Lorde got her freedom back. Here's what every artist can learn from it.

After 17 years, Lorde has finally extracted herself from her record company deal. She gave up her creative independence when she was signed as a 12-year-old, and admitted to her fans this month (who she broke the news to first), that she did not know what it would be like when she “pre-sold her creative output,” and what she was signing away.

Whether creators are thinking about their master recordings or their publishing rights, giving up ownership in the pursuit of career growth is an all too familiar story.

Of course, the reality is that it doesn’t have to be that way – for Lorde or for any artist or writer that has started to build an audience. Ownership of rights no longer has to be a bargaining chip to be reluctantly thrown into the middle of the table by any creator, regardless of the level of capital involved.

Take our most recent deal at beatBread as an example. We just funded an internationally acclaimed DJ and producer, providing them over $2m to help fund career development. The difference between our deal and a record company contract like the one Lorde signed is that the artist remains fully in control of their music.

With a catalog that has had hundreds of millions of streams already, the artist we funded has established themselves as one of the most distinctive emerging voices in global electronic music, and they’ll use the funds to scale an already successful global career, building a new studio and accelerating their song release schedule.

The deal was structured to give the creator maximum flexibility and long-term control of their catalog and business. It’s secured solely against PRO publishing income, allowing the artist to retain ownership and control of their other revenue streams. The funding was also used to buy out a prior PRO advance, giving them greater independence as their career grows.

They’ll receive more than $2m from beatBread upfront, with additional payments tied to future earnings milestones. But unlike Lorde’s experience, this artist will have zero creative interference moving forward.

This is exactly the kind of globally minded, entrepreneurial artist we love working with, and highlights our ongoing expansion in the publishing space. The artist has built an extraordinary worldwide audience on their own terms, combining distinctive musical influences with a clear vision for their career.

At beatBread, we believe empowering artists with flexible capital can unlock the next phase of growth for independent creators like this one, and we’re looking forward to seeing what this one artist achieves next. We’re all about giving creators access to the capital they need, while they preserve their ownership and independence. Lorde mentioned she’s leasing an office to build her business – sounds like the perfect time to get in touch with us. We’d love to help.

© Kirkstauffer, 2026. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.