While the Beatles and their business associates had high hopes for Apple at first, the tensions that caused the Beatles to split also hurt the label. Many of the records released on Apple failed to become popular, either because they did not go over well with listeners, or were not given the promotion they needed or deserved to become hit records. James Taylor "walked out" on his Apple Records contract, and signed with Warner Bros., where he began a long string of hits. Mary Hopkin retired from music after completing her contract. Billy Preston and Badfinger moved on to other record labels.