Morrissey not dropped by Harvest; album pulled from all services at Morrissey's request - Billboard

An anonymous person posts the link:

Morrissey Probably Won't Be Taking His Option for a Second Record with Harvest - Billboard

Excerpt:

According to a source familiar with the situation, "Morrissey has not been dropped by [Harvest Records, a subsidiary of Capitol Music Group, itself a subsidiary of Universal Music Group] but out of deference to his request they have reluctantly removed his album from all services."

It's believed that Morrissey signed a licensing deal with Harvest for one album (World Peace Is None of Your Business), with an option for a second. But, according to press reports, Morrissey grew unhappy with the label when it didn't make a music video for album track "Istanbul." Morrissey, who seems to have made a habit of going to war with whatever label he is signed to, started publicly fighting with the Harvest 2-3 weeks after the album was released in the U.S. on July 15.

Since its release the album has sold 25,000 units -- 15,000 CDs, 3,000 LPs and 8,000 digital downloads, according to Nielsen SoundScan. With those kind of sales numbers for the physical formats, Billboard speculates that Harvest probably built about 50,000 physical units for the U.S. market. That means there is still plenty of World Peace stock left for Morrissey fans to track down, if they're so inclined. And if Morrissey demands that Harvest get those CD and vinyl albums back, good luck to the combative artist if he thinks store merchants will fully comply with such a request from Harvest.

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Related media:

• Harvest Says It Took Morrissey’s Album Off Digital Services At His Request - Stereogum

Related items:

• "World Peace..." + singles gone from Spotify, iTunes, Amazon - Aug. 22, 2014
• Harvest ends contract with Morrissey - TTY - Aug. 10, 2014

 

[Johnny Barleycorn]

"Since its release the album has sold 25,000 units -- 15,000 CDs, 3,000 LPs and 8,000 digital downloads, according to Nielsen SoundScan."



That's appalling.

 

[Mozza220559]

Re: Morrissey not dropped by Harvest; album pulled from all services at Morrissey's request - Billbo

Oh, FFS! I'm getting a headache from all of this. The drama train has derailed in Whothef***caresville!

Lol...

 

[Lionsy]

Re: Morrissey not dropped by Harvest; album pulled from all services at Morrissey's request - Billbo

There are so many people streaming the album now it seems silly to use it as ransom. Everyone has access to it. I'm so confused.

I would still be streaming it but it isn't available on Spotify UK anymore

I had to put the flipping CD in the drive and rip it! Huff, the things I have to do!

 

[Morrissey_Sucks]

And the plot thickens! WTF?! Harvest is probably wishing they never got involved with our little man Morrissey.

Good luck Morrissey on securing a new label. Which ones are left? Metropolis, Cooking Vinyl, SPV? Moz should take a lesson from Robyn regarding how to start a label and merely sign distribution deals. That way, he can fully control his output and marketing. Maybe he simply lacks the business acumen to take on such a task?

 

[Anonymous]

Re: Morrissey not dropped by Harvest; album pulled from all services at Morrissey's request - Billbo

"Since its release the album has sold 25,000 units -- 15,000 CDs, 3,000 LPs and 8,000 digital downloads, according to Nielsen SoundScan."



That's appalling.

Embarrassing is the word I'd use.

 

[Eric Hartman]

Re: Morrissey not dropped by Harvest; album pulled from all services at Morrissey's request - Billbo

"Since its release the album has sold 25,000 units -- 15,000 CDs, 3,000 LPs and 8,000 digital downloads, according to Nielsen SoundScan."

"World Peace" will never be re-released in it's orginal form with the beautiful high quality artwork, so smart people should buy every copy they can get their hands on. In a few years "World Peace" will be the most sought after Morrissey album and they will go for thousands of dollars on eBay.

Invest now people, and you will be rich beyond your wildest dreams!

