With Disney-championed stars including Olivia Rodrigo and Sabrina Carpenter moving on from the company’s own record label, it seems the house of mouse’s power is waning
When Disney Channel star Hilary Duff released her debut album Metamorphosis in 2003, it marked a key shift in pop. Before her, the corporation’s TV teen talent – Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake – had left Disney behind when they signed with major record labels en route to becoming superstars. But with Duff, who played her show’s titular Lizzie McGuire, Disney saw an opportunity: instead of letting one of their biggest names find success elsewhere, they wanted to monetise whatever pop stardom their latest ingenue could deliver, and signed Duff to Disney’s own Hollywood Records, reviving a label that had never really managed to get off the ground.
Hollywood could promote Disney pop stars across the Disney Channel, Radio Disney and ABC, also owned by the corporation. Soon, a 360-business model was in full operation, and the next generation of Disney Channel stars – the Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato, Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez all helmed shows and released music through the in-house label. To keep parents and preteens on side, Disney would supply the sound, the songs and producers, and potentially even dictate what artists wore and how they presented themselves.
