Is Jennifer Lopez Making The Right Move By Returning To Epic Records?
Jennifer Lopez made a huge announcement yesterday. She is going back home, she is going back to Epic Records.
Recapping just a bit, you may or may not remember that the first albums Jennifer released in the early stages of her career were, yes, distributed by her then label, Epic Records. At that time one of her mentors, L.A Reid, worked at Epic, so that's the reason why she felt like home. Skip a few years later, L.A Reid is hired as CEO of The Island Def Jam Music Group. Who follows him? Jennifer, of course. After 2007’s “Brave”, J.Lo leaves Epic and signs with Island Records (with whom she would release “On The Floor” in 2011). However, L.A Reid doesn’t remain in the Universal label for too long, as he is offered the CEO position now at Epic Records - and yes, he accepts. Jennifer will not follow him this time, though, as she opts to honor her deal with Universal, although she’s transferred from Island to Capitol - with whom she would release her last studio album “A.K.A” in 2014. Now in 2016, Jennifer announces she’s coming back “home” - back to the “arms” of her mentor, L.A Reid. A few days ago Jennifer was photographed having dinner with her manager and L.A Reid in NYC to negotiate her homecoming - and this came to fruition last night with the official announcement.
Heading Back Home!! Jennifer Lopez Signs New Deal With L.A. Reid’s Epic Records - Us Weekly @LA_Reid https://t.co/hKqxzZPoam
— Jennifer Lopez (@JLo) March 2, 2016
The question is now: did Jennifer Lopez make the right choice returning to Epic Records? Without discrediting L.A Reid’s status as a legit connoisseur of the industry, it might be considered a crazy move by Jennifer to return “home” especially now that Epic is being labeled by some as a company that sucks when it comes to promoting their artists. Furthermore, didn’t Epic think that it could be a bit too risky to offer Jennifer a multi-album deal? Especially nowadays that she doesn’t sell as much as before. Agreeing to pay her what I’m sure will be a super ridiculous millionaire figure for a multi-album deal could be really risky.
In terms of success, the last moderate hits Jennifer obtained were 2014’s “Booty” (Top 20 and platinum), and 2012’s “Dance Again” (Top 20 and platinum), with her last real smash being “On The Floor” in 2011 (Top 5, triple platinum). So yeah, seeing that Jennifer’s selling force is decreasing, it really strikes as a bold move from L.A Reid to have offered Jennifer this new multi-album contract. I imagine the friendship between Jennifer and L.A Reid is so strong that it was easy for them to reach an agreement. Plus, since L.A is the boss now at Epic Records, he can negotiate any contracts he wants, despite how crazy and unprofitable they might seem.
I'm truly praying and hoping that Epic handles Jennifer’s career rightly - unlike how they’re handling the careers of a few members of their roster - with the exception of protégés Meghan Trainor and Fifth Harmony of course - so that she doesn’t have to regret leaving Capitol and Universal. (let's remember that it was in her time in Universal when she recorded "On The Floor" - thanks to the contacts of the group).
Yet, truth is that if Jennifer serves a new monster hit BOP soon, everything will be OK.