#BMG gets a cut for now

[dogsliampaynedoesntinstagram]

There's something really fascinating about the way people have been reacting to the suggestion that Louis isn't blacklisted. In particular, it seems like both in general in the discourse I've seen and in your anons, there's an underlying feeling that saying that Louis isn't blacklisted invalidates the challenges he's faced in the industry or with 1D. It's strange because to me it feels like the opposite. After the extreme power imbalance he experienced in 1D (they got plenty of resources and it gave them a lot of success but they had very little control or leverage and it clearly took a toll on their health, physical and mental), it makes complete and total sense to me that Louis would prioritize independence and control of his career, even if it meant sacrificing financial support or some mainstream success. It feels like a validation of what people have observed about his relationship with Syco that he eventually learned from it and knows what to prioritize now.

The real question I have is whether Louis' deal with BMG gives him ownership of his masters (BMG's website has a testimonial from Rita Ora specifically mentioning that she owns her masters with BMG). That might speak to why he used so little Walls music in AOTV. At the very least, it's what I'm wildly curious about, rather than how often he's played on radio 1.

Anon - I think recent events have just underscored the point you are making. I see the appeal of a world view where the only obstacle that matters is one with a clear cut villain whose goal is to make your life worse. But it's not real - not for anyone. Not for us and not for the celebrities we are projecting onto. Our problems are almost always much more complicated than this world view allows - and we have to figure out how to navigate them.

I'm fairly sure Louis does own his masters - I think that's the deal with BMG. I agree that given that it makes a lot of sense that he plays

[louisupdates]

Photo credit: BMG / Joshua Halling

After nearly two-hundred live performances spanning two international tours, Louis Tomlinson is celebrating the end of era on the road that spanned three years. On Thursday, the musician shared Live, a record captured across 15 different shows in 15 different cities.

“I’ve been lucky enough to spend the last 3 years touring the world twice over, the feeling I get sharing those live moments will be with me forever,” Tomlinson shared in a statement. “To be able to record these songs from all over the world and put them out as an album like this feels so special, and a real tribute to the fans who make each and every show feel unique and incredible. Thank you! Enjoy!”

The album features live performances from both the Louis Tomlinson World Tour — which was cut short in 2020 and resumed in 2022 — and the Faith in the Future World Tour, which kicked off in 2023 in support of the singer’s sophomore studio album of the same name. Combined, the tours included 170 shows in 47 countries across 5 continents.

Tomlinson captured performances of popular singles “We Made It” and “Walls” from his debut solo album Walls and “Written All Over Your Face,” “Silver Tongues,” and “Out of My System” from Faith in the Future. The album features recordings from London, Nashville, Vancouver, Barcelona, Chicago, Budapest, Paris, and more.

The digital version of Live is available now, with physical editions for the record set for release on Aug. 23 on a double CD and 2LP picture disc vinyl.

Louis Tomlinson Live Tracklist

“The Greatest” (Live From London, 17 November 2023)

“Face The Music” (Live From Nashville, 18 July 2023)

“Bigger Than Me” (Live From Vancouver, 26 June 2023)

“Holding On To Heartache” (Live From Barcelona, 6 October 2023)

“We Made It” (Live From Manila, 16 July 2022)

“Chicago” (Live From Chicago, 15 June 2023)

“Fearless” (Live From Rio, 27 May 2022)

“Common People” (Live From Sheffield, 10 November 2023)

“All This Time / She Is Beauty We Are World Class” (Live From Munich, 22 October 2023)

“Walls” (Live From Buenos Aires, 21 May 2022)

“Written All Over Your Face” (Live From Budapest, 15 September 2023)

“Out Of My System” (Live From Brisbane, 30 January 2024)

“Saturdays” (Live From Paris, 14 October 2023)

“Silver Tongues” (Live From Krakow, 10 September 2023)

FULL ARTICLE, 25.4.2024

[penny-the-pissed-poltergeist]

Volume 2 episode 7 rewatch thoughts

.Glynda and Ironwood interact so little that I can't care about the minor ship teasing they do here at all.

.Can characters stop acting like Jaune needs to be comforted when it's his own fault that he can't take a fucking hint

.Forgot this was a Jaune episode, please kill me

.Pyrrha, for the 20th time this is your own damn fault.

.Jaune once again proving that the one thing Pyrrha is supposedly attracted to him for having is something he doesn't have at all. When almost everyone else in her friend group does.

."Thanks to you, I've made friendships that will last a lifetime" How is that Jaune's doing exactly? I feel like most of your friends would still be your friends regardless even without him.

.Why did Neptune go up here exactly? In a better world it'd be him wanting to ask Jaune out but alas.

.Jaune only stopped because another guy was into Weiss more, oh god make it stop

.PENNY LITTLE DANCE HJAHADAWAL

."Hey look, a guy wearing a dress hahhahahah" ugh, even Pyrrha is laughing but at least Jaune is fine with it. Everyone who draws/writes Him GNC or being into drag, or all the way to a full on trans lady I salute you.

.Jaune literally pulls Pyrrha into a dance and she still doesn't confess to him for literally no other reason then to make her death later more sad.

.Ren didn't even know what was going on and still nailed every dance move. I can see why the writes say he's a god at DDR now.

.Oh sure Neptune Jaune was totally "Looking out for Wei-OMG PENNY DOING THE ROBOT TESDGXFGTDDHTRD

.God the BMG for the infiltration scene fucking slaps for no goddamn reason, part of it sound like an old video game in good way.

.Why did the front guard seem to not have any aura at all? You'd think that would be a job requirement.

.Waiting until I got to the black widow ass-shot to get to this, but why is her spy outfit so sexualized? None of other outfits real are so it's not a character thing, and even concept art of it has it zipped up so I guess RT was just really horny that day. (I'm just glad it's a character who's an adult)

.The dialog between the elevator guards is funny, but why does the pound symbol exist on remnant when they use lien and there's no Britain?

.Why are all of Ruby's muzzle-flash and slash effects weirdly blue? they've never been this blue before or since.

.Cinder is badass for blocking bullets with her bare hand. I also Love her bow and I wish she used it more.

.If Ruby didn't force herself to conform to gender norms by wearing heels this fight might have gone better for her.

.Don't you think I didn't notice totally not Daft Punk back there, Beacon must be loaded to get them for a school event.

.Cinder's dress is the only one that got effort put into it besides Ruby's

.Emerald, internally: Oh you can cut in Cinder!.. Oh your dancing with Merc and not me, ahah..ha t-that's fine I'm not sad at all what are you talking about

.Cinder was kinda fun before they changed her personality and gave her old one to her boss

[randomvarious]

Today's compilation:

Totally Hits 2 2000 Pop / Alternative Rock / Teen Pop / R&B / Adult Contemporary

Man, they weren't ever gonna find a way to eclipse the goodness of Now That's What I Call Music!, but the conglomerate that made up Sony, BMG, Warner, Elektra, and Atlantic came damn near close with this second dispatch from their competitive Totally Hits series here. Leans a bit too heavy on the soft, anodyne, slow, and schmaltzy adult contemporary-type of pop ballads at times, but the rest of it still sure makes for a top-notch nostalgia rush 😊.

