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Universal says ‘no comment’ on claims Morrissey has been dropped
By Andy Malt | Published on Tuesday 12 August 2014
Universal has declined to comment on claims made by Morrissey’s True To You fansite that the singer has been dropped by the Harvest imprint of the mega-major’s Capitol division.
It was widely reported over the weekend that the label had dropped Morrissey just three weeks after the release of his latest album, ‘World Peace Is None Of Your Business’. The news was based on claims made by his True To You fansite, which said on Saturday: “Three weeks after the release of Morrissey’s ‘World Peace Is None Of Your Business’ (#2 UK, #14 US), Capitol Records/Harvest have ended their relationship with Morrissey, as directed by label boss Steve Barnett. Morrissey is once again in search of a record label”.
The ‘dropped by Harvest’ claim followed mild criticism of the label by Morrissey for not producing a decent video for the album’s title track, while at the same time praising DIY efforts made by fans. Though if mild label-dissing was a reason for dropping artists, there wouldn’t be many still with record deals.
In June this year, True To You published a similar article to its latest claims, saying that Morrissey had ended his 30 year partnerships with Warner/Chappell and was seeking a new publishing deal.
At the time, Warner/Chappell also told CMU that it would not usually comment on such claims. However, given how widely they had been reported, a spokesperson did confirm that Warner/Chappell remains the publisher for Morrissey’s Smiths and solo songs, including his latest album.
