Joining the long list of artists with label woes, Ciara penned an open letter last night addressing rumors that she had been dropped from her longtime record label, Jive, and praying for a release from her contract.
In the letter, posted to her official Facebook page, Ciara explains that Jive has not shown support for her most recent album, Basic Instinct. She claims that she had to fund the video for her single "Gimme Dat" out of her own pocket and was told by radio stations that Jive had gone so far as to discourage them from playing the song on air.
"I do understand that some labels are not financially supporting their artists, and I have become one of them," Ciara concludes.
The 25-year-old R&B starlet hopes that a release from her Jive contract will allow her to be more creative and bring new energy to her music. Read her letter in full below:

This week the net has been a buzz of the rumor that I have been dropped from my label. At this point that rumor is false. It is true that I have asked and I pray that my label will release me. I have had some great times and success with my label, but sometimes like all great things, its at that point where I feel we don’t share the same views on who I am as a artist. The past two albums have been very frustrating for me. At times there were songs I chose to lead a project and I was ignored! This project, I even tried to get Gimmie Dat started I spent tens of thousands of my own money only to hear the radio pds tell me my label didn’t want the song played. I even spent more than one hundred thousand dollars out of my pocket on the video to bring my vision to it and still no label support. I do understand that some labels are not financially supporting their artists and I have become one of them. You, my fans, know that I strive to do my best to deliver to my you the best songs and creative vision I possibly can. I’m dedicated to my music, performance and to my fans! I’ve tried to be a team player with the label only to have compromised what I truly believed.. And was not given the right opportunity to promote and inform my fans of the release of this album..I have so much of me as a artist I still want to give to the world and my fans. A release would allow me to go be creative with people who care and understand me as a artist. In a short time, I will be able to bring to you a new music energy and a visual excitement! Thank you so much for standing by me through the good, bad, and the confusion. I love you all.

Love Ciara

Image:  Albert L. Ortega/PictureGroup.com