 

[marred]

Re: Morrissey not dropped by Harvest; album pulled from all services at Morrissey's request - Billbo

Hm... so if you pulling it creates unavailability. Unavailability of the album I guess is better than admitting that the album will not sell because it is subpar. Whatever. It will always be available through the internet. Let's see...

Hollywood Bowl? "I won't release it." (It's on youtube and torrent sites right now )
Wolverhampton 88? "I won't release it." (It's on youtube and torrent sites right now )
Demo's and Outtakes? "I won't release it." (It's on youtube and torrent sites right now )

I could go on.

For all the apologists out there I offer you this. If someone has a problem with various record companies on a consistent basis over many years, maybe it is not the record companies.

Yes you could go on but I think we've heard enough haven't we?

 

[marred]

Re: Morrissey not dropped by Harvest; album pulled from all services at Morrissey's request - Billbo

"Morrissey is urgently seeking a label to issue World Peace Is None of Your Business, which is now withdrawn from the Capitol-Harvest Records catalogue".

Erm I bet the labels are foaming at the mouth and forming an unorderly queue.....I mean he's clearly easy to deal with!

What does it matter whether he's easy or difficult to deal with? If you desire a Morrissey that's easy to deal with then you clearly don't know his modus operandi very well at all. Who the f*** wants an easy to deal with artist? He's not a f***ing plumber.

 

[marred]

Re: Morrissey not dropped by Harvest; album pulled from all services at Morrissey's request - Billbo

"Since its release the album has sold 25,000 units -- 15,000 CDs, 3,000 LPs and 8,000 digital downloads, according to Nielsen SoundScan."



That's appalling.

Yes because it was so badly promoted.

 

[Johnny Barleycorn]

Re: Morrissey not dropped by Harvest; album pulled from all services at Morrissey's request - Billbo

What does it matter whether he's easy or difficult to deal with? If you desire a Morrissey that's easy to deal with then you clearly don't know his modus operandi very well at all. Who the f*** wants an easy to deal with artist? He's not a f***ing plumber.

Reasonable people prefer to deal with reasonable people, not... unreasonably.

 

[Johnny Barleycorn]

Re: Morrissey not dropped by Harvest; album pulled from all services at Morrissey's request - Billbo

Yes because it was so badly promoted.

It wasn't very good.

 

[Anonymous]

Re: Morrissey not dropped by Harvest; album pulled from all services at Morrissey's request - Billbo

What does it matter whether he's easy or difficult to deal with? If you desire a Morrissey that's easy to deal with then you clearly don't know his modus operandi very well at all. Who the f*** wants an easy to deal with artist? He's not a f***ing plumber.

It's a bourgeois concept of art that everything has to be reasonable and answerable to the accountants.
There's something very bourgeois in fact about the terms of the anti-Morrissey posters on here.
They seem to want everything to be as dull as Coldplay.

It's quite amusing to read people posting here attacking him for being gay, attacking him for being awkward, attacking him for saying objectionable things.
One wonders why they ever bothered listening to Morrissey in the first place.
I have a theory that they bought Smiths albums to show to people but were really listening to Shakin' Stevens and T'Pau in their bedrooms.

 

[Anonymous]

Re: Morrissey not dropped by Harvest; album pulled from all services at Morrissey's request - Billbo

"Since its release the album has sold 25,000 units -- 15,000 CDs, 3,000 LPs and 8,000 digital downloads, according to Nielsen SoundScan."



That's appalling.

What is? The fact that somebody somewhere can't count? I quite agree...

When you think you're really really (really) bad at Maths, know that somewhere, someone is even worse than you. (S/He'd even rounded up the numbers to make it easier... )

 

[Qvist]

Re: Morrissey not dropped by Harvest; album pulled from all services at Morrissey's request - Billbo

if harvest have no right to sell the album will they still collect money from the physical copies still out there when they eventually sell? any new label will probably get the rights to world peace along with the rights to a new yet to be recorded album. in that case they have no loss to put it out, world peace, through them (whoever they may be). promotion is already done for the most part, it would mostly just be a distribution issue/cost though they would probably just buy the rights to the profit from the albums that already exist. hell any new label would be only getting free publicity with all the drama at no cost to themselves as the recording and graphic designs are already paid for and these stories are generating more news than anything harvest did to promote the album itself. i

If my increasingly distant experience of record store work is still valid, the units in the stores have already been paid for, by the stores. Depending on terms agreed, they may or may not have the right to return unsold units to the distributor.

