Latest news with #independentartist
The Sun
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Little Mix's Leigh-Anne Pinnock reveals she's split from record label after they were ‘disappointed' over solo success
LITTLE Mix star Leigh-Anne Pinnock has revealed how she has split from her record label. After her label were "disappointed" with the 33-year-old's solo success, Leigh-Anne is now making a musical comeback in an independent capacity. 4 4 4 When Little Mix went on hiatus, Leigh-Anne signed with Warner as a solo artist in 2022. After signing with the label, she released her EP, No Hard Feelings in 2023. Warner "wouldn't pat for a music video" for her last though after she reportedly "failed to impress" with her other tracks. And now, more than a year on Leigh-Anne is gearing up to release more music as an independent artist. In a new clip teasing the music, Leigh-Anne seemingly revealed she had teamed up with Virgin Music Group. Her hand was seen beside a record player which had Virgin Music Group written on it in the clip she shared. Virgin Music Group works as a partner to independent artists. Leigh-Anne seemingly confirmed she had ditched her old label for a new one in a voice note to fans on her Discord channel earlier this week. On her channel, she spoke about "the process of changing over". Speaking on Discord, she added: "Seriously guys I've been wanting to tell so much what was happening but yeah obviously the process of changing over has been... Leigh-Anne Pinnock confirms Little Mix reunion two years after band split "Yeah that's what has obviously taken time." She went on: "But yeah obviously we are here, need you guys to stay with me, it is coming. "But I just wanted you guys to know it is going to be a Leigh-Anne summer and y'all better get ready." She also said "Let's do this" to Virgin when they commented hearts on her music announcement on Instagram. In yet another hint about her supposed independent artist status, Leigh-Anne captioned her music teaser clip on Instagram with a message about control. She said: "Control looks good on me..." Not only all of the above, but Leigh-Anne does not appear to follow Warner's Head of Artists and Repertoire. Leigh-Anne seemingly does not follow Karen Kwak on Instagram, though it is not known if she followed her beforehand. And just yesterday, Leigh-Anne shared a photo dump about her time in the studio and creating her new music. Accompanying a smiling snap of herself, she penned: "What freedom looks like." One person said: "Freedom looks good on you!" Another added: "What freedom looks like - I'm crying. you deserve so much freedom." While a third said: "She's in her freedom era and I'm so here for it!" 4
Daily Mail
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Leigh-Anne Pinnock reveals she has left record label Warner as she teases new music as an independent artist in collaboration with Virgin
Leigh-Anne Pinnock has revealed she has left her record label Warner Music Group as she teased new music this week. The former Little Mix star, 33, signed with Warner as a solo artist in 2022 and released her EP, No Hard Feelings, the following year. But her solo career stalled after Warner 'wouldn't pay for a music video' for her last single after she reportedly 'failed to impress' with her other tracks. More than a year later, Leigh-Anne has revealed she is returning to music this summer - and it seems she is doing so independently with the help of Virgin. In a new clip teasing the music, Leigh-Anne's hand was seen beside a record player which had 'Virgin Music Group' written on it, suggesting she has made the move to the label - which works as a partner to independent artists. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. In a further hint at her becoming an independent artist, Leigh-Anne captioned the music teaser clip: 'Control looks good on me...' Leigh-Anne appeared to confirm she had made the label switch in a voice note to fans on her Discord channel earlier this week as she discussed 'the process of changing over', and she replied 'Let's do this' to Virgin when they commented hearts on her music announcement. In a further hint at her becoming an independent artist, Leigh-Anne captioned the music teaser clip: 'Control looks good on me...' Then on Saturday, Leigh-Anne shared a collection of snaps from the studio as well as a selfie where she sported a cheesy grin. She said the selfie was 'what freedom looks like'. She also appears to not follow Warner's Head of Artists and Repertoire Karen Kwak on Instagram. It is unknown if she followed her beforehand. Seemingly confirming her change of label on Discord, Leigh-Anne could be heard saying: 'Seriously guys I've been wanting to tell so much what was happening but yeah obviously the process of changing over has been... yeah that's what has obviously taken time. 