So, for some headlining, certified instant classic, turn-of-the-millennium hits here, we've got songs like Santana and The Product G&B's "Maria, Maria," Christina Aguilera's huge debut smash, "Genie in a Bottle," and the cringe-inducing swing revivalist one-hit wonder pop of Lou Bega's "Mambo No. 5." But after that, the choices seem to get less and less obvious, and that's where this comp seems to truly shine. Songs like Filter's radio-friendly "Take a Picture," which marked a gaping departure from their super heavy and aggro debut hit from four years prior, "Hey Man Nice Shot," are included, as well as Moby's terrific "Natural Blues," a song that didn't even manage to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, but helped to get him back in the good graces of serious music critics after having been vociferously written off for his previous and widely panned punk album, Animal Rights.

And we also have Madonna's "Beautiful Stranger" here too, a song that never actually ended up appearing on any of her studio albums, but was instead the lead cut from the soundtrack for Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. With this great tune, we see Madonna and veteran UK producer William Orbit picking up from where they left off on her 1997 album, Ray of Light—often considered by many to be her magnum opus—to deliver a rich pop song that was both simultaneously futuristic and 60s retrodelic as well. And other songs that had been turned in for that soundtrack, like Lenny Kravitz' cover of The Guess Who's "American Woman," while decent, did not come anywhere close to achieving the same type of vibe that "Beautiful Stranger" did, and so it was a no-brainer as the song of choice to represent the film.

So, another really great trip down late 90s/early 2000s memory lane here. Totally Hits would run out of steam and end up bowing out from the contemporary hits compilation game some years later, but specifically with this album, they were certainly proving themselves as a more than worthy adversary to top dog Now That's What I Call Music! Their collective catalog and roster never had the same firepower as that of the combination of Capitol, EMI, Universal, and Virgin, but what they managed to amass here was still plenty good pop music anyway.

Highlights:

Santana feat. The Product G&B - "Maria, Maria" Christina Aguilera - "Genie in a Bottle" Third Eye Blind - "Never Let You Go" Sugar Ray - "Falls Apart" Lou Bega - "Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit of...)" Madonna - "Beautiful Stranger" Whitney Houston - "My Love is Your Love (Jonathan Peters' Radio Mix)" Filter - "Take a Picture" Missy Elliott - "Hot Boyz" Moby - "Natural Blues" Donell Jones - "U Know What's Up" R.E.M. - "The Great Beyond" Sarah McLachlan - "I Will Remember You"

[lovekylie]

Kylie Minogue to release 'euphoric' album Tension via BMG in September

https://www.musicweek.com/labels/read/kylie-minogue-to-release-euphoric-album-tension-via-bmg-in-september/087875

Kylie Minogue has confirmed details of her new studio album, Tension, which will be released on September 22.

The album continues her successful relationship with BMG, who helped Kylie Minogue secure No.1 peaks in the UK with her two previous studio albums, Golden (2018) and Disco (2020), as well as the collection Step Back In Time (2019).

According to the Official Charts Company, Golden has UK sales of 166,699 and Disco is on 176,116. BMG managed to grow global streaming on Disco compared to their first release with Minogue.

According to the announcement, Tension is a record of “euphoric, empowered dance floor bangers and sultry pop cuts”, which should delight her fanbase.  

Padam Padam, which opens the album, will be the first single to be released from the record.

Kylie Mingoue said: “I started this album with an open mind and a blank page. Unlike my last two albums there wasn’t a ‘theme’, it was about finding the heart or the fun or the fantasy of that moment and always trying to service the song. I wanted to celebrate each song’s individuality and to dive into that freedom. I would say it’s a blend of personal reflection, club abandon and melancholic high.”

Minogue has worked with a number of producers on the album with seven of the tracks being produced and co-written with her long-time collaborators, Biff Stannard and Duck Blackwell.

Discussing the recording process, Kylie Minogue said: "I loved being back in the studio with my collaborators but was also able to benefit from remote recording, which we have all got used to – my mobile studio never left my side for a year and a half! The album is a mix of songs I have written and songs which really spoke to me. Making this album helped me navigate challenging times and celebrate the now. I hope it accompanies listeners on their own journeys and becomes part of their story.”

Tension tracklisting:

Padam Padam

Hold On To Now

Things We Do For Love

Tension

One More Time

You Still Get Me High

Hands

Green Light

Vegas High

10 Out Of 10

Story

[ghost-of-you]

Okay I'm gonna share some thoughts but under the cut 'cause this one is just crazy.

Okay so, the chance of a 5sos5 documentary became real the second they posted this one video back in March 2021 after they left modest, and I always had many thoughts about that because of how this document could've been delivered to us, because they pay Ryan to record and edit their stuff but they don't have a contract (at least not to my knowledge) with someone who could publish this in like a movie format (think Ms Americana or that Shawn Mendes one on netflix cause i don't think they would do a physical dvd like they did with the first 5sos doc) but I was thinking about something along the lines of the Shawn Mendes one, that you have the movie following him on tour and you have separate thing with a concert. My first theory involved just any show from the tmh tour, but then they announced the feeling of falling upwards, and naturally the idea of a documentary with the journey of making 5sos5 ending with a show they put on to showcase 5sos5 makes a lot of sense, but nothing about using the ono show was mentioned since it happened so honestly it may not be the plan since it was livestreamed, so I went back to just a tmh concert. Using one of the Sydney shows at the Opera House makes a lot of sense if they want to use the video footage too, 'cause it's a beautiful venue, it's their hometown, ending a 5sos5 documentary back where it all started it would be poetic even, but then they released the part one on youtube. With no warning, no explanations, no promises of more besides the fact that it's titled part one. But also you can't just have a concert and drop it as a live album with little to no time to work on it. I mean, you can but it's not ideal, and the show is happening this weekend and like it or not the time for a "making of 5sos5" documentary to be relevant for marketing purposes is running out, 'cause the industry is moving really fast and.

Then I thought they were gonna drop part 2 of the doc on the bands anniversary, but that didn't happen, so now we're back to no man's land, because since part one was played for fans on the ono stream, and that was "leaked" (you know we screenrecorded it and it's out there), they could've just decided to put that out there while still planning on releasing a full length doc in another format just because it was already out. But I'm also back to guessing they are using a tmh date, that is no longer random, because BMG is taking down videos from the Paris show for copyright content the same way some videos from myt London (aka the mytt album concert) get taken down periodically. And why would they take down fan recordings of one specific date if there were no plans about using the recordings from that date? But that circles back to the question of how would that be released. Because I don't think they would just put a full concert on youtube but at the same time I wouldn't put it past them to just like, upload it in parts.

But there's also the chance that this documentary ends up like the myt tour diaries, gathering dust in some hard drive, because the time past and the moment is gone and they just moved on. So like, I need them to give us more information.