 

[Anonymous]

Re: Morrissey not dropped by Harvest; album pulled from all services at Morrissey's request - Billbo

if harvest have no right to sell the album will they still collect money from the physical copies still out there when they eventually sell? any new label will probably get the rights to world peace along with the rights to a new yet to be recorded album. in that case they have no loss to put it out, world peace, through them (whoever they may be). promotion is already done for the most part, it would mostly just be a distribution issue/cost though they would probably just buy the rights to the profit from the albums that already exist. hell any new label would be only getting free publicity with all the drama at no cost to themselves as the recording and graphic designs are already paid for and these stories are generating more news than anything harvest did to promote the album itself. i

Yes, promotion is already done but, by that token, sales have already been done too.
Steve Mozzer will be expecting at least one or possibly two proper videos to be filmed to promote remaining singles (Kiss Me and Stairway).
I'm no expert but I'm guessing they'll cost the best part of £100,000 each so that would be quite a risk for a record company.
At least they would know they have a critically acclaimed album on their hands which stands a good chance in the end-of-year polls/awards. Success in these always revives sales.

 

[Qvist]

Re: Morrissey not dropped by Harvest; album pulled from all services at Morrissey's request - Billbo

No reasonable person who has waited half a decade for a label would, within two months of finally finding one, not just effectively sever ties, but even basically destroy his first release as a commercially viable entity - doing his best to actualy hurt the label. Over complaints that seem at best marginal. If it took years and a best-selling autobiography to make someone take a chance and reach out the last time, what's it going to take after this? I don't expect him to be a reasonable person as such, but he is grossly victimising himself.

Plus, the lyrics to the title track is the first Morrissey lyric I've ever despised. It's not even provocative, it's just stupid.

 

[Anonymous]

Re: Morrissey not dropped by Harvest; album pulled from all services at Morrissey's request - Billbo

What does it matter whether he's easy or difficult to deal with? If you desire a Morrissey that's easy to deal with then you clearly don't know his modus operandi very well at all. Who the f*** wants an easy to deal with artist? He's not a f***ing plumber.

It's difficult to be sure, but I think most labels prefer artists that are easy to deal with because they're easier to deal with than artists who are not easy to deal with.

There may be some labels that actually want artists that go into hiding when they are supposed to be promoting their product, then re-emerge publicly slagging them off and demanding that the product be withdrawn from sale. But, probably, there aren't.

 

[fredkocherpepsi]

Re: Morrissey not dropped by Harvest; album pulled from all services at Morrissey's request - Billbo

I truly can't keep up with all that's going on in Morrissey world lately. My head is spinning.

That said, I agree with those that say until Harvest makes an official statement, I'm taking Morrissey's word for it.

 

[marred]

Re: Morrissey not dropped by Harvest; album pulled from all services at Morrissey's request - Billbo

Reasonable people prefer to deal with reasonable people, not... unreasonably.

f*** reason. It's overrated.

 

[marred]

Re: Morrissey not dropped by Harvest; album pulled from all services at Morrissey's request - Billbo

It's difficult to be sure, but I think most labels prefer artists that are easy to deal with because they're easier to deal with than artists who are not easy to deal with.

There may be some labels that actually want artists that go into hiding when they are supposed to be promoting their product, then re-emerge publicly slagging them off and demanding that the product be withdrawn from sale. But, probably, there aren't.

Facetiousness on overdrive.

You don't know the facts surrounding the Harvest/Morrissey split but that was a great summation of a fictional situation though. Well done.