'But yeah obviously we are here, need you guys to stay with me, it is coming. But i just wanted you guys to know it is going to be a Leigh-Anne summer and y'all better get ready.' MailOnline has approached representatives for Leigh-Anne for comment. Earlier this year, it was reported that the singer's debut album was just weeks away following the break since the release of her EP. A source told The Sun: 'Leigh-Anne's album is as good as complete and now it's all about planning for the year ahead. 'She is hugely proud of the music she's put out already, but she has taken a new direction when it comes to this record. Her debut single, Don't Say Love, is unlikely to make it on to the tracklist.' Last year, Leigh-Anne released a new solo single, Stealin Love, however her record label allegedly 'wouldn't pay for a music video'. At the time, the singer announced that she would be dropping five new songs 'that fit together in their own world'. But insiders revealed her label Warner Records did not approve a video to accompany the release after she 'failed to impress' with solo singles Don't Say Love and My Love. Leigh-Anne reportedly had to put her own money into her solo career after not securing the 'financial backing she hoped for'. A source told The Mirror: 'There was so much excitement around Leigh-Anne's solo career but that seemed to wane after the first two tracks. 'Warner heavily backed Don't Say Love for her debut but were disappointed with how it charted. The same was true with My Love. 'There's no doubt that Leigh-Anne is a huge talent and solo success can take time to build. 'But lately she's struggled to get the financial backing she hoped for – to the extent that she has even contributed herself to the campaign. And now her latest track, Stealin Love, is being released with no video.' Leigh-Anne launched her solo career in June 2023 after Little Mix went in their separate directions. The band announced their split in December 2021, when they revealed the trio would be taking a break following 10 'amazing' years together. Since the split, bandmate Leigh-Anne has embarked on a successful solo career, and even received Glamour's Musician of the Year award last October.
ABC News
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Following Taylor Swift's re-recording project, musicians are reclaiming their work
Pete Murray would prefer it if you didn't stream one of his biggest hits. The Australian musician has been in the industry for more than 20 years, and his hit single Better Days is one of his most recognisable songs. But recently, he announced that he'd prefer fans not to play the original song, because he has a new version available. In April, Murray announced on social media that he was releasing a new version of Better Days (Pete's Version), and that he was now an independent artist, rather than signed to a label. "You might not be aware that I don't actually own a lot of my older, classic songs," he wrote. "I believe it's important for all artists to own their own recordings, and so this is the first of a series of 'Pete's Versions' of some of my biggest songs that I'll be releasing in the coming years." Sound familiar? Musicians re-recording and releasing new versions of their work isn't new. Taylor Swift's re-recording project is one of the most well-known examples of this. And many musicians have been emboldened to follow her lead. "Taylor did it and I was thinking, 'Wow, that's how you do it,'" Murray says. In 2019, Swift's former label, Big Machine Records, announced that the company had been acquired by businessman Scooter Braun's Ithica Holdings. This deal sparked years of discourse about the rights of musicians when it comes to owning their work. Swift, one of the world's biggest pop stars, was quick to express her anger over the move as it meant her original masters were sold to Braun. "Scooter has stripped me of my life's work, that I wasn't given an opportunity to buy. Essentially, my musical legacy is about to lie in the hands of someone who tried to dismantle it," she wrote in a lengthy statement on Tumblr. Swift left Big Machine Records in 2018 and signed to Republic Records, owned by Universal Music, in a joint deal with Taylor Swift Productions. Following the public battle with Braun, Swift began releasing re-recorded versions of her six previous albums. These new albums were identified as 'Taylor's Version', so fans could support Swift and the purpose of her re-recording project. It's a move that music journalist Nic Kelly says empowered Swift's fans to protest on her behalf. Musicians re-recording their work in a bid to claim ownership back feels modern, but Swift wasn't the first. The Everly Brothers were superstars in the 1950s, and the duo had two studio albums with Cadence Records. But when their contract expired in 1960, they left and were signed to Warner Brothers Records. The deal, worth US$1 million, was the biggest record deal in music history at the time. Under Warner, the Everly Brothers released a studio album in 1964, The Very Best of The Everly Brothers, which