Blender Magazine has released its list of the 20 Biggest Record Company Screw-Ups of All Time. Check out who and what made the top of the list.

10. Columbia Records loses Alicia Keys and drops 50cent
After signing Alicia Keys for a reported $400,000, they had her work with high-priced producers who tried to turn her into the next Whitney Houston. Ultimately she dodged that decision and signed with J Records where to date she has sold more than 20 million albums. After being shot nine times, execs of Columbia dropped 50cent only to see him flourish in the rap game and put their decision to shame.

9.  "Digital–rights management" backfires even more badly than usual
In 2005 Sony BMG made an effort to combat digital piracy by packaging CDs with copy-protection software. The software would only allow consumers to make three copies of their cd from automatic installation of a "root kit". It also made users computers susceptible to viruses and hackers. After the Department of Homeland Security issued an advisory, Sony was made to pay several millions in class-action lawsuits.

8. Warner Junks Interscope
When presidential candidate Bob Dole attacked Warner, they sold Interscope to Universal allowing them to become the biggest record company in the world. It is said that largely due to Interscope hits by Tupac, Dr. Dre and Eminem, it was downhill for Warner which was sold in 2004.

7. Music Publisher Gives Away Bob Dylan
In 1961 Bob Dylan was singed to Columbia where he was introduced to Leeds and intimately signed a publishing deal for a $1,000 advance. Dylan's new manager got out of the deal the following year by paying back the $1,000. His new publisher, M. Witmark & Sons, was given 237 songs worth tens of millions of dollars in the first three years.

6. Casablanca Rides Strong Sales Straight to the Poorhouse
Casablanca shipped one million copies of four solo albums by each member of the band KISS, in an effort to make the claim that the albums shipped platinum. Though the albums sold well there were hundreds of thousands records that were returned, hence sparked an inspiring comedian Robert Klein to joke that Casablanca's releases "shipped gold and returned platinum."

5. The RIAA Sues a Struggling Mom for Digital Piracy
The RIAA accused single mother of two, Jammie Thomas of using a popular P2P service known as KAZAA to share 24 song files illegally. She pleaded not guilty claiming it was a case of mistaken identity however a jury found her guilty and fined her $222,000 songs. Thomas was planning to appeal the decision.

4. Indie Promoters Take the Major Labels to the Cleaners
Due to a government ban on record labels paying radio stations to play records, Independent promoters were used a middlemen to represent the labels. This came at a huge cost to labels who would supply vacations, cash and even drugs in an effort to get songs played that stations would have played anyway. As a result, labels spent millions of unnecessary dollars.

3. Motown Sells for a Pittance
After reportedly losing millions on his label, Berry Gordy Jr. sold Motown and its catalogue to MCA and Boston Ventures for $60 million. After 5 years, Boston Ventures sold the label to PolyGram for $325million.

2. Decca Records A&R Exec Tells Fab Four, "No, thanks"
Dick Rowe will always be known as the one that let the Beatles get away. It is said that he not only passed on them but told their manager that "Groups with guitars are on their way out". Guess he wasn't right after all.

1. Major Labels Squash Napster
Instead of embracing the tens of millions of users and finding a way to capitalize on it the RIAA rejected Napster's billion-dollar settlement and sued it out of existence. The problem with this is that all of Napster's users migrated to other P2P networks and since its closure, there has been no decline in the rate of online piracy. Labels are still finding ways to capitalize on online file downloading where as many new networks have been steps ahead of the music business in taking advantage of this.


See the rest of the list here