Artists Versus Record Labels: Songs Born of Frustration That Led to Fame
Did you know that some of the most successful artists in music history have found fame through their struggles with record labels? In the music industry, record labels often hold a significant amount of power and control over an artist’s career.
Interestingly, some artists have written songs about their frustration with the industry that ended up being their career-defining hits. Let’s look at a few examples!
1. “Love Song,” Sara Bareilles
Sara Bareilles was inspired to write her famous hit “Love Song” after being fed up with industry rejection. Around the time that the track was written, Bareilles’ label wasn’t happy with anything she was putting out. As a result, Bareilles created a candid song about not wanting to write a love song on demand.
I originally interpreted the lyrics to be a metaphor about rushing a relationship, as I’m sure many other listeners did. Bareilles has said that even her label had no idea she was writing about them. The song became the singer-songwriter’s first hit around the world.
2. “Harder To Breathe,” Maroon 5
This is another song that’s easy to interpret as a love-focused song, especially since the album it appears on—Songs About Jane—is more or less an album of love and breakup songs. However, this track was written about the frustration and smothering feelings that arose as the band was pressured to write a hit by their record label.
As Maroon 5’s first single, “Harder To Breathe”—like so many other songs written in protest of labels—became the band’s first hit that helped launch them to stardom.
3. “Grace Kelly,” MIKA
MIKA was facing pressure from his record label when he wrote “Grace Kelly.” The song ended up being the most universally known and loved hit of the singer-songwriter’s and is arguably one of the best MIKA songs. The song highlights the frustrations that MIKA felt when label executives encouraged him to be someone other than himself to win their approval.
The song remains a timeless piece about being yourself against all odds; it hit Number One in numerous countries after its release and found new popularity with the Grace Kelly Challenge on TikTok in 2021, popularized by Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds. “Grace Kelly” is yet another example of an artist being frustrated with a lack of agreement with record labels and finding fame as a result.
Have any stories about songs related to record labels that you want to share? Let me know in the comments!
Originally published at https://flaggmusicblog.com on September 20, 2022. It has been updated for this site.
