Major artists who were rejected by record labels – Being in a new band is never as glamorous as you’d first think it is. There are long days and nights spent toiling away on the pub gig circuit, honing your talents.
More..
- Top 10 illuminati signs and the celebs that use them (+Photos)
- 9 ways girls behave when they are no longer v*rgins – See this now!
- 10 formerly successful celebs that’ll never make a comeback (+Photos)
- 35 Nigerian celebrities bikini photos you can’t stop staring at!
You have no money and share a can of beans between yourself and the rhythm section. To top it all off, your Soundcloud attracts only trolls and your gigs are attended by barflies and disinterested teenagers, who hate you on sight. Still, you’ve got that audition at that big record company net week – your luck is sure to change and fame and fortune await, right?
Probably not. Record labels receive literally thousands of demos, files, emails and unsolicited emails every week. The chances of your band getting rich and famous enough to buy a fourth string for Steve’s bass is slim to none. Even being ridiculously talented and charismatic doesn’t guarantee that you won’t slip through a label’s fingers, as the tales of woe featuring the following ten major stars will testify. In one way or another, they have all felt the fickle finger of fate point at the exit door and declare their efforts to be “just not what we’re looking for at the moment”.
Every single one of these artists have went on to sell millions of records, leaving A&R men nursing a shot of the strong stuff, tattered dreams of what may have been in their heart and a tear in their eye. For the artists themselves, as Morrissey may reflect, “I can laugh about it now but at the time it was terrible”. The ex-Smiths curmudgeon is just one of the uber-talented artists featured on this list; read on to discover nine others who had their dreams trashed by The Man.
10. Madonna
Though she is now the enemy of relevance, it may come as a surprise to younger readers to know thatMadonna was once A Big Deal. In the 80’s, the young Madonna contained the same vim, zeal and charisma that she now seems determined to forcibly suck out of more popular artists, such as a visibly terrified Drake. It’s part of pop’s received wisdom that she was born to be a star, though one man could arguably disagree – he utterly rejected the fledgling pop-star.
Before Mads signed her first recording contract with Sire Records in 1982, her management company sent a demo to label bigwig Jimmy Lenner, containing songs that would later feature on her eponymous debut album. Lenner was unimpressed, snorting that “the only thing missing from this project is the material”. Madonna would have the last laugh – not only did the material surface on a record that sold 10 million copies, but she auctioned the rejection letter at Sotherby’s in 2001. She may struggle with capes and stairs and no longer has anything to say in terms of her art, but never underestimate Madonna’s business smarts.
Navigate using <-> arrows below
Discussion about this post