[berlinini]

Makes you wonder? (About FitF vs AotV promo)

Makes you wonder why there’s money to throw around for aotv and not for fitf. Louis produced the film with 78 productions and maybe knew he was going to get a good return on investment with cinema ticket sales and veeps ticket sales. Albums don’t make a lot of money nowadays but the promo budget should come from the label. The label takes a cut from the album earnings. So is it that bmg doesn’t have a proper budget for promotion? They seemed to have paid a lot of people to work on their extraordinary “campaign” and apparently have budget to fly employees left right and center and yet out of pocket promotional advertisement for fitf… nada. So??

Makes you wonder what the fuck is going on for Louis’ musical projects. His main project, as a singer. Which is he. That’s what he does. Or is he now a film producer and festival curator? Oh and fashion designer. Stuff that his fans are supposed to buy into. His very solid and wide and ever expending fanbase. So yeah, bmg can suck it.

[mediamonarchy]

https://mediamonarchy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/20241107_PumpUpThaVolume.mp3 Download MP3 Media Monarchy plays Eric Dolphy, Whatitdo Archive Group, Golden Earring and more on #PumpUpThaVolume for November 7, 2024. ♬ Julie London – “November Twilight” (Vinyl) https://www.discogs.com/release/1951489-Julie-London-Calendar-Girl // https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calendar_Girl_(Julie_London_album) // https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2JozDgKMWc Nicholas Britell – “Get Jumpin'” (Inst.) ‘Blitz (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)’ Milan Records – November 1, 2024 *Nicholas Britell – “Get Jumpin'” (Inst.) https://youtu.be/LvRve6c5VIE // https://open.spotify.com/album/4tHXYAQvvJ65VKcn9Helge // https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15939198/ // From ‘Blitz (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack),’ available now via Milan Records. The album contains the film’s score composed by Hans Zimmer and songs by Nicholas Britell and Taura Stinson.* Paolo Buonvino – “Here Now (Part 1)” (Inst.) ‘Here Now (Fino alla fine) (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)’ Lotus Production Srl – October 31, 2024 *Paolo Buonvino – “Here Now (Part 1)” (Inst.) https://paolobuonvino.bandcamp.com/track/here-now-part-1 // https://open.spotify.com/album/1oDL16jsUWA3HktbIwhirP // https://www.imdb.com/title/tt29293152/ // From ‘Here Now (Fino alla fine) (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack),’ available now via Lotus Production Srl.* Corey Wallace – “Cursed Friends (Main Titles)” (Inst.) ‘Cursed Friends (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)’ MovieScore Media – October 31, 2024 *Corey Wallace – “Cursed Friends (Main Titles)” (Inst.) https://youtu.be/Paa5CGnxQH8 // https://open.spotify.com/album/1geJ1cE74CThxvZhQf18eb // https://www.imdb.com/title/tt22179486/ // From ‘Cursed Friends (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack),’ available now via MovieScore Media.* Oliver Nelson with Eric Dolphy – “Images” (Inst.) ‘Straight Ahead’ Prestige – April, 2024 *Oliver Nelson with Eric Dolphy – “Images” (Inst.) https://open.spotify.com/track/3UU6nJwfar2NhlhwMiRWWf // https://www.discogs.com/release/30398948-Oliver-Nelson-With-Eric-Dolphy-Straight-Ahead // https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Nelson // https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Dolphy // From the recently-released remastered reissue of ‘Straight Ahead’ the 1961 album by saxophonist, clarinetist, arranger, composer, and bandleader Oliver Nelson with alto saxophonist, bass clarinetist, and flautist Eric Dolphy, available now via Vinyl Me, Please. AAA release remastered from the original master tapes by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound.* Jacob Wendt – “New Groove” (Inst.) ‘Silver Street’ Hayden Records – October 18, 2024 *Jacob Wendt – “New Groove” (Inst.) https://jacobwendt.bandcamp.com/track/new-groove // https://www.theingroove.com/products/pre-order-jacob-wendt-silver-street-lp // https://www.discogs.com/release/31135238-Jacob-Wendt-Silver-Street // From ‘Silver Street,’ the just-released sophomore album by drummer Jacob Wendt, available now via new label Hayden Records. Recorded, mixed and mastered by Paul Tavenner at Big City Recording, Granda Hills, CA. Lacquers cut by Kevin Gray at Cohearant Audio. Pressed at Record Technology INC. (RTI) on 180 gram audiophile vinyl. First release on Hayden Records (HLP 8001).* Cymande – “Chasing An Empty Dream” ‘Renascence’ BMG UK – January 31, 2025 *Cymande – “Chasing An Empty Dream” https://youtu.be/hfXho65T1ZQ // https://cymande.lnk.to/RenascenceID // https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cymande // From ‘Renascence,’ the upcoming first studio album since 2016 by English band Cymande, originally formed in London in 1971. Due On January 31, 2025 via BMG UK.* Thee Sinseers – “Can’t Call Me Baby” ‘Can’t Call You Baby / Take A Chance’ Colemine Records – December 13, 2024 *Thee Sinseers – “Can’t Call Me Baby” https://theesinseers.bandcamp.com/track/cant-call-me-baby-2 // https://theesinseers.bandcamp.com/album/cant-call-...

[c-40]

A-T-3 082 Craig Peyton - Be Thankful For What You Got (Instrumental)

The fourth instalment of my whizz over reissue labels

Compilations are only references. If there is a track, band, musician, producer I fall for on a compilation I will seek out the original records. Some compilations I've really loved I've tracked down everything off them

This brings us to bootlegs. To fill the need to find certain tracks on different formats (they don't always have to be hard to find) like that album on vinyl by that artist, or that 12" for the dub on the b side that isn't on the compilation there are many bootlegs in circulation

When talking about bootlegs we can bring up edits. Edits are rarely officially licensed. There are good and bad edits, a lot of the time it's the way to get your hands nearer to a rare or unusual cut. Edits can act like compilations as they might introduce you to new genres or new music and artists within a genre. Major labels have reissued records based on the popularity of an unofficial edit

If bootlegs and edits are fulfilling need in the market the marketing has been done and you hold or have the nouse and ability to acquire the licence you can put out an official reissue. Compilations on smaller labels aimed at unearthing forgotten tracks or bringing scarce and collectable records to a wider audience can lead to reissues by the larger licence holding company

I've mentioned most of these companies before, Rhino/now part of Warners Music Group, Rykodisc/Warners, Legacy/Sony, Chronicles/UMG, ACE, Cherry Red Group. Best Records seems to have bought up its rival Italo disco labels and Unidisc have done well buying 70s/80s disco/soul labels. There are many Limited companies established to acquire and exploit the broad spectrum of music rights, buying the various rights and assets of a number of labels to license out those rights, comprising of artists, compositions, and thousands (or hundreds of thousands) of recordings, worldwide. This could be Phoenix Music International LTD, Demon Music Group/BBC, or BMG Rights Management/Bertelsmann Music Group, Warner Chappell Music, companies that as well as licence out, trade the rights and assets to the catalogues of former record companies

