Jessica Switches Homes – for Her Music

By Stephen M. Silverman

Monday March 27, 2006 07:30 AM EST

Jessica Simpson

Harsha Gopal/WENN/Landov

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Jessica Simpson has a new nest when it comes to making music. Currently working on a successor to her 2003 CD In This Skin, the Dukes of Hazzard star is switching from Columbia to Epic Records after a six-year-run at her first label.

"I love all my friends and supporters at Columbia. I will miss them as I start this new relationship," Simpson, 25, tells Billboard magazine.

Referring to Epic's new president Charlie Walk, who formerly oversaw marketing at Columbia, as the one she trusts most "to present my new music to the world," Simpson says: "Charlie Walk was my first hero at Columbia. He believed in me before I really even got to meet the rest of the company."

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She adds: "Epic is in a new place with a new leader. It just seems the right place for me as I begin my new journey."

In This Skin sold 2.9 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The new album reportedly is due by the end of the year, though an R&B single is due any time now, says Billboard.

Both Columbia and Epic are part of the conglomerate Sony Music.