The demands of the modern music business added challenges for mothers like herself, who have to care for their children while touring is paramount. “There’s beyond no support,” she says. “It’s horrible for women in this industry.”
People are broke and people are struggling. And then you’re trying to set tickets that are reasonable. And you’ve got these third-party tools who are marking them up, at 100 bucks or whatever. The festival tickets are insane. The people aren’t coming to the shows or people aren’t buying tickets. Everyone’s flooded the market, so then you can’t get the venues that you normally get. Normally I do one day down, two shows, one day down. And that generally makes it so that my voice doesn’t go away, but also I can pay the bills. But I noticed on this last tour, “Why are there all these spaces in the tour? Why am I not playing this city and this city that I always play?” They’re like, “There’s no availability because everybody’s booking.
Being an artist nowadays is being this false version of perfection that we promote through Instagram, through our socials. It’s likeThey’re behind the fucking screen falling apart, trying to keep up this image. And people need to take down the sheet because it’s unsustainable. Now, without art in times like these, we’re devastated culturally. And we’re saying to artists, “You’re not important, TikTokers are important.” And we’re not supporting art … and it’s a crisis. It’s a cultural crisis. What I saw when I wrote my letter, fans are ready to be there for us, and if we can let them in then we can be a movement in the way that all these other movements have risen up against corporations.
The festival falls apart. Then, “Oh, well, we’ll get this” — everything’s falling apart. And then my managers are like, “We gotta keep this momentum. You’ve got to do it.” And whattalks about is honoring your own boundaries, honoring yourself. And I was like, “How can I do this when I’ve just learned this lesson myself?” I’m just sitting there, and I’m just like, ”I have to do it. I have to do it.” And my body was like, “No.” Like, I didn’t even have a choice. I’ve had vertigo.
You have an interesting perspective because you worked at a label, and you were on a major label. You now release your own work. Do you feel like you have more well-being getting out of that?
Santigold Basically ‘Don’t play no game that u can’t win!’ Sad situation.