Ownership of the rights to music isn't just useful for reissues it can also be licensed to streaming platforms, video games, movies and tv. The software giant Epic that began with video games and is now in virtual production buying Bandcamp was interesting

Simply Vinyl launched in 1997. The label was set up to reissue classic albums (for it's first two years these were all white rock albums) on 180g virgin vinyl with thick card sleeves. The following year Simply Vinyl launched S12 which Mastercuts creator Ian was involved in, this was as they put it: The Simply Vinyl "Classic Collectors" range of 12" singles on 125g virgin vinyl

Nowadays labels with release vinyl reissues under one of their labels, like Rhino reissuing The Meters catalogue on vinyl record in 2001 (after years of unofficial pressings.) With vinyl record sales doing better and the popularity of Record Shop Day since 2007 coloured vinyl reissues and novelties have become mainstream. With record plants shutting down mere years before the vinyl record buying renassence the major labels repressing new copies of million seller albums began clogging up the schedules of the remaining pressing plants, and delaying putting new music on record shop shelves

It's worth watching the usual suspects for looking at new trends in reissues, in 2018 Brian Eno's catalogue began getting half speed master pressings on the UMG's Virgin/EMI label (now just EMI.) In 2016 Pink Floyd Records was launched to handle reissues of the band. With various acquisitions UMG own the rights to distributing Pink Floyd's music in Europe but Sony have the rights to the rest of the world. You can see how this happens. Rhino was given the rights to reissue Capitol's back catalogue (owned by EMI) Atlantic bought Rhino out in 1992. UMG now own Capitol and EMI and Warners own Atlantic and Rhino

Craig Peyton - Be Thankful For What You Got (Instrumental) is so good. It's a cover of William DeVaugn's classic. Craig Peyton has a rich music history (now including music videos, film, and tv) but it's the label Profile I want to look at here. Steve Plotnicki who was a co-founder of Profile decided to sell the company in 1997. Tommy Boy and Arista went into a bidding battle over Profile Records until Arista backed by its parent BMG won out. Profile is now one of BMG's many labels

This track was reissued in 2015 on Peyton Records, which means they made a deal with BMG or they found a loophole, like Peyton got the publishing rights back and this is a different mix, who knows but the 2015 reissue isn't the Eric Matthew mix. The sleeve notes say: Craig Peyton's own reference mixes for his cover of William Devaughan's "Be Thankful For What You Got" that were released on Profile Records in 1983. Fully licensed and mastered from his original tapes. 

[1ddiscourseoftheday]

Mon 10 May ‘21

LOUIS NEWS-- label and tour!! First, Louis has announced (or, well, Simon Jones PR has anyway, no word from Louis direct and yes, SJPR is still in the picture) that Louis is “partnering with BMG to release his second album globally”, an interestingly specific/ limited reveal. Fans are eyeing the wording and questioning whether he actually signed with them as a label (which they are) or just for publishing rights or distribution (which they also do, unlike most other labels)- the mention only of a ‘partnership’ supports the possibility that it’s something other than his new label, but it isn’t definitive and the simplest explanation of the press release is that BMG will be his label for LT2, as well as distributor and publishing company. The fact that they are small (relatively speaking; not one of the “Big Four” record labels but they’re hardly tiny) and somewhat new as a label does not to me seem like a reason why Louis wouldn’t have chosen them, as some are suggesting; there’s something to be said for being the big focus of a label rather than just another act, and Louis already chose that route once before when he signed with Arista (who are umbrella-ed by Sony but themselves not one of the big four) just after their relaunch, making him their biggest act by far. Also vague: “global” in this context doesn’t necessarily mean BMG has replaced Arista (his U.S. only label), it just for sure means UK plus the ‘international’ market, ie most of the rest of the world. It could mean U.S. too! Or not. We have reason to believe Louis was still with Arista as recently as a few months ago, and no evidence to suggest otherwise. The official press release says “recording is already underway” on LT2, and quotes Louis as saying: “I’m very excited to start the next part of my journey with BMG”. BMG- a new company founded after splitting from older label SonyBMG in 2008- claim to be “a new kind of music company” who are “not just a music publisher or a label” (they instead combine both of those things) in which “service to artists and writers is key,” and as part of that combine label services with holding publishing rights for their clients, often handled by separate companies and an area where songwriters tend to get screwed. BMG’s press also mentions their involvement with new technology a lot, and they represent Kings of Leon who have been at the forefront of the music industry use of NFTs (including releasing their next album as an NFT on a special NFT label despite being BMG artists). BMG’s twitter following more than doubled [edit: tripled now] in the hours after the announcement, and they followed Louis and tweeted to welcome him aboard from three different twitter accounts, including the U.S. one.

Slightly more commentary from Louis about the updated tour dates though mostly still press release style-- “Let's try this one last time!” he said, “All shows on my world tour will be moving back to 2022 and I’m excited to announce the first wave of new dates. I can't wait to see you all soon, it's going to be special!” and what should be the final dates for tour dropped, all in Spring ‘22- including a London show at Wembley, holy shit! Not every rescheduled date has been announced but those that are mostly have one thing in common-- much bigger venues than they were originally booked into. At at least one show so far fans will have to buy tickets again which sucks, but they are offering a pre-sale for previous ticket holders so at least those buyers only have to fight each other and not all the fans that joined the scrum in the time since the tour sold out. “After all this time and years of waiting this tour is going to be incredible, I can't wait!” said Louis and he’s not wrong!

And that’s all for serious news, over in Harry land things are...a lot sillier. A “bardcore” version of Watermelon Sugar was added to Harry’s official Spotify, LOL, and it is even more ridiculous to listen to than it is to imagine! I don’t picture it topping the charts anytime soon but it’s certainly an entertaining twist I was NOT expecting over the quiet weekend. The idea of Harry and friends deciding that needed to be legitimized on the official 36 million follower page is PRICELESS, and I would love to see Harry in a Gucci doublet and hose (or a nice laced bodice), but sadly it seems that the addition of the 2020 cover song to Harry’s account is a fuck up on Spotify’s end, as acknowledged by the Bard himself (no not Harry or Shakespeare, the person who did the weird cover- they do lots of covers in this style, it’s like a whole Thing. Medieval style covers of hits.) Meantime OUR bard was seen on the My Policeman set in a t-shirt reading “don’t ruin my fantasy”. New merch? I’ve never seen something more perfect for harries, they should consider it! This shirt though is from a designer with a focus on gender neutrality who donates to queer youth charities. And Kid Harpoon said, about WS (modern version) “at first, and I get this quite a lot with his lyrics, I thought, that’s kind of weird. Then you’re like, man, it’s brilliant. I remember thinking that with this. Harry’s so good at lyrics, he’s really growing into his own thing.”

Meanwhile Niall reposted (to insta AND facebook) the same outfit of the day video post he posted and deleted yesterday but left it up this time. It is clearly NOT today’s outift- damn Niall is my whole life a lie?! What can we trust in this treacherous world?? NOT YOU I GUESS. He also popped up on twitter to claim “no idea what you’re talking about” wrt him and Anne Marie teasing their collab without offering any actual clues about WHEN-- mhmm, like I said...

