Nellie McKay Leaves Columbia Over Album Dispute

From FMQB.com: Singer/songwriter Nellie McKay received critical acclaim and a cult following after the release of her 2004 album Get Away From Me. The follow-up, Pretty Little Head, was slated for a late December release, then pushed to the first week of January. After completely disappearing from the release schedule, it was made public that McKay had split from Columbia over a disagreement over the length of Pretty Little Head. Her version of the album had 23 tracks, while the label wanted only 16 songs. McKay also had a live concert DVD on the way, but that has been shelved as well.

McKay had been vocal in the press and in concert over her unhappiness with the label and in a recent interview with Paste magazine, was outspoken about wanting to be dropped from Columbia. In a statement to Reuters, McKay simply said that "Sources are hopeful that Pretty Little Head will be released in early 2006." She has partially attributed the troubles with her release to recent executive changes at the label.

Such a public spat between an artist and their label is not unheard of. In 2001, Wilco and Reprise Records went their separate ways over a well-documented disagreement about their album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. The record was picked up by Nonesuch and released in 2002 to critical praise and the band's biggest commercial success.

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I wish her well. She's got a full plate this year with the upcoming Roundabout staging of 'Threepenny Opera' and some possible shows in between.