Janet Jackson And LL Cool J’s Last Tour Stop: Obscurity?

There’s still a month or so left on the Janet Jackson/LL Cool J tour (get psyched, Connecticut!), but if the music industry were to have what seems to be its way, the Oct. 22 Dallas date would be both acts’ music biz retirement party.

Janet Jackson is leaving Island Def Jam willingly, according to press reports. This seems somewhat unlikely, considering she only released one poorly received album for the label, not to mention her boyfriend/tiny sidekick Jermaine Dupri is still employed as the head of Urban music there. Still, label-less life suits Janet just fine. Who needs giant advances and milliion dollar marketing campaigns?

A statement from her camp says Jackson “”will have autonomy over her career, without the restrictions of a label system. Always known to break new ground and set trends, Janet’s departure from Island makes her one of the first superstar artists to have the individual freedom to promote their work through a variety of avenues such as iTunes, mobile carriers and other diverse and innovative channels.”

Of course, the rumor mill has already placed Janet in the Live Nation camp alongside Jay-Z, Madonna, Shakira, and Nickelback. The news is much worse for LL Cool J, who is getting the silent treatment from the same label, and who has been reduced to complaining about Exit 13‘s lack of publicity on his MySpace blog:

I don’t personally believe it. but I’m getting a lot of strange reports from people who say they can’t find my new album exit 13 in stores. And that Defjam is somehow trying to control and limit my sales because my contract is up. I think LA reid and company have more integrity than that. But just in case you know someone who can’t seem to locate the new LLCOOLJ album EXIT 13. Send them to itunes or sears.com……. let’s think positive yall.

It’s hard to “think positive” when one of your suggested outlets to purchase your music is sears.com, but I’m glad LL’s taking it well.

JANET GOES ISLAND-HOPPING [HITS Daily Double] LL Cool J Says Def Jam May Be Limiting Album Sales [Streetcred.com]