Lorde has taken to Twitter to defend her decision to part ways with long term manager, Scott Maclachlan. The New Zealand born and raised teenage pop goddess made the decision not to renew her contract with the man who negotiated her development contract with Universal Music in 2008, after ‘discovering’ her perform in a school talent show.
The New Zealand Herald broke the story of the split Monday and international media swiftly jumped on the story with The Guardian swiftly posting an article entitled “Oh Lorde, pray leaving your manager wasn’t a mistake.” Its author, Eamonn Forde, proposes that artists who separate from the management that made them famous are essentially committing career suicide. In regards to Lorde, Forde says, “The proof of whether Lorde has made the right decision about her management will come with her second album. That’s when we’ll discover whether it was a record that might have been improved by a dissenting voice.Will she live to regret it, as so many before her have?”
The reason for the split is unknown but we should remember that Lorde, or Ella Yelich-O’Connor on her passport, only recently turned 18 and was a minor when Scott Maclachlan was hired to be her manager. The media’s treatment of the young singer as ‘a shy schoolgirl turned megastar by Maclachlan’ could just be another case of the inherent misogyny that plagues the entertainment industry.
Universal Music have declined to comment on the parting of ways and it has not been revealed if she has since signed a new manager.
Credits
Text Courtney DeWitt
Photography Norrie Montgomery