Part of Lily Allen’s polarising charm is that she’s never been afraid of making a headline – and it’s something she’s been doing a lot lately with her divisive comeback album Sheezus.
Along the path to claim back her pop crown, so far the 29-year-old has sparked massive controversy for her is-it-or-isn’t-it-racist video for ‘Hard Out Here’ as well as angering some of the biggest fan bases in music with the thinly-veiled sarcasm in her title-track ‘Sheezus’ which had a couple of things to say about her fellow pop stars Lorde, Beyoncé and Lady Gaga, et al.
Now, Lily Allen’s latest appearance in the papers have arrived with her comments about the kind of money she’s making – or rather, lack thereof.
“I didn’t know how bad the music industry had got in those four years I was out,” the mother-of-three told the UK’s BEAT Magazine.
“Everyone assumes I made millions from the John Lewis ad. I probably made £8,000 ($14,500 AUD),” she continued, referring to her cover of Keane’s ‘Somewhere Only We Know’ last year that doubled-up as a heartstring-pulling commercial for the chain of British department stores. “Now that people don’t buy music we have to find other revenues.”
It certainly comes as a shock, seeing as the corporately-sponsored track was played endlessly on radio and TV, and even claimed the hotly-contested number one Christmas song in the UK for 2013. It’s not outlandish to assume that such a commercially succession song – again, one paid for by a big-name company – would rake in something in the six or seven digit range.
But according to Lily, nowadays it’s not even enough to crack the fives, and now artists have to be a little bit more resourceful to earn their cheques.
“There are the snobby launches of a new water at Claridge’s. Pointless stuff. And we all turn up because we get paid to be there… I find that whole side of things quite funny but quite depressing,” the always-honest singer said with an eye-roll.
When asked about the price tag attached to these celebrity appearances, Allen replied: “Depends. From £2,500 ($4,500AUD) to £100,000 ($180,000AUD)? Now that people don’t buy music we have to find other revenues. It’s not something I’ve really been offered. But I might.”
Allen’s anecdotes correlate with a recent study in the UK that revealed illegal downloading and streaming has helped increase revenue for recording artists in other areas – most obviously in touring, merchandise, and boosting online advertising. Which might explain why the British indie-pop darling decided to sign on as a top-billing artist for this year’s Splendour In The Grass festival (speaking of which, will she be playing sideshows? She’s not been announced yet).
Ms. Allen’s not the only one wondering where all the dollar signs went. UK’s Telegraph reported that in 2012, British writers and artists earned £642 million ($1.1 billion AUD) from royalties and a further £105 million from “ancillary brand revenues” – which might explain why Pharrell has invested in a range of ‘Get Lucky’ condoms, or why Lana Del Rey lent her bee-stung look to an H&M campaign.
An unnamed music agent told the paper, “For a lot of these pop acts, the music is just another piece in their product range,” a sad-but-true reality in today’s economic landscape.
Ultimately, Allen’s comments could issue two responses: one might say she’s just being a bit of a brat, and that she’s just suffering the losses brought on by a coldly-received comeback album that didn’t quite live up to the expectations (according to our Tone Deaf reviewer) set by its two brilliant predecessors, and perhaps she’s struggling to adjust to an industry that changed a helluva lot in the four years she abandoned it.
The other way of looking at it, though, is that her words are more than just complaints. They’re #firstworldproblems, yes, but they also paint a pretty dire portrait of the music industry in 2014: if festival-headlining, chart-topping household names are complaining about not making enough money, naturally it makes us more concerned about smaller local acts and unsigned indies.
Seems that all Lily’s trying to say is that it’s ‘hard out here for a bitch’. Where have we heard that before?
Splendour In The Grass 2014 Dates
Friday 25th, Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th July
North Byron Parklands, Byron Bay
Full details at Splendour’s website.
