wettest prosperous: Jonas Brothers Part Ways With Longtime Label Hollywood Records

'We're all looking forward to this next chapter,' Nick Jonas says of the shakeup.
By Jocelyn Vena

Jonas Brothers
Photo: El Universal

The Jonas Brothers have been tweeting with the hashtag #JB2012 lately. And it seems that it now has a whole new meaning as the brothers enter the next chapter of their careers.

Nick, Joe and Kevin have confirmed they are leaving Hollywood Records, the Disney-owned label they've been with since 2007. In addition to parting ways with Hollywood, the band of brothers has confirmed that they also bought the rights to their master recordings, merchandising and publishing. In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Nick opened up about the decision to push forward with their music career without the assistance of the label backing them.

"This was a decision that we made as a group," he said. "Naturally, as with any partnership, when you do part ways, there is emotion tied to it. We've been blessed to have a lot of success with Hollywood and with Disney, but speaking on behalf of my brothers and our team, we're all looking forward to this next chapter. We're ready for that next step as a group, and being able to take our work with us was so important."

As of now, the band is label-less, their manager Johnny Wright confirmed. He added that the guys, who are currently working on their next album, will seek a different type of deal if or when they sign with another company. Their next deal, he added, will give them more control. "This will allow them to chart their own destiny," he said, adding that given their relationship with Disney had pretty much come to the end of the road, this decision came at the perfect time. "The industry and distribution channels are changing so rapidly, we don't even know what it means anymore to put out a record," he explained. "If we wanted to take another deal with a major, it would be different than what we entered into when we signed with Hollywood.

We don't have to become just an artist to the label, we could be a partner or do it ourselves and then come back later on. There's no plan here — the plan is whatever we decide to make it." The guys are now focused on the future, which as a group includes their next album.

Individually, Nick will wrap up his run in "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" on Broadway this July, and Kevin, with his wife Danielle, will premiere their E! reality show this August. Joe is coming off of a solo album he dropped last year.

"In these past three years, my brothers and I have not released a record, but we've really come into our own as men," Nick explained. "And we've also lived life, which is an important part to making a record. ... I've got a studio set-up in my apartment in New York where we can all put down our ideas. It's a really liberating feeling to just be able to create and write whatever is on our hearts."

The newly free agents' next album, the follow-up to 2009's Lines, Vines and Trying Times, should drop by the end of 2012 or early 2013.

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