Speech Debelle 'quits record label'

Speech Debelle has revealed that she is quitting her record label, blaming the company for disappointing sales of her Mercury-winning debut album.

Debelle - real name Corynne Elliot - told BBC 6 Music that sales of Speech Therapy suffered because of poor distribution from Big Dada Records.

The rapper's LP had sold around 3,000 copies prior to her win. Sales increased to just below 10,000 in the following months.

"The Mercury Prize was on Tuesday, and on Friday there were no more physical albums in the shops," she said.

"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."

Addressing her future, 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 on Debelle's remarks.