Usher Splits With Manager, Publicist
August 06, 2008
- Legal and Management
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| USHER |
By Gail Mitchell, L.A.
Usher has parted ways with his manager and publicist.
In a short statement issued by LaFace/Zomba, it was announced that the artist "has dissolved his management arrangement with Benny Medina and has re-engaged Jonnetta Patton as his manager."
Meanwhile, sources tell Billboard the singer and W&W Public Relations have also ceased working together. A rep from W&W Public says the company resigned from the account. Among W&W's other music clients are Janet Jackson, Alicia Keys, Patti LaBelle, Ludacris, Bow Wow and Jermaine Dupri.
Usher split from his mother as his manager in May 2007. He then hired Medina, who was integral in the launch of the artist's recent album, "Here I Stand." In 10 weeks, it has sold 948,000 units in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. It's the No. 8 best-selling album of 2008 so far.
However, it hasn't come close to matching the gaudy numbers of its predecessor, 2004's "Confessions," which sold 3.77 million copies in its first 10 weeks and is at 9.6 million to date.
"It's always a challenge with someone who was so established with various types of representatives," Medina told Billboard in May. "The thing that excited me most is the intense commitment to his art, his incredible professionalism and the fact that I feel as though he's just hitting a stride."
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