Justin Bieber Isn’t Too Happy With His Record Label Def Jam, Easy Biebs
Justin Bieber’s “Bad Day” single has become a prescient thing. In the same week the Bieber news cycle officially went to DEFCON 5, the singer decided to blast his record label Def Jam Recordings which operates as part of The Island Def Jam Music Group (IDJMG), and is parented by Universal Music Group.
Publicly. On Twitter. To Over 46 million followers.
Currently on the South American leg of his Believe tour, the 19-year-old posted a tweet that made it clear he thinks Def Jam — he was signed at 15 to IDJMG back in 2008 through a production deal with Usher and his manager Scooter Braun in a contract headed by then IDJMG chairman, L.A. Reid — isn’t doing enough to promote either his “Music Mondays” series or perhaps his long-term upcoming album.
Earlier today (Nov. 5), Bieber tweeted: “wish def jam would work harder on my project labels are shady. (sic)”
A behind the scenes stern talking to by Braun most likely later, and the blast tweet disappeared.
It was later replaced by a tweet intended to placate ruffled feathers and flatter the Belieber fans that watch Justin’s Twitter feed with NSA-like vigilance.
Justin’s replacement tweet, which may or may not have been posted by the singer, read:
“beliebers should work at my record label ) good promoting fans.”
On October 7, the teen singer launched a 10-week drive releasing highly personal singles from a collection of songs dubbed Journals, so called to reflect their diary-like tone and their Believe tour written origin. Previous releases “Heartbreaker,” “All That Matters,” “Hold Tight,” “Recovery,” and the latest “Bad Day” have all spent time at the top of at iTunes charts, with the first single topping nearly 70 and the second debuting at No. 1 in 58 countries. All have landed Top Fives in a spread of territories.
The wind beneath those singles has largely, if not exclusively, been down to Bieber’s fans with no television, radio or other kind of promotion other than Beliebers acting on thier own efforts and the singer’s promotion online. In addition, in some weeks his singles have gone faced off with Instant Grat promotions by Lady Gaga and One Direction whereby their single was automatically sent to anyone who pre-ordered their albums, and is a huge advantage for chart assaults.
Whether this is the issue for Bieber is unclear, but clearly he’s very unhappy with Def Jam. It’s also telling that the level of communication is at such a low that the singer feels the need to resort to a public airing of grievances rather than a mature private conversation with an appropriate decision-maker.
On Def Jam’s part, a less than amused response to Bieber’s blast came via Island Records’ official Twitter, writing,
We’ll let you know when we’re hiring Justin ? RT @JustinBieber: “beliebers should work at my record label ? good promoting fans”
— Island Records (@IslandRecords) November 5, 2013
These are precarious times for Bieber. After over seven months of baying media coverage that (at times) has engaged in inflation and outright invention, the New York Post Page Six’s bang to rights scoop of the teen star coming out of a Rio de Janeiro adult-sex establishment covered by a sheet with two women reportedly following him back to his hotel is golden, and the media knows it.
The embattled Canadian is currently getting a kicking across talk shows, media, and social media platforms after the unequivocal photos surfaced. It has also seemingly given outlets carte blanche to revisit other rumors such as a Panamanian prostitute’s claim that he paid $500 to have sex with her before his Believe tour show in Panama city the next day which may or may not be nonsense.
Additional reports of a hotel ejection (which were denied and put down to fan presence), partying, a late Sao Paulo concert on Saturday and complaints from some fans about the lack of face-time with the teen singer and “manhandling” by his security at the pre-show “Greet and Greet,” segued into Justin cutting his gig short after a water bottle was thrown at him by an audience member, and a stage invasion by a shirtless, male fan at Sunday’s Rio de Janeiro concert.
On Twitter, Bieber is keeping his game face on, tweeting (we are assuming it’s him posting), two comments that lightly parsed the current sum of dramas engulfing him in response to ex-Baywatch star David Hasselhoff’s similar but less extensive issues with media reporting.
On Tuesday, after enthusing “Brazil has been incredible, Bieber replied to The Hoff,
@DavidHasselhoff strange because I have. I also had a baby, hired women, gone crazy, spit on people I love, oh yeah, and I’ve died 8 times
— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) November 5, 2013
Can’t believe or dwell on the bs. Just gotta know your truth. U can’t bring us down. And @DavidHasselhoff everyone loved BayWatch.
— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) November 5, 2013
That’s better Biebs.
