#music industry]

[sugar-petals]

every time i see him pop up on my dash i’m impressed by how taemin (who else) has debuted and effortlessly resonated in several generations of his genre and remains so bewitchingly relevant. yes i know manwhoring and the dark side of catholicism plus dissecting masculinity/femininty will never go out of fashion and he dances more compellingly than 99% of his peers and his looks never seem to change ever and he works his butt off but you know what i mean: 

an inexplicable longevity. without scandal, lack of sympathy from fans, missing the mark, error, mediocrity. all while provoking thought. taemin’s ultraglittering, seductive musical staying power slash a remarkably consistent message — how on earth does he vary his aesthetic but always manages to express HIS idea?— and drive to do what he does are mysteriously singular. and it’s not just his jesus-honoring buttshaking alright. to use the first gen benchmark, without slighting either of these artists: he is the legacy and work of BOA and Rain in one. seamless even after his difficult enlistment, taemin always keeps going and going and innovating and serving looks and performing and enchanting. 

i don’t mean that in a way of “tch why has taemin not fallen from grace yet?? he’s too goody-two-shoes to be true!” or “this dude must be a cash-hungry slaving robot who uses sex to sell as a sleazy capitalist trick!!”. i just sincerely think he’s done so well, everything else would be unfair and inaccurate to say. enviably, taemin really found his own thing, that inspires. it’s no surprise how every shawol/taemin fan is just on fire (and every phobic tongue that rises against him shall be hilariously ridiculed without even bothering much: i like this idgaf attitude in the fandom, it resembles him a lot lol). can’t blame anybody, one hand movement by that cheeky guy, you’re hooked. 

i simply wanted to stress how taemin pulled off sticking around against the odds, being a charmed personality, and electrifying a multi-generational, multi-gender crowd and look damn sharp while doing it: even with a soft, sweet tenor voice such as his. we really have to thank jonghyun in all regards, whatever he has instilled in taemin was, and we all know that, zero percent in vain. it has given him a huge portion of that “X-factor” (or ‘T’-factor in this case lmao), in front of the camera that only the greats have, far beyond just doing ‘attempted personal branding aaand done, retired, forgotten’.

even if yes, that still contributes on the hard-to-ignore business side, SM knew how to do one thing right after all. we don’t know idols personally still, and taemin clearly found his perfect niche, giving the audience what other artists desperately cannot offer on that ‘market’, if you want to put it like that. but either way, he seems much more than the industry in a way? and MJ/Prince, for that matter, despite an obvious inspiration? like a feeling. or musing. really, how does he do it 😭

taemin’s success, fan-favorite status and concept ahead of the curve is so difficult to explain and that’s probably why people enjoy him and his work: it is curated, not calculated. i think there’s huge difference, even if the production process is the same or similar everywhere. but the way most idols are fascinated by taemin says it all basically, he’ll be talked about for decades after and always come back successfully, gaga-style. ngl taemin could never bore me (am i the only one who still positively loses it when he hits the pose? i never found it annoying, i love that shit) it’s so easy to like what he does. his enigma makes him an artist, and i hope he’ll be around for long to spread his cheeky little mischief.

TLDR; i just wanted to emphasize how awesome taemin is and got totally carried away.

[vvulpeszerda]

When we criticize hypersexualization of women in media there's always someone to say shit like "ohhh so you're not comfortable with women having sex?" or "so you don't think that women should be able to discuss sex just like men are?" And it's all so tonedeaf?! It's like they can't even understand the problem. Men do not have to be naked and being sexually suggestive to convince anyone to buy their music, to acknowledge their talent. Everyone's allowed to do whatever they want to do in their private lives, women wanting to have sex is not taboo (?)

But this is a systemic problem. Ask yourself WHY there's an imbalance, why do female performers' only chance in the industry of pop culture is to sell a hypersexual image. That's objectification. And yes, that objectification has everything to do with patriarchy and porn industry and prostitution. Are female performers being free if they're only succeeding when naked, exposed, objectified? I don't think so. This is a very specific kind of "freedom", there's very real consequences to those who do not fit to a rigorous standard. Open your eyes.

