Lady Gaga’s refusal to add more poppy “radio-friendly” songs to her latest album, “Artpop,” was the fatal wedge between her and ex-manager Troy Carter, sources tell Page Six.
Gaga and Carter, who had managed the singer since 2007, announced earlier this month they were parting ways because of “creative differences.”
But sources tell us the “Applause” singer and Carter hit an impasse after Gaga and her record label disagreed over the musical direction of “Artpop.”
We hear executives at Gaga’s label Interscope had concerns over her third album “not having any big “hits” on it.” They asked Gaga to go back to the studio and rework a few tracks.
Execs at Interscope suggested she could release “Artpop” as an EP, to complement an album of more radio-friendly hits. But she refused.
We’re told Interscope asked Carter to try to get through to the defiant singer, but Gaga refused “to adulterate her art,” one source said. Shortly before the album hit stores, Carter and Gaga announced they’d no longer be working together.
An enthusiastic rep from Interscope denied there was any panic over “Artpop” saying, “That story is untrue and ridiculous. Gaga has creative control, and we are thrilled with her album.” Carter declined to comment.
In its debut week, “Artpop” sold 258,000 records and was the No. 1 album. But that’s a fraction of the 1.1 million albums Gaga sold during the launch week of her last album, “Born This Way.” Sales of that were boosted by a promotion offering the album for 99-cent sale on Amazon.
While Interscope execs were aware “Artpop” wouldn’t be as blockbuster an album as her previous two, insiders have gone so far as to describe the launch of “Artpop” as a “complete disaster.”
The Interscope rep snipped to us about the sales: “It’s the No. 1 album, and everyone would love a No. 1 album. What’s not to be happy about?”