Speech Debelle quits record label

SPEECH DEBELLE has parted company with her record label due to disappointing sales of her debut album.

Debelle - real name Corynne Elliot - said sales of Speech Therapy, which won this year's Mercury Prize, suffered because of poor distribution from Big Dada Records.

Prior to her win, the rapper's LP had sold around 3,000 copies but sales only increased to just below 10,000 after she was awarded the prestigious accolade.

Speaking to BBC 6 Music, she said: "The Mercury Prize was on Tuesday, and on Friday there were no more physical albums in the shops.

"So, on the Mercury weekend, which would have been my biggest selling weekend, people couldn't get it. I wasn't disappointed that it didn't sell well, I was disappointed in the people I was working with."

She added: "I wasn't on a big label and the machine wasn't there. So even though the album won the Mercury, it was still only able to do what the label was capable of doing, which just means that I'm more prepared for next time."

The 26-year-old claimed that negotiations with several record companies are already under way and she hopes to finalise a deal early next year.

A spokesperson for Big Dada's parent company Ninjatune refused to comment.