[kiwikiwiandkiwi]

I have this… thing where every now and then I decide to go through all of my posts only to add new tags or “retag” old posts. So this post is definitely under construction. I like to collect evidence, references, moments and I like to keep everything organized, even if it is just for me. But if you’re reading this, enjoy!  

masterposts; timelines; for beginners;

since the beginning; hl moments; hl timeline; things that keep me up at night; all the reasons ever needed; if it isn’t real then explain me this; they never broke up; still the one;

rainbow bears; theories; communicating; coded clothing; queer coding; big gay war; coincidences; same patterns; parallels; being loud; he’s gay; pride; at the same time; lyrics; lyrics analysis; lyrics change; 369; 28; rings; freddieismyqueen; sign language; nautical theme; this shade of blue; things named louis; x factor; papillon; belfast; leeds; wellington; jamaica; brazil; lairport;

1D; 1dhq; hiatus; zayn leaving; 1d leaks; image control; narrative x reality; pap walks; pr relationships; media training; industry; management; closeting; privacy; contracts; photo ban; simon cowell; syco; sony; music industry; BMG; rumors; receipts; public houses; outings; everyone knows; denials; debunked;

LARRY: fetus larry; body language; harry loves louis; louis loves harry; pick someone supportive; jealous louis; jealous harry; biggest larrie; husbands af; husbands on tour; blue and green; same everything; always there; next to you; pronouns; innuendo; get a room; the fond; the hug; sharing clothes; matching; tattoos; always touching; whispering; serenading; mirroring; 1d x larry; larry and larries; AIMH; friends and family; in laws; same circle; the B stage; vip box; living situation; blue bandana; umbro shirt; the H shirt;

THROUGH THE YEARS: larry 2010; larry 2011; larry 2012; larry 2013; larry 2014; larry 2015; larry 2016; larry 2017; larry 2018; larry 2019; larry 2020; larry 2021; larry 2022; larry 2023;

HARRY: harry fashion; harry and rainbows; flamboyant harry; harry’s image; harry’s closet; harry’s sexuality; harry and gender; harry and men; harry and women; womanizer harry; about harry; everyone loves harry; harry styles tm; harry’s rings; harry photoshoots; hs interview; twitter harry; instagram harry; songwriter harry; harry and fans; harry’s team; actor harry; hs1; behind the album; live on tour; hs1 leak; hs2; fine line; eroda; fine line promo; love on tour; hs3; harry’s house; you are home; harry’s house promo; hs3 leak; love on tour 2022; love on tour 2023; hs merch; hshq; pleasing;

LOUIS: louis fashion; louis and rainbows; flamboyant louis; louis and gender; louis’ image; louis’ closet; louis’ sexuality; louis and men; louis and women; about louis; everyone loves louis; judge louis; louis photoshoots; lt interview; am i the boss? i was always the boss; twitter louis; instagram louis; lthq tiktok; songwriter louis; louis and fans; louis’ team; louis leaks; lt1; walls;  walls promo; walls mural; director’s cut; lt world tour; lt2; faith in the future: lt2 leak; lt2 anagrams; faith in the future promo; faith in the future listening party; faith in the future tour; lt merch; lthq, 28 official programme;  live from london; the away from home festival; the away from home festival 2022; 

BABYGATE: babygate masterposts; babygate timeline; before babygate; louis x babygate; harry x babygate; party boy louis; louis and kids; freddie reign; clark family; DNA test; real parenthood; briana jungwirth; babygate x media; tamara bell; fake pregnancy; photoshopped; boobiegate;

STUNTS: holivia; hamille; hendall; townes; haige; haylor; haroline; elounor; douis;

By year (you can find tags for every year):

2010 - 2011 - 2012 - 2013 - 2014 - 2015 - 2016 - 2017 - 2018 - 2019 - 2020 - 2021 - 2022 - 2023

you can also search for a month ex: tagged/jan21

(not all months of every year can be found yet, i’m still working on it)

[mychampagne-mybubbles]

Did Louis point to the sign?

Today I heard again the term “damage control” referring to Elk appearing “from the sudden” after Louis allegedly pointed out at that larry sign my eyes rolling in “oh yeah Simon I was in the band”. I know most people have grown into how this works business-wise, and even those that understand or have became close to fitting in what all these public behaviors mean, we all appreciate when Louis or Harry give us a little hint that speaks our larry language. There might be an intention, as there is one in every other PUBLIC act, right? What I really enjoy about these is that they remind us of the REAL DEAL, that there is still a greater cause going on BTS.

My rational-dreamer mind is here for the big achievements, as the base of my Larry universe; we have witnessed some over the lasts months. With all the blurry mess that we get and the noise around it, I find relevant to remember some of the situations that happened recently:

When you sink but you are not the Titanic: S*mon being kicked off of SONY, SYCO through the back door and cut off from every other business attachment such as Triple String & X-Factor Thank goodness he has now decided to get engaged and focus on this family. Adding also having two random accidents when biking and a robbery in this house when dealing with a trial, make me wonder... maybe this is not his lucky year.

Louis becoming Tripple String's director, switching to BMG, I expect to see more of an impact of this in the future Do I have faith in the future? yeah, maybe I trust this man too much but I do. Breaking records with his Fafhf & announcing his own management company to come. In addition to finally deliver the tour he deserves!

Zayn got dumped by his management in 2020 as fallout from a fight with mother in law & dropped from record label RCA (Sony’s) as a result of his drug abuse consequences in 2021. If the decoration is taken out, breaking connections with his team until the moment.

In 2021 Liam was dropped from management because they were concerned about his excessive partying, however, the man is putting digital performances up and has managed to have an agenda under control (Private shows in Bahamas, LA, etc in 2022… so new management deal?). If you can fill me with knowledge, please do so!

Not to name everything going on with Harry. So many things and rumors around him lately that a separate long post would be needed to try to obtain a fair outcome, but the most obvious one is the strong turn his career took towards Hollywood in 2020.

Updated 26.04.2022: Because of HH’s release Harry publishes an exclusive article in BH&G. He says the following

Confirming the existence of strict consequences to specific acts that would put them at their responsible's mercy, until the point of annulling them and walking into quedtionsble conditions. Despite H’s speech being super studied the allegation are there for the 1st time, while being under the same label as in the 1D days.

Niall has been always "OK", he really is that guy, right? The comfort corner inside this mess, so maybe I am missing drastic changes. His last tour was affected by the pandemic, but opposed to Harry until this day he hasn’t retake it but he is working on future projects. By April 2022 he has started to hint on his next album and showing up publicly a lot, release coming. In the meanwhile (since hiatus) he has been attached to Modest Golf a lot A LOT.

Despite all the distractions, this is the bigger picture. This is how I understand their fight is going and where I recognize change. Despite I appreciate and have fun with every other interaction that brings joy to the Larries, Trust me, feed me as many as you can! this is the REAL DEAL.

