When Lorde was 12 years old, she signed a record contract with Universal Music Group. No one that age could really understand the long-term effects of doing something like that, but the New Zealand icon harbors no ill feelings about the deal.
Now, though, she is free of UMG and any other record contract that might have rights to her music. She is completely independent, free to create whatever sounds she wants and make music her way. She will own the rights to what she does, too.
On March 18, Lorde sent out a litany of voice memos to fans explaining the move. To be sure, she was glowing about UMG, so her decision to move away from the music industry giant was not because of an overly negative situation. She said she could even see herself back with Universal Music Group one day, but she'd need to own the rights to her music, of course.
Lorde decides to leave Universal Music Group
Lorde said, in part, "I adore (UMG), they’re incredible people, and I have had an amazing experience with them. 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 added that she saw an opportunity for a "clean slate" and wanted to choose that path. With the move comes the good and bad.
With the backing of a company like Universal Music Group, some financial security is built in. An artist is betting somewhat on their own behalf that they can keep coming up with good songs to entertain fans. The record company has a stake, too, of course. They make money from what the musical artist does.
Going it alone means the artists will rise or fall by what they can do, both in terms of marketing and recording new music. If an artist is good enough, the high-end success is all their own. If they fail, finding a new record company, if they need one, might be more difficult.
In the case of Lorde, she will probably be just fine. She has released four studio albums, and each has reached the top five in both the United States and the UK. All, of course, have reached No. 1 in her native New Zealand.
While she had a global No. 1 in 2013 with "Royals," she has built her success by making great albums, which is what elite artists do. Instead of one good song, they make volumes of them. Lorde will continue to do so without Universal Music Group for the foreseeable future.