Blackwell Fuller, Inc.

“American Idol” creator Simon Fuller and Island Records founder Chris Blackwell have joined forces to launch a new venture that will help artists ink deals with advertisers, distributors and tech companies, putting them “in full control of their careers and their businesses.”

Blackwell Fuller will operate as a content company, the pair said in a statement, focused on working with artists looking to “develop and nourish the connection points between them and their audiences.”

Initially, Fuller and Blackwell plan to work with a handful of iconic artists whose contracts have lapsed, according to the Wall Street Journal. The company may align its interests with those of clients by purchasing stakes in artists’ catalogs, they explained, or by entering arrangements similar to management contracts.

“I don’t want to be restricted by someone else’s business model, or someone else’s needs or someone else’s plans,” Fuller told the paper. “We are defining a business model that doesn’t exist.”

Blackwell noted in a statement that artist deals have become too restrictive as the entertainment industry and media companies struggle to develop new financial models.

“Our new approach will give artists the freedom to explore new paths to market with the kind of support and resources it takes to create real scale, control and reach,” he said.

The company has already acquired the rights to Blackwell’s Blue Mountain Music, which owns compositions from artists including Bob Marley and U2, the WSJ reported.

The Blackwell Fuller venture isn’t exactly the first of its kind. Live Nation paid hundreds of millions to ink similar 360 deals with artists including Jay-Z and Madonna a few years ago.