Adam Lambert is parting ways with 19 Entertainment, the Hollywood Reporter has learned. The "American Idol" runner-up from season 8 is signing with Direct Management Group, whose client roster includes Katy Perry, K.D. Lang and The Go-Go's.
DMG was founded in April 1985 by partners Martin Kirkup and Steven Jensen and is based in Los Angeles. In the past, the company has also worked with Miranda Cosgrove and Jamie Cullum.
Lambert, whose debut album "For Your Entertainment" has sold nearly 1 million copies, isn't the first "Idol" graduate to leave the confines of 19, the company with exclusive rights to the show's stars. The original "Idol," Kelly Clarkson, and season 3 winner Fantasia both found managers independent of the Idol machine, while Carrie Underwood opted to remain with Idol creator Simon Fuller at his company, XIX Entertainment (Fuller also manages current Idol winner Scotty McCreery and runner-up Lauren Alaina). Most recently, Chris Daughtry's manager Stirling McIlwaine left 19 to open his own firm, taking his client with him.
But while Lambert may be exiting, 19 will long reap the profits of its relationship with the singer. The company stands to pocket royalties from his five RCA Records releases, which include a live and remix album, as well as merchandise and other ancillary revenue streams. It's not clear whether he had a so-called "sunset clause" in his contract, as many Idols do, which details a specific cut-off date on continued profit sharing.
Lambert recently
released new music, the song "Outlaws of Love" said to be from his highly anticipated second studio album. Lambert's "Behind the Music" special airs on VH1 this Sunday, August 8.
A representative for 19 Entertainment could not immediately be reached for comment.
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