[lwt28brave]

LT2 masterpost

If it was up to me, we would get an autumn or winter EP. Since it’s not up to me at all, here, enjoy this post with everything we know so far of LT2, which is to say, not much at all. Everything here is hypothetical. I’ll be updating every time I see something relevant. A little disclaimer that while this is a masterpost (kinda), it could be read as discourse (duh, it’s also a theory), AND it’s also by me, and you shouldn’t expect me to be serious at this point.

Due to me restraining myself, there’s no reference to any of the times he’s mentioned his guitar skills and him improving but I hope you know I cried every single time.

I’m also linking my old pinned here. It was written before AFHF and around the free merch thing that didn’t lead to much, but I still think I made some good points.

Possible tracks:

Copy of a Copy of a Copy

Change

Faith in the future??

369??

Possible names:

369

Faith in the future

When is the album coming out?

Your guess is as good as mine

Friday 28th of January 2022. Almost two years after Walls. It’s a Friday. It’s a 28th. What else can I say?

Here you can find @want-to-be-loved timelines for every month.

Here you can find @berlinini’s timeline of what Louis has been up to this year (2021).

The rest is under the cut. And here you can find a PDF version where Tumblr can't tell me how many pictures I can add.

2020

He said back on May 2th 2020 he wasn’t writing anything new yet.

(x)(x)(x)

Interestingly enough, he’s said many times after that that the album’s not ready cause he has no new experiences to drawn from. I won’t call him out because he does it himself.

May 4th. He liked a tweet from DMA’s Johnny Took saying they had to go write together again. Louis has been credited as an influence for them and (kind of) participated in their previous record, so I’m assuming he meant for their music and not his, but you never know.

Nothing(literally nothing??? how did we survive) until 11th of July. We all know what happened that day. We all celebrated it. Nonetheless, that’s not what I’m talking about here.

(x) So, by the beginning of July 2020 he was working on concepts and ideas for the new album. That was fifteen months ago. I know perfection takes time but…

Brief summary of important things that happened from then until the next mention of new music:

Louis left Syco!!!! 10 days later he rescheduled the tour for the first time. He followed Matt Vines on Twitter, probably so we could publicly shame him into doing something. Also, the 10thanniversary. He followed more people I wish he hadn’t.

Then more nothing until September. Not even a single tweet. The first merch drop was on the 28th of August but he just RT’ed the tweet. He first mentioned Free my Meal on the 25th of September. Then on October 1st Walls hit #1 on a lot of countries and Louis was incredibly happy and excited about it ^^

And then, that same day, October 1st, 2020, he dropped this bomb:

(x)

He also said it was too soon to be sharing new lyrics with us (x)

And, obviously, this tweet which is actually what made me start this whole post. I would hope you know mate.

(x)

He also told us he was cooking "banger after banger" and that he was incorporating more social themes into his music (x)(x) (I believe any social issue is a political issue but that’s not the point rn).

COPY OF A COPY OF A COPY?!?!

These next paragraphs are brought to you by my mind not remembering things and me not having any links. I’m assuming COACOAC came from those writing sessions that supposedly happened in October. Or in LA but I have no idea if he actually was in LA at any point other than a Daily Mail article putting him there on December which would have been too late, but I do remember that someone said he was in the studio in LA last autumn???? A rumor. Maybe. IDK. Did I mention already all of this is very hypothetical?? Well, this is it. I can’t even remember if this was October or November or what. So, take this with a grain of salt.

I’m also… taking the liberty to assume, if you must, that Copy wasn’t meant to be a Walls reject because it sounds more mature and darker and it has a vastly different tone that Walls songs. I know he’s said that song probably isn’t getting into the album, but I want to have faith (in the future) that I’m getting a studio version. (But also, Louis, if you’re reading this, first of all GET OUT OF MY BLOG second of all, please don’t ever feel pressured again to add a song to the album because we have already heard it before. It’s your art and it should always be under your own terms).

So yeah, I believe that Copy is either one of those four songs (then imagine the other three??!!) or was written around the 1st of October date.

---End of the Intermission---

Then not much important (other than sharing more about Marcus Rashford fight against food poverty and the 2nd merch drop) until he announced the livestream on the 24th of November. (x)

It wasn’t until a few days before the livestream date we even thought again about new music (jk, I know we’re always thinking about new Louis’ music). So, December 9th/10th, 2020. Nine months ago. We got our first taste of new music!

He made sure we knew Copy of a Copy of a Copy isn't a cover! (x) (x)

(x)

Ok, so that’s it for 2020. (I feel like I’m missing something from September 17th because tweet was deleted but maybe he was still talking about cucumbers. We might never know. Unless I understand how Tumblr tags work). Expected, cause Walls was released in 2020. We needed to let it sit for a while.

2021

Another Summary: Louis third tweet of the year was telling the UK government off. So was the fifth. What a good beginning. On the 26th of January, he said he prefers pancakes over waffles. I hope he meant pancakes other than his own. More importantly, he tweeted the infamous “you lot read into things too much”. Don’t get me started, Tomlinson. Don’t. Then the 31st came around and Walls was one. He tweeted this. How wise. And Project Defenceless happened!!

15th of February!! Who cares about Valentine Day when the next day we got this? ♥

(x)

(x)

So…AN EP?? AN EP?? PLEASE RELEASE AN EP.

“I’m sure I will have something out this year but unlikely that will be the album”. Unlikely but not impossible. Also. A single would be good. This is the second time he mentions releasing something in 2021 and he sounds surer about it than the first time around.

He also said that he isn’t sure we will get a studio version of Copy. And that the best bridges from Walls to LT2 are Walls, OTB, KMM and Copy. Can’t wait!

Then we jump to March 6th when he announced he was going to create his own management company. “Sometimes action is needed first to encourage the motivation and belief”. As we can tell he was already manifesting some stuff which will lead us to the numerology stuff/Tesla… kidding. Or not. We might never know.

On the 22nd of March he answered some questions:

He told us music was still his main focus ♥ mwha. (x) I included this tweet to guilt-trip him into giving us music in case he’s reading this even after I told him to leave. ILY.

(x) I’d love to get a visual EP this autumn. Just saying. It sounds like a lovely concept.

(x)

…next (I will get into it, I promise. I’m just mad).

On the 25th he left for Mexico until April 10th. You could assume it was just for the documentary where we got ten seconds of footage or admit the obvious: LT2 its a Mexican baby!!

On the 26th (so, not so far apart from that first 369) we got the first Faith in the Future mention: (x)

Back then we were innocent people who had no idea what was coming upon us. We still have no idea because what the fuck does he mean with these. Please explain. I have one braincell and I don’t use it enough for this. I’m linking some theories.

On the 30th of March he confirmed he was already working on the documentary. So AFHF was already on the works. Will it take this long for us to get the Veeps numbers? We also got this tweet: "Got a decent chorus idea down" (x).

Same person that got the “something out this year” exclusive. If you know something share with the class. Also. Is this Change? I feel like this could be Change but I also assume he wrote Change after hanging out with his friends or being in Doncaster. But who knows.

(x) And the second mention to 369.