[essencewigs]

If anyone should be called the Queen of neo soul, it should be Angie Stone. We remember, the neo soul Queen, Angie Stone, a talent gone too soon. Angie began her musical career as a member of the first female hip hop trio, The Sequence. The hip hop group performed throughout the United States and had a number of hits that resonated with their fans. The group ultimately disbanded in the 1980s.

Angie continued on her journey performing as a member of other groups such as Vertical Hold and Devox. She worked as a songwriter and backup vocalist for musical acts, Lenny Kravitz and D'Angelo. Stone ventured out to become a solo artist and achieved amazing success in the music industry.

Her solo career spanned decades, releasing memorable hits such as "Brotha" and "No More Rain (In this Cloud).” Ms. Stone sang the theme song for the hit series, Girlfriends. Her albums, Black Diamond and Mahogany Soul were certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. Angie was still performing right up until her untimely loss. She was comfortable in her skin and proudly sported natural texture, kinks and afros. Angie leaves behind two children, Diamond and Michael (Swayvo Twain).

Rest in Peace to a real one, Ms. Angie Stone. Sending prayers, love and well wishes to her family.

[afriblaq]

This past December Angie called out Universal Music Group for allegedly mishandling her royalties.

Angie wrote and produced almost all of her music since her solo debut in 1999. Her first two albums “Black Diamond” and “Mahogany Soul” have been certified gold for sales of 500,000+ units, respectively. Hoping her children can pick up the fight and get what they’re owed.

[daisiesonafield-blog]

Liam's Law in the press:

Source

This is one of ten (and counting) articles highlighting Liam's Law in the press.

Please keep sharing and sign the petition so that we can get parliament and other governing bodies to enact laws and legislation that protect all artists in the music industry.

Sign the petition here

[the-victorian-acrobat]

“I told myself if I ever won a Grammy and I got to stand up here in-front of the most powerful people in music, I would demand that labels and the industry profiting millions of dollars off artists would offer a liveable wage and healthcare, especially to developing artists… labels we got you, but do you got us?” - Chappell Roan

[stone-cold-groove]

Promo ad for David Bowie’s Young Americans LP - 1975.

[twopoppies]

I thought I hated Louis Walsh before. But hearing these clips makes me despise him.

x

[reasonsforhope]

Yesterday [April 30, 2024], a bipartisan collection of US Senators introduced the Fans First Act, which would help address flaws in the current live event ticketing system by increasing transparency in ticket sales, and protecting consumers from fake or dramatically overpriced tickets.

Today, the artists and Congressmen allege, buying a ticket to a concert or sporting event requires negotiating a minefield of predatory practices, such as speculative ticket buying and the use of automated programs to buy large numbers of tickets for resale at inflated prices.

The legislation would ban such practices, and include provisions for guaranteed refunds in the event of a cancellation.

The political campaign organizers, calling themselves “Fix the Tix” write that included among the supporters of the legislation is a coalition of live event industry organizations and professionals, who have formed to advocate on behalf of concertgoers.

This includes a steering committee led by Eventbrite [Note: lol, I'm assuming Eventbrite just signed on to undermine Ticketmaster and for PR purposes] and the National Independent Value Association that’s supported by dozens of artistic unions, independent ticket sellers, and of course, over 250 artists and bands, including Billie Eilish, Dave Matthews, Cyndi Lauper, Lorde, Sia, Train, Fall Out Boy, Green Day, and hundreds more which you can read here.

“Buying a ticket to see your favorite artist or team is out of reach for too many Americans,” said Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN).

“Bots, hidden fees, and predatory practices are hurting consumers whether they want to catch a home game, an up-and-coming artist, or a major headliner like Taylor Swift or Bad Bunny. From ensuring fans get refunds for canceled shows to banning speculative ticket sales, this bipartisan legislation will improve the ticketing experience.”

Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Roger Wicker (R-MS), John Cornyn (R-TX) and Peter Welch (D-VT) also signed on to the Fan First Act.

In the House, parallel legislation was just passed through committee 45-0.

[Note: That's a really good sign. That kind of bipartisan support is basically unheard of these days, and rare even before that. This is strong enough that it's half the reason I'm posting this article - normally I wait until bills are passed, but this plus parallel legislation with such bipartisan cosponsors in the senate makes me think there's a very real chance this will pass and become law by the end of 2024.]

“We would like to thank our colleagues, both on and off committee, for their collaboration. This bipartisan achievement is the result of months and years of hard work by Members on both sides of the aisle,” said the chairs and subchairs of the Committee on Energy and Commerce.

“Our committee will continue to lead the way on this effort as we further our work to bring this solution to the House floor.”

“The relationship between artist and fan, which forms the backbone of the entire music industry, is severed,” the artists write. “When predatory resellers scoop up face value tickets in order to resell them at inflated prices on secondary markets, artists lose the ability to connect with their fans who can’t afford to attend.”

-via Good News Network, May 1, 2024

[soapdispensersalesman]

[voxina]

JADE has recalled her stint on The X Factor, saying she didn’t know anyone who came away from the show without “some sort of mental health issue”.

The singer-songwriter featured on the talent search programme in 2011 and joined girl group Little Mix when she was 18 years old, an experience she has reflected on in a new interview with The Independent.

The ‘Angel Of My Dreams’ singer admitted that being on The X Factor involved adjusting to “pretty fucked up” things, namely sharing bunk beds with other female contestants, regardless of age.

“Even at 18, I knew there were people who weren’t mentally well in there, keeping everyone up at night,” she said. “I don’t know if there was even security outside the house. It’s scary to think about now, but I was too young to realise that at the time.”

Her comments come after many entertainment world figures have demanded more protections be put in place for young artists following the death of One Direction star Liam Payne, who auditioned for The X Factor during the same series as Thirlwall.

Although she didn’t address Payne’s passing directly, she did mention thinking the series “had to end” after its 2018 conclusion.

“I don’t think that kind of show can exist any more. We’re in a different place now,” she added. “We wouldn’t put someone that’s mentally unwell on a TV screen and laugh at them while they sing terribly. The concept of a joke act on a show is just cruel.”

She said the concept was “all very Roman empire” while joking that it was the “best training ever” for her to enter the music industry. On a more sombre note, she continued: “I don’t know anyone that’s come off that show and not had some sort of mental health issue on the back of it.”

Thirwall also admitted to feeling “conflicted” about criticising the show. “It changed my life,” she explained. “I was from a very normal working-class family up north, I had tried sending demos in to labels, I’d gigged all over, I was doing everything I could to make it, and I needed a show like that to give me a chance.”

She continued to say that she’d guess “five per cent of the people that went on there have come out of it not unscathed, but having survived; the other 95 per cent have suffered in silence.”

Reflecting on how people readjust to normal life after participating in something like The X Factor, she said: “How do you go from being on that show to back to your nine-to-five? How do you get signed to the label, think you’ve made it, and then once your song doesn’t hit the Top 10, you’re just dropped? It’s so savage, this machine that we’re a part of. Even back then, we knew how lucky we were every day that we were still signed.”

[Full article]

[louisupdates]

By Ed Power | Sat Nov 30 2024 - 05:15

During the pandemic the songwriter and producer James Vincent McMorrow would rise early, go for a run and write songs for Louis Tomlinson, of One Direction.

“I actually made half of a record for him,” he says. Tomlinson’s team “had a lot of songs but maybe not a lot that he was as into as he wanted to be. I think they were maybe looking for a weirdo. So they reached out to me. I love him. He’s a fascinating human being. I absolutely loved making that album,” adds McMorrow, who is about to start a tour of Ireland.

When it comes to potential collaborators with a boy band megastar, McMorrow’s name is not the first that springs to mind. He’s an indie songwriter whose open-veined, falsetto-driven pop has been compared to that of folkies such as Bon Iver and Sufjan Stevens. But Tomlinson was a fan of the Dubliner’s beautifully wrought music. He wasn’t alone: Drake famously sampled McMorrow on his 2016 track Hype.

One of the tracks they wrote together, The Greatest, would serve as the opener to Tomlinson’s second LP, Faith in the Future. As is often the way with the music industry, the rest are in a vault somewhere. Still, for McMorrow the opportunity to work with a pop star was about more than simply putting his craft in front of a wider audience. The call from Tomlinson’s team had come at a low point for the Irishman, who had become mired in confusion and doubt after signing to a major label for the first time in his career.

Executives at Columbia Records had recognised potential in McMorrow as an artist who bridged the divide between folk and pop. The fruits of that get-together would see daylight in September 2021 as the excellent Grapefruit Season LP, on which McMorrow teamed up with Paul Epworth, who has also produced Adele and Florence Welch.

The album was a beautifully gauzy rumination on the birth of his daughter and the muggy roller coaster of first-time parenthood. It went top 10 in Ireland and breached the top 100 in the UK. Yet the experience of working within the major-label system was strange for McMorrow, who at that point had been performing and recording for more than a decade. He didn’t hate it. But he knew he didn’t ever want to do it again.

“It was a weird time. I stopped touring in 2017. My daughter was born in 2018. I signed with Columbia Records at the same time and made a record that ... There were moments within it I was proud of. But fundamentally, I think if I was being very honest, I would say that I definitely got lost in the weeds of what the music industry wanted for me rather than what I wanted for myself.”

[…]

McMorrow grew up in Malahide, the well-to-do town in north Co Dublin; as a secondary-school student he suffered debilitating shyness. In 2021 he revealed that he had struggled with an eating disorder at school, ending up in hospital (“Anorexia that progressed into bulimia”). He was naturally retiring, not the sort to crave the spotlight. But he was drawn to music. “It was definitely a difficult journey,” he says. He wasn’t alone in that. “The musicians that tend to cut through and make it ... A lot of my friends, musicians that are successful, they’re not desperate for the stage.”

The Tomlinson collaboration was part of his strange relationship with the mainstream music industry. It went back to McMorrow’s third LP, Rising Water, from 2016. A move away from his earlier folk-pop, the project had featured engineering from Ben Ash, aka Two Inch Punch, a producer who had worked with chart artists such as Jessie Ware, Sia and Wiz Khalifa.

That was followed by the Drake sample in 2016 and by McMorrow writing the song Gone, which was at one point set to be recorded by a huge pop star whom he’d rather not identify.

“Gone is the red herring of red herrings in my entire career. I wrote that song for other people. I didn’t write it for myself. The whole reason I signed to Columbia Records and I had all these deals was because of Gone. I was very happy tipping away in my weird little world. And then I wrote that song, and a lot of bigger artists came in to try to take it,” he says.

“I won’t name names. There were recordings of it done. It got very close to being a single for someone else. I would go in these meetings with all these labels, and I would play it for them – just to play. Not with any sense of ‘This is my song.’ And they were, like, ‘You’re out of your mind if you don’t take this song. This is the song that will make you the thing that is the thing.’ And I was, like, ‘You’re wrong.’ For a year I basically was, like, ‘I disagree.’ And if you go in a room with enough people enough times and they tell you that you’re crazy ... I loved the song, but I did not love it for me. I never felt I fit. There was a little part of me that wanted to believe.”

As he had predicted, Gone wasn’t a hit. He received a lot of other strange advice, including that he cash in on the mercifully short-lived craze for NFTs by putting out an LP as a watermarked internet file. All of that was swirling in his brain when Tomlinson got in touch. To be able to step outside his own career was exactly what McMorrow needed.

“With Louis it was like boot camp. I had a very limited time with him. I had to wake up every morning, go for a run, write a song in my head, go to the studio. We made songs all day long. It lit a fire in my head again. I loved the process. I like sitting and talking to someone like Louis, who’s had this unbelievably fascinating lifestyle – so much tragedy in his life,” he says. Tomlinson’s mother and sister died within three years of each other, and his 1D bandmate Liam Payne died in October. “So many things have happened to him. I chatted to him and then write constantly. That was a lovely process.”

Because life is strange and full of contrasts McMorrow ended up working with Tomlinson around the same time that he was producing the Dublin postpunk “folk-metal” band The Scratch, on their LP Mind Yourself. “Totally different animals,” he says. “The Scratch album was an intense period in the studio of that real old-school nature of making music. A lot of fights. A lot of pushing back against ideas. A lot of different opinions. And you have to respect everybody’s opinions and find the route through.”

During his brief time on a major label, McMorrow was reminded of the music industry’s weakness for short-term thinking. In 2019, the business was obsessed with streaming numbers and hot-wiring the Spotify algorithm so that your music posted the highest possible number of plays.

“Everyone was driven by stats. ‘This song has 200 million streams.’ ‘That song has 400 million streams.’ I went into my meetings with Columbia Records ... the day I had my first big marketing meeting was the day my catalogue passed a billion streams, which, for someone like me, who started where I started, was a day where I should be popping champagne corks. Instead they immediately started talking about how they have artists that have one song that has two billion streams. So by their rule of thumb I was half as successful as one song by one artist on their label.”

Five years later he believes things have changed. He points to Lankum, a group who will never set Spotify alight yet who have carved a career by doing their own thing and not chasing the short-term goal of a place on the playlist. They are an example to other musicians, McMorrow says.

“I was in Brooklyn, doing two nights, a week and a half ago. In the venue across the road from where we were, pretty much, Lankum were doing two nights and had [the Dublin folk artist] John Francis Flynn opening for them. Those are two artists that, if you were to look at their stats, you wouldn’t be, like, ‘These are world-beating musicians.’ You start aggregating to this stat-based norm and you miss bands like Lankum, bands like The Mary Wallopers, people like John Francis Flynn.”

McMorrow is looking forward to his forthcoming Irish tour, which he sees as another leg of his journey to be his best possible self.

“The last two, three years have been a process of building it back to a version of me that actually made me happy rather than making me cry at night-time – a version that was making music because I liked it. Within this industry there’s so much outside noise. It’s quite overwhelming. I was overwhelmed. It’s been nice to reset the clock.”

In November 2022, McMorrow posted this now deleted Instagram post:

Text: late 2021 I got a phone call asking me if I wanted to come to London to meet @louist91 and possibly write some songs. A few years ago he released a statement talking about changing his path musically, instead of the immediate search for hits, he’d start with music he genuinely loved and see where it got him. Seems like a simple and obvious thing to say, but considering the amount of people just chasing hits with little regard for vision or artistry, a statement like that struck me when I read it. So I was excited to meet him and see what he was about. First day we met we all wrote Common People, second day we wrote Lucky Again. In December of last year we went back in again, finished those ones, wrote and produced 3 others that are also on this album. It was the studio line-up of dreams, @mrfredball @jmoon1066, @riley_mac. Shouts to Louis for letting us do our thing, letting a dork like me come write some weird lyrics and weird melodies, trust us to shape the vision that he had. These last few years were dark at times, but it was�� moments like that where I remembered why I’m obsessed w music and why it’s all I’ve ever understood. incredibly proud of the work, Holding on to Heartache is genuinely one of my most favourite songs I’ve ever been a part of.

Also I was reading something about the album and it mentioned something about the gospel choir on the bridge of that song… nah man thats’s just 200 stacked of me singing super super high in the studio out back of Fred’s house😂]

[hoovesandfloorpaws]

Louis' rocky path to his first album

..and how it might have been the reason/one of the reasons why Louis shared Always You with us the way that he did.

I don't want to saddle this amazing post about the Always You snippet and little scavenger hunt Louis took us on on Aug 24, 2017 with a too-long derail, so i'm gonna make this separate post. But please definitely read that post, too, it's so good! It'll make you shake your fist and go "LOUIS!!" (affectionately) 💙💚

-

This is for possible context re: him saying he was "pissed off about industry shit" and it resulting in him sharing the snippet in August 2017 and what long breath Louis had to have in order to finally get to release his debut solo album. Disclaimer: obviously there was much more going on in Louis' life during those 3 years - lots of yucky stunting that left Louis looking dead behind the eyes (esp. because on top of it he was also still grieving heavily), Harry releasing his first album, starring in his first Hollywood film, and going on worldwide tours. Louis obviously not being able to accompany him publicly to premieres or to all the shows - in combination it likely resulting in a lot more physical separation than they were ever used to, possible rough patches between them as a couple, Louis' sister unexpectedly passing away and the subsequent massive grief after already having lost his beloved Mum just 2.5 years prior, weekly appearances on TV with the giant asshole who iron-closeted him and his spider mouse ever since they were teenagers, a few public slip ups/outings from within their work circles, Harry turning into a horse on live radio despite being able to yell NO when he wanted to, Louis beaming with pride every single time he was asked about his Harry - and much more. His/their life is complex and busy and I'm only shining light on a couple of things here.

We know Louis had wanted to finally record his album in 2017 and release it in 2018. He said it again and again in his tweets and I personally don't think he was lying or stalling. (additionally, a plan for a 2018 album release + tour for 'a managed artist' was mentioned in a strategic report of the 1D company One Mode Productions Ltd., but by that point it was directed purely by 3 big players from Modest! Mgmt and that plan could've been BS from the start and could have still been an old remnant of the original plans Modest had for 1D after their hiatus; it never happened and the company was acquired by Universal Music in July 2020. Exact detail about that will be/are in my H&L companies masterpost)

In June 2017 Louis had been finally supposed to be signed with a new label under Sony, RSA...

(tweet)

...but then an exec from Epic Records campaigned to get Louis to them instead, because she had loved Just Hold On, so he signed with Epic in July 2017.

(tweet)

It needs to be said that the reason for Epic wanting to sign Louis based on that collab with Steve Aoki potentially meant they were hoping he was going to make more of that kind of music. -- which he never did, so he possibly also never wanted to in the first place (quite the recipe for disaster). And Louis was lagging behind to the public eye; he was the only member of 1D who hadn't released more than 1 single since the start of the hiatus. Zayn and Harry had already released an album by that point, Liam had had 2 pretty successful singles, and Niall had his first album set to be released in October that year. Louis being at a disadvantage wasn't his fault or within his control at all, though, with having lost his Mum 8 months prior. Syco and Sony faffing about with the record deals for him is certainly not something a grieving (and closeted & stunt-riddled) first-time solo musician needs when they just want to focus on finally releasing their first album and wanting to focus on that. During that time, it's especially essential to have a record label on board which understands and shares the same vision of the album, so concepts can be discussed, demos sent and given feedback on, timelines for PR and marketing coordinated, release dates planned, etc.

Within the same month, on July 21, 2017, Louis did release Back To You on via his own label, 78 Productions. (78 Productions Ltd. is also one of his companies) and Epic Records. Syco helped with promo in the UK. Back To You wasn't a first single of the album, though! Like with Just Hold On, Back To You's genre was vastly different from the albums Louis would later come to release, so it leads me to believe it was a fun filler project for him to work on with Bebe Rexha and Digital Farm Animals and vice versa, and to finally put out some music that year and also do a few live performances.

A month later, he tweeted this:

(tweet)

4 days later, Louis gets pissed off "about some music industry shit" and a day later, he tweets:

(tweet) - and this is when he drops the snippet of Always You right at the part with the "I went to Amsterdam without you, all I could do was think about you". part and he keeps dropping hint after hint and we figure it out 💙💚 - and ends up putting that song on his debut album.

(1 month later, Harry leaves to start his first ever solo world tour in San Francisco, USA on Sep 25, 2017)

Months pass and still no album single incoming.

On Oct 11, 2017, Louis announces his next single will be postponed, but also drops Just Like You out of the blue:

(tweet) / (tweet) - although Louis says the song is "from the album", Just Like You never ends up on his first 2 albums.

Months pass again.. the single he said would come "later this year" turns out to be Miss You, released on Dec 1, 2017. The song doesn't end up on the regular album, only appears as a bonus track on the Japanese Edition.

(On Dec 8, 2017, Harry finishes his world tour in Tokyo, Japan)

The year turns into 2018... and Louis seems to become increasingly more frustrated:

(tweet)

3 more months pass..

(Harry leaves to start his 2nd solo world tour in Basel, Switzerland on March 11, 2018)

Another month passes..

(tweet)

3 months later, and as a first step into a hopefully better direction, on July 19, 2018, it is announced that Louis has switched management and is now with Matt Vines from 7 Seven Management.

In July 2018 it's announced that Louis will appear on X-Factor as a judge that year.

(Coincidentally, Harry finishes his world tour on July 22, 2018 in New York City, USA)

Louis' X-Factor filming takes place (with breaks in between) from July 28 until Dec 2, 2018. (together with Simon Cowbell, so that must have been quite unpleasant at times, but Louis' contestant won! HA!)

Most importantly: no music at all gets released for Louis in all 2018!

(Harry leaves to start a very short tour in Singapore on Nov 23, 2018 and already finishes on Dec 7, 2018 in Tokyo, Japan)

The year turns into 2019...

And then fucking finally, in Feb 2019, it is announced that Louis has signed with Arista, who also belong to Sony. Louis can finally really start working on the album now!

