Unpaid Royalties

Twenty million streams, and a landlord who did not care

The single did what everyone told me a single is supposed to do. Editorial support in four territories, radio play on two national stations, a sync in a fashion campaign. My label called it a breakout. My statement for that period, after the recoupment column, was £411.

When I asked for a line-by-line breakdown I was sent a PDF export with the marketing spend rolled into one row called CAMPAIGN. Nobody could tell me what was inside it. I asked three times over eight months and then stopped asking, because I was told I was becoming difficult to work with.

I am still signed. I still play those songs live. I moved back in with my mother in 2022 and I have not told most people why.