to wait until the fall to purchase Adams debut album from 19Recordings/RCA. :thumbup_tb: