Lorde Is Now An Independent Artist: “When I see an opportunity for a clean slate, I take it.”
This follows the expiration of Lorde’s contract with Universal Music Group, which saw her release four albums over a decade with the label.
Photographed by Thistle Brown. Courtesy of Universal Music Group.
Photographed by Thistle Brown. Courtesy of Universal Music Group.
Lorde has just revealed that she is now an independent artist, following the expiration of her contract with Universal Music Group (UMG).
The news was shared via a series of voice notes that were sent to her fans subscribed to her newsletter service, wherein the Kiwi pop-star talked about what lies ahead for her future given that she isn’t signed to a major label any longer. “I adore them, they’re incredible people, and I have had an amazing experience with them,” she mentioned about her time signed under UMG. “But the truth is that a 12-year-old girl pre-signed and pre-sold her creative output before she knew what it would be like and before she knew what she was signing away.”
She then continued that she still remains open-minded about returning to UMG, stating that she’s likely to sign another record deal (one that “could well be with Universal” though she “needed to take a second to have nothing being bought or sold that comes from me.”
“I feel a real hunger for newness and I feel […] like a new leaf is turning or there’s a blank slate that’s been presented, and I feel this way because at the end of last year, my label deal, my record contract with Universal came to an end,” Lorde said in the series of voice memos. “I have been in that contract for a very, very long time and some form of that contract since I was 12 years old, when I signed my first development deal with Universal.”
“When I see an opportunity for a clean slate, I try to take it,” she further added. “It does feel different. It sounds like it wouldn’t but that it really does. A feeling of openness and possibility and inspired, of course. I’m working and all this stuff but it just feels exciting to have I don’t know remove the container for a second. So yeah, newness is kind of a theme, a clean slate to open this newness. I don’t know if you saw my phone background that says ‘I have no master.’ But I’m trying to feel what that feels like.”
The sudden announcement comes as Lorde is in the middle of her Ultrasound World Tour, which comes in support of her fourth studio album, Virgin. “I think that I really came into my own power making this album,” Lorde told Billboard Philippines over an exclusive interview via Zoom. “Virgin is really like an attempt [of mine] to heal all the parts from a kind of 15-year-old teen me who was having her whole life change (and was sort of thrilled and also overwhelmed by that), to a 2023 me, who was struggling with body image and acne issues,” she stated.
As we anticipate what lies ahead for Lorde as an independent artist, revisit Virgin in its entirety below:
Frequently Asked Questions
Lorde’s contract with Universal Music Group expired at the end of last year, ending a relationship that began when she signed her first development deal with the label at age 12. She shared the news via voice notes to newsletter subscribers.
Lorde said she remains open-minded about signing another record deal, possibly even with Universal again, but wanted to take time with nothing “being bought or sold” that comes from her before deciding.
Lorde described her experience with Universal Music Group positively, saying she adores the people there, while also reflecting that she pre-signed her creative output as a 12-year-old before understanding what that meant.
Lorde is in the middle of her Ultrasound World Tour supporting her fourth studio album, Virgin, which she described to Billboard Philippines as an album where she came into her own power as an artist.
Lorde described Virgin as an attempt to heal the parts of herself from her teenage years, when her whole life was changing, through to more recent struggles with body image and acne, reflecting a full-circle emotional journey.