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\n\tLorde has revealed<\/a> that she\u2019s now an independent artist after her contract with Universal Music Group expired late last year.<\/p>\n \n\tThe singer shared the news<\/a> of her newfound independence in a series of community voice notes to her fans, explaining that she was looking for a \u201cclean slate\u201d after the contract she signed when she was 12, nearly two decades ago, had elapsed in late 2025. Variety<\/em> also confirmed that she\u2019s no longer on UMG.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI feel a real hunger for newness and I feel [\u2026] like a new leaf is turning or there\u2019s a blank slate that\u2019s been presented, and I feel this way because at the end of last year, my label deal, my record contract with Universal came to an end,\u201d she said. \u201cI have been in that contract for a very, very long time and some form of that contract since I was 12 years old, when I signed my first development deal with Universal.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tShe referred to the team at UMG as \u201cincredible people\u201d and that she \u201cadores\u201d them, but added, \u201cThe truth is that a 12-year-old girl pre-sold her creative output before she knew what it would be like and before she knew what she was signing away. I\u2019m sure I\u2019ll have a deal again, could well be with Universal, but I knew that I needed to take a second to have nothing being bought or sold that comes from me.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWhen I see an opportunity for a clean slate, I try to take it,\u201d she continued. \u201cIt does feel different. It sounds like it wouldn\u2019t but that it really does. A feeling of openness and possibility and inspired, of course. I\u2019m working and all this stuff but it just feels exciting to have I don\u2019t know remove the container for a second. So yeah, newness is kind of a theme, a clean slate to open this newness. I don\u2019t know if you saw my phone background that says \u2018I have no master.\u2019 But I\u2019m trying to feel what that feels like.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t\t\tPopular on Variety\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n