Julian Lennon.Photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
Julian Lennonmay have a string of hits and Grammy recognition under his belt, but his relationship with the music industry remains complicated.
The singer-songwriter — who is teaming up with Future Youth Records' Think Earth campaign for a new Earth Day EP — called out the industry’s treatment of artists in a recent chat with PEOPLE, saying that he thinks his experiences will make for a good book in the future.
“I was going back over things that have happened to me in the past and I was actually shocked at how the industry and the people in the industry treat artists,” he says. “I mean, it’s disturbing, it truly is. The abuse is unbelievable.”
The musician released hisseventh albumJudein September after previously saying his 2011 recordEverything Changeswould be his last.
Julian Lennon.Marilyn Clark
“I’ve never stopped working in music, whether that’s writing or singing with other people. It doesn’t matter what the level of success is, it’s whether you have that connection with music,” he says. “So, I’ve never stopped, and I always like doing it. I’ve just never liked the business.”
It was a business he entered entirely on his own, in spite of his famous last name. Though Lennon says his famous father John — who wasoften absent throughout Lennon’s childhood— bought him a guitar and taught him how to play, the demos he put out as a teenager did not have his name attached.
“The name got me in the front door, no question about that. [But] I was signed without my name,” he says. “I’ve had the feeling of having had to prove myself even up till now to a certain degree. But I do believe that I’ve reached that kind of headspace and that position where I shouldn’t really care anymore. It’s really about getting on with the creative work at hand, regardless what medium that is.”
May Pang
Lennon previously opened up to PEOPLE about his gripes with the industry, saying in September that his dealings with management behind-the-scenes “would be enough to drive anybody off the cliff.”
He also revealed that he’d sworn off signing with a major label prior to meeting BMG CEO Hartwig Masuch, who eventually helped him releaseJude.
Lennon’s Earth Day partnership with Future Youth Records, a nonprofit label that helps kids make and distribute music promoting social justice, will benefit his White Feather Foundation and its Save the Sea Country campaign for the Aboriginal Mirning people.
The EP’s tracklist includes a new version of Lennon’s climate-conscious 1991 hit “Saltwater,” which he says is unfortunately more relevant today than ever.
“We all think that it’s shocking that it’s not only doubly as bad as it used to be, it’s far more than that,” he says. “It’s shocking that we’re still in this position and that not enough is being done about it. I’m thankful that people are waking up. The thing is, the world will survive. It’s just us that won’t.”
Even today, Lennon is still writing about the environment, like on theJudetrack “Change.”
“I was commenting during the writing of this, ‘How many effing times do I have to write an environmental song? Every 10 years?’ Because nothing’s getting fixed, you know?” he says. “But again, there are a lot of people who are really pushing for change these days, and I’m so thankful for that.”
source: people.com
