Sky Ferreira opens up about the fraught relationship with Capitol Records, shedding light on the tough road she’s had to walk since parting ways.
SUMMARY
Sky Ferreira describes her relationship with Capitol Records as “fraught” and emotionally draining.
Ferreira highlights the financial gap between herself and artists like Taylor Swift, who can afford to re-record her music due to her wealth.
After parting ways with her label, Ferreira has to navigate the complex and difficult process of rebuilding her career and regaining control over her music.
Sky Ferreira’s rise to fame might seem like a dream come true, but the reality behind the success is far from a fairy tale. Despite receiving glowing praise for her debut album Night Time, My Time, the 32-year-old Los Angeles-born singer has shouldered significant financial struggles since parting ways with Capitol Records. The road to artistic freedom is rarely paved with gold, and for Ferreira, it’s been a tough pill to swallow.
Sky Ferreira in The Green Inferno (2013) | Credit: Universal Pictures
She didn’t hold back when hinting at the bumpy ride she endured with her former label, making it clear that it wasn’t exactly smooth sailing. The split left her not just emotionally drained but financially stretched as well, and now she’s left with little to show for the hard work she put in.
Sky Ferreira Faces Financial Struggles After Split from Capitol Records
The weight of her time at Capitol Records has left a mark, and while she’s moving forward, the road to freedom is far more complicated than it may appear:
I’m still trying to figure out the words I can use to talk about it that won’t get me in trouble. But I also don’t really care about getting in trouble, because what else can they really do to me at this point?
She described her relationship with Capitol as “fraught,” a complicated mess of artistic control and business power plays, something that’s never easy to explain.
Sky Ferreira in Putty Hill (2010) | Credit: The Cinema Guild
While many artists have reclaimed their rights to music by re-recording songs, Ferreira said that’s not in the cards for her—at least not yet. “I can’t right now,” she explained. Even though she paid for her own studio sessions, the red tape and legal hurdles of her former label leave her in a tough spot.
But here’s the catch: Ferreira isn’t sitting idle. She’s actively working to regain some of her music, even though she knows she won’t get it all back. The battle, though, is one that will take time. She said, underlining the harsh reality of being on your own after years of label control:
It’s such a complicated process, and I have to figure out how to do all this s*it by myself now.
Her story reminds us that while success may not always come with a ribbon on top, perseverance and authenticity can take you places where simply following the pack never will.
Sky Ferreira on the Struggles of Reclaiming Her Music
When it comes to re-recording her old songs, Sky Ferreira isn’t buying into the suggestion that it’s an easy fix, a la Taylor Swift’s well-publicized re-recordings. In the same interview, the former said:
Taylor Swift can do that because she’s a billionaire.
Ferreira pointed out that there’s no denying that when it comes to financial freedom, the gap is enormous. She continued:
I basically put all the money I’ve ever made as an artist back into making music.
It’s also clear that her relationship with Capitol wasn’t just about business—it was personal.
Ferreira was dropped by her label abruptly after the 10th anniversary of her debut album, Night Time, My Time. In the interview, she said the label
Kept me from putting out new music for 10 years as a way of making me look like I’m incapable of it.
That kind of roadblock is not just frustrating; it’s soul-crushing, and Ferreira admitted it:
I was already dreading the 10-year anniversary of my album because it’s sad. I should be able to celebrate something like that because as long as this album has been around, people still care about it.
The nature of her breakup with Capitol didn’t make it any easier. The whole situation left her feeling like they were trying to break her spirit one last time. “It felt like their way of trying to break my spirit one last time,” Ferreira recalled. And while she’s since found a sense of liberation in going independent, she still feels the sting.
I was catatonic for a few weeks after that email. Not because I was dropped, but just the way it happened.
And even with all the support from her fans, Ferreira is still trying to protect her work and herself. For her, standing up for her music, her rights, and her career has been an uphill battle—but one she’s ready to keep fighting.
It’s not a happy ending yet, but she’s determined to reclaim what’s hers, one step at a time.
