Dangerously in Love was only released the way it was and received the support from Columbia because Beyoncé was a famous singer by 2003. She was not a newcomer. She was an established artist, who had enough leverage to select which writers and producers she would like to work with, and release the songs she wanted - despite being told she did not have any hit song. Comparing to Destiny Child's Self Titled era, which was much simpler and smaller in investment, It's easy to see how those 5 years before Crazy in Love shaped Beyoncé's trajectory as a solo artist.