(x) 15th of April. The second "Faith in the future".

On the 19th of April he announced that he had something BIG for us later on the year which turned out to be the Away From Home Festival ♥♥ (x) I love him so much.

Then on the 28th he announced the 369 merch drop (which it’s probably the Walls drop? Except that the TOU and KMM ones were “drop 1 and drop 2” and this was drop 369 which, again, makes no sense) but we still don’t know what 369 means.

Into May’ 21 we go.

He rescheduled tour again. And dropped another bomb (x).

He announced he has signed with BMG as an independent artist by RTing this tweet on May 10th. The article also says that he’s already working on writing and recording LT2. The timing… we don’t know. What this deal involves… we don’t know either. Bear with me here because I have a lot to say about this.

I think the deal is only a distribution one, but that BMG are interested in Louis and what he (us) could bring to the table. They were either present at the festival or watching it, but officially they had no involvement at all with it (everything is credited either to Louis own company, 78 Productions, or Charlie Lightening’s company). That’s the case for both giveaways too; the vinyl one and the tickets for the festival.

I think it would be an unbelievably bad move not to test the waters with BMG now or soon-ish. At least a single, to see how it performs. Due to the circumstances, it’s obvious there’re certain limitations on place but I want to see how they push it, whether the radio play exist this time around and if the song is playlisted and promoted and all that… I would also love to know, since it says he signed with BMG UK, but it also states it’s a global deal, how things are going to go on the US and other countries.

Yes, yes. I know those are all questions and no answers. But I know the same as you, sadly. If any of you know more than you’re letting on… again, share with the class.

Where was I? Yes, on the 25th of May Louis had a great day writing (x). Since the first time he had mentioned he was officially writing to this date there’s almost eight months. And I believe he was writing before October’ 20.

He followed Robert Harvey that day and, on the 28th of May (why is it always the 28th???) he was spotted at the studio for the first time.

June was an interesting month for the fandom ♥. Lots of LHL content which I will love and cherish for the rest of times. On June 4th, June 9th, and June 10th he was spotted at the studio, but I believe he was there more days.

(x)

This was posted on June 6th and captioned Studio. Charlie also shared it with “Mega tunes being put down, can’t wait for this @louist91 #louistomlinson #LT2” as the caption. This gives me 2019 (Elton-Joint) vibes. I like it. Feels like we’re getting closer to something.

He added the Milano date on the 9th too which I’m mentioning because I’m going alone. Anyone wanna go with me please? I’m nice and I never eat anything before a concert so you can have my food. On other news. It didn’t come home.

During July he was at the studio at least three days too. Probably more. Feels like more with all the fan pictures we got. Or was that June? Anyway, July 1st and 9th we got some videos from Robert Harvey and wearesuperhi, which is who Louis has been working with the most, that we know of. I don’t know for sure they’re from that day. And on July 5th we got an article and lots of pictures of Louis looking really good outside the studio.

On the 12th of July the first fans started getting the free, 369 bucket hat and print. We still don’t know what the purpose was other than to thanks fans. Maybe that was it. I want answers and I still think it relates to a future project (see theories above), but it could also just be a bridge with the Walls breaking.

He didn’t tweet about anything interesting for a while, mostly because he lost his phone (he either throwed it in the air or smashed it who knows). Then on the 29th of July he announced the festival!

I’m glossing over it because there’s already been a lot of talk about it (rightfully) and while it was a wonderful thing, it doesn’t have much to do with LT2.

Let’s talk Change!

On August 3rd he tweeted this about the setlist.

(x)

And this (x) on the 28th! I can’t stand him.

We didn’t get it, obviously. Because who was going to get that. But we read too much into things. Alright.

On the 16thof August Dave Gibson shared this post tagged #LT2 with the eyes emojis 👀👀👀. I believe this has to do both with Change but also with whatever else came out of that Mexico trip.

(x) Last relevant tweet related to LT2 is this one.

So, on the 30th of August we got Change and we cried, and we know that Change is going in the new album. He said it. With those exact words. He also said he was “getting a feeling for it”. This has to meant he already has a general idea of the vibe of the new album and what’s going in it!!!!!! (Right? RIGHT?).

Anyway, let’s go back a few weeks because some other things happened on August. He was at the studio a few more times. Or it was suggested that he was there. On the 17th and the 18th. (Why was it so time-pressing to be at the studio instead of rehearsing for the festival? There was no studio at all on the documentary. Which makes sense, but again, then why?).

On the day of the festival we got another mention of Faith in The Future that made me feel part of a cult ngl. The words were flashing on the screen for less than a second. Okay.

And then he tweeted those words again after watching the livestream/documentary on the 4th of September (x). This is what makes me suspect it's either the name of the album or of the single.

On the same day, we got some interesting quotes about LT2 on the documentary.

“Soon I’ll have to think about me second album, which in my head I’ll get the tour out of the way and then I’ll address that. So, I hadn’t really given it much thought, to be honest”.

“When every day is the same is hard to feel creative and it’s hard to have any kind of proper inspiration”.

“As season started to come back, I started writing again and it was great and some of these songs turned out alright”.

And I think this is it. I might be overlooking some important details but that’s what we know and what we don’t know.

So. Conclusions. That’s what you missed on Glee. I do believe the album is, if not mostly done, partially there. And yes, this post is pointless and never-ending but it’s all in here if you need to tell Louis “Hey, you said this, mate”.

[vinylrevolutions]

India.Arie - I am not my hair

See, I can kinda recall a lil' ways back

Small, tryin' to ball, always been black And my hair, I tried it all I even went flat Had a lumpy curly top and all that crap, now Just tryin' to be (1)________________ Nappy headed brothers never had no ladies And I hit the barber shop real quick Had 'em give me lil' twist and it drove 'em crazy (crazy) Then I couldn't get no job 'Cause corporate wouldn't hire no dreadlocks Then I thought about my dogs from the block Kinda understand why they chose to steal and rob Was it the hair that got me this far All these girls these cribs these cars? I hate to say it but it seem so (2) __________ 'Cause (3) ___________  didn't come till I cut it all off

Little girl with the press and curl Age eight, I got a Jheri curl Thirteen, and I got a relaxer I was a source of so much laughter At fifteen when it all broke off (4) ____________ and went all natural February, 2002 I went on and did what I had to do Because it was time to change my life To become the woman that I am inside

  Ninety-seven dreadlocks all gone I looked in the mirror for the first time and saw that Hey (hey) I am not my hair I am not this skin I am not your (5) ___________________, no (hey) I am not my hair I am not this skin I am the soul that lives within

Good hair means curls and waves (no) Bad hair means you look like a slave (no) At the turn of the century It's time for us to redefine who we be You can shave it off like a South African beauty Or get in on lock like Bob Marley You can rock it straight like Oprah Winfrey If it's not what's on your head, it's what's underneath, and say Hey (hey) I am not my hair I am not this skin I am not your expectations, no (hey) I am not my hair I am not this skin I am the soul that lives within

