Being A Junkie May Not Be A Good PR Move For Amy Winehouse, Label Issues Warning
In an article in the Sun, retro soul-singer Amy Winehouse has been issued a warning by her label, Universal, that her druggie ways may have a deleterious affect on her career, and they reserve the option to not release any new albums. Here's Sun's report:
A source revealed: “Amy has been reminded of her responsibilities. Unless she is clean she will not be allowed to release another album.“She took notice when Lucian talked to her earlier in the year and agreed to go to rehab. But she didn’t take it seriously enough.
“They would never release her from her deal, they would just not put an album out.â€
On Saturday I revealed Amy’s label are now privately accepting there will be no album until 2009 after she scrapped plans to start recording in the Bahamas. And my source added: “The label were not impressed. She has been warned about her behaviour and needs to keep the standards up.â€
Universal’s stance suggests this could be the last album of her deal. Otherwise they would be churning something out to capitalise on her fame. And while it’s commendable they are taking a tough stand, I think Universal need Amy more than she needs them.
I completely disagree with Sun writer Gordon Smart's take on this situation. Amy needs a label, and so far Universal has been willing to bend over backwards for her despite her reprehensible and deplorable behavior. Not only did she drop out of her tour, disappointing and angering thousands and thousands of fans, but she has set a terrible example for those who look to her as both a role model and a fount for quality music.
This isn't Billy Holiday we are talking about. Amy isn't content to keep her drug abuse "her problem" instead she has allowed this deadly disease to affect her ability to perform and create. The culture does not live in a vacuum waiting on pins and needles for the next Amy Winehouse creation to spill forth from her lips. There are certainly hundreds of equally talented artists out there on the edge of breaking into the business who can and will replace anyone who fails to live up to their responsibility.
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