"I have a game plan," Tori Amos told Spinner after her deal with Epic Records, which yielded three studio albums, ended earlier this year. "It's about partnering now, instead of being a horse in a stable. Not that that's a negative thing, but then you're totally dependent on who's in charge. If they leave -- and I've been under contract now for over 22 years -- then you might be stuck with somebody who doesn't feed their horses."

And Amos, no doubt, is hungry.

To that end, the singer-songwriter just inked a joint venture deal with Universal Republic Records, and has set a late spring/early summer release date for her tenth album -- the follow-up to 2007's 'American Doll Posse.' The new effort will feature a video component corresponding to each song, with footage shot over the past year.

"There are 360 deals going on -- that's not my interest," Amos said. "I don't want to do that because these are my children, my songs. And to me, you're just handing over your art. As far as partnering though, it's very different. That means that you're in a venture together. I've learned that it's easy to throw your hands up and throw all your toys out of the crib, and just say 'I ain't playing.' But things are changing and there are real breaks in the road. If you can see them coming, you can say, 'Alright, I'm going to be more of a designer in my life.' It's upon us now in the music industry, if you're out of a deal, you can chart your own course, but you have to choose wisely. And I have to choose based on what I know will inspire me to get up in the morning and still play my instrument."

Meanwhile, as for the long-standing rumor that Amos is done with world tours, she sheds a little bit of light. "Well, I said that when I was at a point when I was beginning my [label] battle," Amos explained. "And you can say things in the heat of the moment. That tour ['American Doll Posse'] was a six month-long one. It's a long time, and [daughter] Tash was out of school at the time -- yes, with a teacher. That was hard on her. Those kinds of tours I can't do while she's at this stage. Once she's out of the stage, I don't know where I'll be -- age-wise, health-wise --you just don't know. So, I can see myself playing dates, but it would be on a much shorter level. During summer or during breaks that aren't so long, because we take her with us. We have to -- we're a family."