Pop and rock

Janet Jackson back with new album – and record-breaking new deal with BMG

Jackson’s worldwide contract with BMG includes the launch of her own label Rhythm Nation, and makes her the first female African-American recording artist to form her own label

While James Brown may get up an do his thing, Janet Jackson likes to do it her way.
‘Let’s get the conversation going’ … Janet Jackson is ready to make a comeback. Photograph: Brad Barket/Getty Images

Guardian music

Janet Jackson will release her first album in seven years this autumn through BMG and her own new label Rhythm Nation. Announcing the news on her website, this “worldwide partnership” with BMG will make her the first female African-American recording artist to form her own record label. “At Rhythm Nation, Janet plans to offer a home to both new and established recording artists,” the label reads.

Little else is known about the follow-up to 2008’s Discipline, but Jackson has recently been using the hashtag “#ConversationsInACafe” on Twitter – a sign some have speculated may be the title of a forthcoming album. The new deal appears to give her freedom over future releases, as her statement explains:

The partnership with BMG makes Janet Jackson the biggest worldwide superstar yet to quit the traditional record label system for a so-called artist services deal, designed to put artists in the driving seat. Unlike a traditional record deal, under an artist services deal the artist retains ownership of their recordings and full oversight of all costs and revenues.

Rumours of Jackson’s return began in May when a leaked – and reportedly bogus – schedule from Atlantic Records emerged online. It claimed a new album would appear in July 2015. Two weeks ago, the singer posted a video trailer, including the following message set to images of a studio soundboard and laptop screen: “I promised you’d hear it from my lips. And now you will. This year, new music, new world tour, a new movement. I’ve been listening. Let’s keep the conversation going.”

Watch Janet Jackson’s Announcement – video

With sales of more than 160m records, Jackson is one of the best-selling artists of all time. Her career took a turn a month before the release of Damita Jo in 2004, when Jackson performed at the Super Bowl half-time show alongside Justin Timberlake. The N Sync singer famously, and allegedly accidentally, exposed her breast on stage – an incident that unfairly led to the album’s lead single Just a Little While disappearing from US radio.

In the years since, Jackson has been relatively absent from pop culture. In 2009, she spoke publicly following the death of her brother Michael Jackson, she appeared in Tyler Perry’s film Why Did I Get Married Too? and she married her third husband, Qatari billionaire Wissam Al Mana.