included not only their hits recorded under Warner, but re-recorded versions of their earlier hits originally released with Cadence. Legally, there was no restriction on them re-recording. And it meant the re-recorded versions of their hit songs were competing with their first two records owned by Cadence. The label struggled to compete and eventually closed in 1964. Thanks to this, the risk of artists re-recording their old songs was identified, and soon clauses were added to contracts to avoid this happening in the future. So how can musicians today, like Swift and Murray, re-record their previous work if they don't own the masters? Joshua Yuvaraj, a senior law lecturer at the University of Auckland, says it's complicated. For artists like Swift and Murray, who write their own music, it can come down to who owns the master recording of the original work, and who owns the copyright to the song. "There are two different copyrights … One is when the artist writes the song, there is a copyright applied to that. "But there's also a copyright in the recording when the song is made in the studio with the artist, the producers and so on," Yuvaraj says. The master is often owned by the recording label, while the composition (melody and lyrics) is copyrighted separately. Murray knows this law all too well, and he was forced to wait five years after his contract ended before he could start re-recording and re-releasing his earlier songs. The deal Murray signed nearly 20 years ago meant his record label owns his masters. It meant the masters recording was paid for by the label, and it put Murray into debt with the record company that took his entire contract to pay back. He realised that in order to earn enough money to cover those costs, he would need to keep touring. "I was at a point where I'd have to call my agent and say 'I need more money, book me more shows'. "I thought, 'If I don't change this soon, I'm going to be doing this for the rest of my life'," he says. He does receive small royalties from those masters today, but he still doesn't own them. "That was the hard thing to accept … I just thought 'It's not really a fair deal'." Journalist Nick Kelly says the publicity around artists taking a stand has prompted change. "We are seeing a massive shift towards artists retaining their independence, retaining ownership of an autonomy over the way they're perceived, and the way that they are marketed. He says that historically many recording contracts included large profit cuts for the label and not the musician. "A lot of it [the cut] can be 85 per cent … and it doesn't feel like the record label does 85 per cent of the work. "The cut these record labels take from some of these deals is enormous and doesn't feel justifiable," he says. In recent years, more well-known musicians have come forward with their record label horror stories. When Chappell Roan won her first-ever Grammy award for best new artist earlier this year, she took the opportunity to campaign for better working conditions for emerging musicians. "I would demand that labels in the industry profiting millions of dollars off of artists would offer a liveable wage and health care, especially to developing artists," she said. Joshua Yuvaraj says while there are clearly systemic issues within the industry, he believes healthy dialogue is crucial. "Without demonising these record companies and streaming companies that do play vital roles in the creative ecosystem, we also need to acknowledge that artists need to be taken care of," he says. With more high-profile cases of re-recording occurring in recent years, some record companies have responded. It was reported in 2023 that major labels such as Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group were overhauling their contracts for new artists. These updates to contracts allegedly included longer periods before re-recording would be allowed, with some timeframes reportedly up to 30 years. Kelly isn't surprised. "It shows that they're definitely feeling the impacts of these re-recordings and loss of income." He says it reflects the deeper wounds between some artists and record labels. "It raises the bigger question for me of, 'Why do artists want to re-record in the first place?' and that onus comes down to the communication between artist teams and record labels. "The label does need to make money, so they can re-invest into developing new talent. "I think that's a good ecosystem, but it should be fair for everyone." Murray believes there's room for improvement across the music industry. "How many artists have tried to sue the record label over years of trying to get out of deals because the deals have been terrible?" he says. He wishes he could have given his younger self some advice. "I believe that you should own your master … because you control it and you own it. "No one can take it from you." He says if labels prioritise fairer deals, the long-term results will be beneficial.
