Amanda Palmer Celebrates Release From Label
Amanda Palmer has been very public about wanting to be free from her contract with Roadrunner Records. While acknowledging the role the label played early in her career, now that they've finally let he go, Amanda is just as vocal about the joys of her hard won freedom and the possibilities of an unshackled future. Here along with a new song offered (via Bandcamp) to her fans for free (donations accepted) is her letter to Roadrunner and the world:
FREE AT LAST, FREE AT LAST
(DEAR ROADRUNNER RECORDS…)
dear The World,
i am very happy to announce today that i have finally been released from my contract with roadrunner records.
as many of you know, i’ve been fighting very, very hard to get off the label for the better part of two years.
for the past seven years, anything i have written and recorded (solo or with my band, The Dresden Dolls) has technically been owned and under the ultimate control of the label, but no longer.after endless legal bullshit, it’s over, i’ve been DROPPED, RELEASED, LET GO, whatever you wanna call it. in other words: i am FREE AT LAST!!!!!! RAAHH!!
as many of you know, i’ve been a very vocal advocate of artists being fearless in asking their audience and supporters for direct financial help.
i come from a background of grassroots theater and street performance, and i think that artists should feel no shame while passing the hat around once they’ve entertained a crowd of people.it’s been a huge and obvious irony that i have been legally unable to ask for money for my music, since it’s been verboten by my contract with roadrunner.
now that i’m unshackled, i plan on doing a lot of really awesome and creative things with my songs and how people can pay for them – or, better yet, donate – now that i have control over my stuff.
a lot of people have asked me if i have any regrets about signing with a major label. the answer: no.
below you will find a goodbye letter i have written to roadrunner.
for right now & in celebration of this great event, i am very pleased to be able to – for the first time since the year 2003 – offer you this track from my house to yours….legally and free of charge.
if you should feel inclined to “donate” more than the bare minimum (ZERO/FREE), you can do that too.
even if you only donate a symbolic dollar, i’ll see every single cent of it (after paypal transaction fees, of course).
i wrote this song a few months ago, and didn’t know it would be used for this purpose, but it’s pretty perfect.
nobody had heard it up until a few days ago except for neil gaiman (my man) and tom dickins (my dear australian friend)…i played it for them in my house right after i wrote it.
they liked it, so i’m gonna give it to you…BECAUSE I CAN. (can you visualize me doing my happy crack dance as i write this??)
how she ever got a record deal in the first place is beyond me.
re: seriously
I hit the play button on this track and everyone in the office started screaming at me to turn it OFF. I think if I were Roadrunner, this track would definitely be a deal breaker.
Sorry Amanda – good luck with your new found freedom
I LOVE THIS WOMAN! I think this track is refreshing and unique: perfectly imperfect, not packaged, but totally authentic and free spirited. I am also sure that I’m not her target market, and I don’t think I can listen to this track many times in a row. But it makes me laugh every time I do. I paid for the download and then some. You GO girl! (I hope she is totally pulling our leg about the crack dance though)
Amanda Palmer is a terrible musician. The woman can’t sing a note and can’t write a song. Her performances are labored, annoying and have the emotional depth of a 5 year old hiking her skirt to show her soiled panties, the typical refuge of a talentless hack. It always amazes me how people that don’t have the skill to produce great art produce a ridiculous tossed salad of “weird” ideas, apropos of nothing, and claim no one understands them. It’s impossible to explain to Mz. Palmer why she is tasteless and talentless. It’s like watching a bad actor that has no feeling for the art they are peddling. The most annoying thing about Palmer is that her narcissism appears to be limitless and despite record companies dropping her and record executives warning her that she is a crap-artist, she just keeps hanging around and peddling her sub-standard wares.