Ashanti participates in a special Q&A session on ‘The Heat’.

Perhaps we haven’t given Ashanti her due share of credit for her understanding of the music industry and what it takes to survive on her own terms. Indeed, while chatting on Sirius XM’s The Heat, the singer-songwriter revealed that she is focused on elevating her career and that she has already declined seven major deals during the last two years.

Ashanti chatted with fans on The Heat about her refusal to accept the dreaded 360 deals offered by record companies today. In case you didn’t know, such contracts grant labels a large cut of every dollar earned by acts from music royalties, special performances, appearances, tours and even endorsement deals. Ever wondered why Rihanna has to work as hard as she has been since 2005? A 360 deal is probably the reason.

Luckily, Ashanti’s revenue from her songwriting has allowed her to launch her Written Entertainment label and fund her own career. Judging by the latest pushback of her Braveheart album to February 26th, it appears that running a company is harder than Ashanti may have bargained.

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