Following 2012’s critically acclaimed and commercially glorified Channel Orange, Ocean held fans over a ledge with multiple release date delays and nearly no information whatsoever. While UMG representatives say they’re not now pursuing legal action, some speculate the label may take advantage of a possible clause that precludes Ocean from releasing music through another label so soon after putting out a UMG release (in this case, 24 hours). He released his visual album, Endless, on August 19 and another album, Blond, on the following day, both exclusively streaming on Apple Music.
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David Bowie is credited a songwriter on Frank Ocean’s new album Blonde and a press representative has clarified the situation.
It is for this reason that UMG has since banned any of its artists from concluding any streaming-exclusive deals in the future. Forbes reported that Grainge’s decision was “influenced partly by Ocean’s move to partner with Apple”.
Universal fronted Ocean approximately $2 million to make Blonde, which the singer has already paid back. Although there has been no mention that UMG has any plans to take legal action, it is entirely possible that they will sue Frank over the ordeal.
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Endless fulfilled Ocean’s contractual agreement with Def Jam, which is owned by Universal Music Group, and Blond was released on his own independent label, Boys Don’t Cry. The label had anticipated Frank’s second album release with as much eagerness as the rest of us, but when Frank unexpectedly released Blond through his own label, UMG lost a massive amount of profit potential from one of their most successful artists. “How do you compete with the world’s richest company that’s got endless cash on hand?” Music industry savant Bob Lefsetz called on the government to investigate Apple for an antitrust violation.