Who cares if you don't like that? With nothin' to lose, postin' with the wave cap And some cops wanna harass 'cause I got waves Ain't see nothin' like that in all my days Man, you gotta change all these feelings Steady (6) ____________ one another by their appearance

Yes, India, I feel ya, girl Now go ahead, talk to the rest of the world 'cause

Does the way I wear my hair make me a better person? (Whoa, whoa, whoa) Does the way I wear my hair make me a better friend? Oh (Whoa, whoa, whoa) Does the way I wear my hair

(7) ______________ my integrity? (Whoa, whoa, whoa) I am expressing my creativity (Whoa, whoa, whoa) Breast cancer and chemotherapy Took away her crownin' glory She promised God if she was to survive She would enjoy every day of her life, oh On national television Her diamond eyes are sparkling Bald-headed like a full moon shining Singing out to the whole wide world like, hey Hey (hey) I am not my hair I am not this skin I am not your expectations, no (hey) I am not my hair I am not this skin I am the soul that lives within Hey (hey) I am not my hair I am not this skin I am not your expectations, no (hey) I am not my hair I am not this skin I am the soul that lives

Within

      Source: LyricFindSongwriters:

Aliaune Thiam / Andrew Ramsey / India Arie Simpson / Shannon SandersI Am Not My Hair lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Jolany, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc

 1. appreciated 

2.  flawed 

3. success

4. Eighteen 

5. expectations 

6. judging 

7. determine

[statementlou]

To add to your independent post, Billboard considers Bad Bunny and Taylor Swift as Independent Artist because they are not under the Big 3. Bad Bunny is signed as a distribution deal with a Puerto Rican Label and releases in the US under a contract with Universal Latin and another company so it doesnt count as UMG and Taylor is with Republic Records. Billboard does an Independent Artist Chart each week www billboard com/charts/independent-albums/

thank you for this, very interesting!! (about this) I feel like this really shows how stupid this distinction has become, since obviously by any rational metric Taylor Swift and Bad Bunny (and Louis) have major league representation who operate in particular ways that are basically the same as the Big 3 and are playing on the same level. So it makes sense that despite technically being "independent" Louis considers himself a major label artist. He said that he considered going independent, which in the way he means would mean he (/his team) would have to handle promo, manufacturing, distro deals, wrangling with streaming platforms, everything, themselves, and without the infrastructure to just slot into that a big label have, a part of which is the handshake network of ins at radio stations and tv shows etc etc- but to get that he takes on the trade off of having a label who press for hits and for him to do certain things (both of which he mentioned in yesterday's interview wrt BMG who thought BTM was too alternative and that he should press for radio play, but it's worth noting that Louis got his way with BTM and didn't seem too bothered about going out to do the US thing, this isn't SYCO, it's just a little trade off). And the way Louis phrased it ("what I didn’t want to do is go out on my own and then be sat on me rocking chair when I’m 60, 70 going, maybe I should’ve had one more go with a major label") to me says that even though he had made the decision that his priority was to do what he wanted even if it meant not getting hits, he didn't want to cut off the possibility of having it all, the control and the hits. I love how grounded he seems about it all- like yeah wouldn't that be fun and I will try for it within what feels good for me but beyond that, no, and if it doesn't happen NBD. But yeah, he likes the numbers, he wants to fill stadiums, he's said it and I think he'd say it more if people could also believe that he's also good without it instead of latching onto that as unhappiness with anything less. Anyway IDK anything about the Billboard indie chart thing but I can't help but wonder if it used to actually be a chart for artists who were out there doing things small scale and DIY and because of the ridiculousness of this semantic issue is now just always topped by Bad Bunny or whatever. Honestly the definition should get fixed because there are still artists putting things out themselves or on small labels and not going through major distros or having access to major league promo and for them to share a category with these behemoths (Louis included) who are benefitting from corporate connections and handlers just doesn't make any sense. But since the (outdated and useless) definition does remain in place, I will point out that the fact that Louis can claim and play both sides works out quite nicely for him, and you know that's not just happenstance or luck, he's very clever about these things.

[kindahoping4forever]

In this house, we say fuck management, fuck Capitol and fuck Interscope. Our band deserved so much better.

Yesterday's podcast was an emotional watch for sure but I would also argue that the band we know and love today wouldn't be who they are or where they are now were it not for the hardships that have been discussed.

As for the topic itself, I personally see it as a much more complex issue, tbh. Shocker, my thoughts got a bit lengthy so I'll put a cut here lol.

I know it's hard to view a band you love as a commodity, especially when you hear them talk about the toll this all took on them, but the problem isn't necessarily with those labels but the nature of the music business itself. It's not a place meant to nurture artists' growth or self-discovery, it's all about the numbers. Self-titled had two multi-platinum singles while SGFG had none and had about half the album sales so the fact that Capitol even let them make a third record, let alone released it is remarkable. I still don't understand how Capitol was unable to pull another hit off that album so I've always seen it as a blessing they were dropped tbh, there was no reason that album shouldn't have had a longer shelf life.

I still maintain that Interscope gave them the most promo and support they've had to date. (TV ads, billboards, trade ads, not to mention pushing FIVE SINGLES and allowing them to make SEVEN VIDEOS for one album.) Easier and Teeth both went platinum and were Top 10 US radio. I firmly believe if the pandemic hadn't happened, one of those final singles would've popped and they would still be on this label. Yes, the 10 month rollout was ridiculous but realistically, there was no way it could've been released in 2019. CALM hadn't even been recorded when the band signed on for the WWJ tour and by the time it was obvious there was momentum from those singles to capitalize on, they were on the road and unable to promote an album drop. It's ironic that it ended up going out in 2020 without much promo anyways but obviously there was no foretelling things would've happened the way they did.

Lastly, I think it's important to note that despite the "internal business shifts" that have gone on this year, the band appears to have retained Ben Evans and Matt Emsell, their managers, in one capacity or another (Evans, formerly of Modest, is quoted as their manager in the articles about signing with BMG while Matt Emsell co-manages Luke's solo career) so I'm inclined to assume that the team who "took a step back" was referring moreso to their label A&R team, the people who should've been advocating to get them in rooms with the songwriters they wanted, the people who were saying things like "live drums will never be played on the radio." (Which, obviously is a shitty sentiment to express to an artist but once again, if you look at what Youngblood was charting alongside, it was not outrageous advice!) Like I said when the band parted with Modest, they never appeared to have much issue with their individual managers themselves, the fandom just doesn't often make that distinction.

All this to say, all these hard times that are getting a spotlight bc of this series really goes to show how unusual it is that the band is still together and how resilient they are. But we wouldn't get one without the other, if that makes sense? They're all chapters in their story and led to where we are now. If Capitol hadn't abandoned them after SGFG (which again, they were within their right to do, as their investment wasn't producing returns), then that wouldn't have pushed them to find the sound for Youngblood. If Interscope hadn't raised their public profile the way they did, the band probably wouldn't have been in a position to be choosy in their search for a new label or have the juice to take the creative reigns they supposedly have for 5SOS5. As the guys are keen on saying themselves, "that's showbiz, baby."