On March 7, 2019, he releases Two Of Us - the first proper single of the upcoming album and a beautiful song he wrote for his Mum. But the joy doesn't last long -- sadly only 1 week later, on March 13, 2019, Louis' sister Félicité unexpectedly passes away and this completely throws life off its hinges again :( 🖤

(Harry plays only 2 shows on March 28 + 29, 2019 in New York City, USA, because he inducts beloved Stevie Nicks into the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame - but he doesn't tour again until October; is also in the process of finishing the recording of his 2nd album, Fine Line)

4 months later, Louis tweets this:

(tweet)

Things finally go according to (an obviously existing) plan now and it's clear that there's a proper release schedule at work. The single and music video releases are firing on all cylinders. Starting from September, there's basically a new Louis release every month. There's concepts for all music videos, as they all tell a multiple-part continuous story. Kill My Mind is released on Sep 5, 2019 We Made It follows up on Oct 24, 2019 Don't Let It Break Your Heart on Nov 23, 2019 then there's the usual Christmas break (X-mas is mostly for album releases, case in point: Harry's Fine Line's released on Dec 13, 2019) Walls, the album title single, is released on Jan 17, 2020 -- 2 weeks before the album release.

When asked what's his favorite song on the album, he replies with this:

(tweet) And on Jan 31, 2020 Louis' finally gets to release his debut solo album Walls! 🙌🏼

3 years in the active making and a frustrating 2 years later than he'd hoped for.

Because within just 3 years, Simon tried/succeeded to sign Louis to three different Sony-owned record labels! Possibly also because Louis made it clear he was not going to release his album with Syco alone, but that's just speculation on me part. (I also need to mention that Simon had already sold 50% of his shares in Syco Music to Sony in July 2015, leaving him with only 20% and he never re-acquired them, meaning since 2015 Simon was already 75% out of the door back then. Guess what he already knew would happen since the beginning of 2015, hmmmm?)

Personal thoughts: To me, that’s all absolutely wild behaviour to treat an artist like that. Someone who's made you such a fuckton of money already, too. (because let's be honest, the money's all people like Simon Cowbell and his Modest! minions care about) Simon's never had an ounce of integrity or loyalty in his body. To treat an artist, who to the public he claimed he was 'so close' to like this and to then see him struggle and still try to manipulate or bribe him into your own plans (the girlband, the management company, the DOA Triple Strings label) instead of finally letting him pursue what he so clearly wanted.. it's classic and disgusting. From my own professional experience of 15 years as an artist & tour manager, it is not surprising to me that Louis wasn’t able to establish any consistency within his career for the first 4 years. (And we probably only know half of the contractual shit Louis has had to deal with.) You'd usually need at least good management that you trust, that's ready to take the brunt of forces, but also makes sure you don't make certain mistakes (again), and that's ready to work with & for you in this. Record labels come second, especially since it's become easier nowadays to release shit indie and it's not like Louis' (and Harry's) household didn't have some funds-- but yeah, proper management is key! They're the junction where everything leads together. I have no idea what the James Grant Group thought they were doing with Louis, but it was complete weak sauce.

And although I'm also not a fan of Matt Vines and 7 Seven Management, they're definitely some kind of improvement. I understand Louis in preferring to work with people he's become close with and who he's already trusting, rather than taking the risk and choosing someone new - especially given Louis' very awful prior experiences with management. I hope Matt Vines steps up his game in the future, but from what I have learned in the past months, sadly I don't think 7 Seven Management have a good grasp on Louis' target group and fanbase and I'm not sure how much use they're making of proper market research. For an artist of Louis' caliber, they're doing too little.

Anyway, back to Syco, I think nobody is surprised that Louis had enough of it 1.5 years after Walls was released and finally ended things with Syco on July 11, 2020.

Now I want to end on saying that i'm only speculating something about his own record label / album delaying situation could've been the reason for him being pissed off. It also could've been something to do with the music industry in itself, something to do with Harry and him, something closeting- or stunt-related. I mean he did release a snippet of a song that's obviously about Harry and him. But he also released a snippet of a song that was supposed to be on his album. So yeah, the reason could've been a mix of both.

But even though we can't say that for sure, it was valid as hell that he was pissed. And he got to share the Always You snippet with us for it, such an incredibly special song; so clearly about Harry & him and he didn't give a fuck that night. And I think that's beautiful.