#rob stringer

[twopoppies]

https://www.tumblr.com/twopoppies/775565357490569217/part-of-me-thinks-sometimes-that-one-of-the-main?source=share

I had thought something similar because Harry loves performing, touring, and making music, and I think he's a workaholic, so it does seem odd that he'd take such a long break, even though he totally deserves it. But I discarded that theory because the last stunt (hussell) happened during his break, and he was seen with Stringer last year.

I wonder what his plans are. I still remember the insta story he posted and then deleted ('why do I like chess?'), and I think a big part of his life is like a chess game. I hope they're winning.

I really think Hussell was to help repair his image after Holivia. It was all the things fans pointed out that made the others seem fake (although they really can't help themselves, and they still follow the same dumb playbook, so it still looks fake to anyone paying attention).

And I think being seen with Stringer is part of the game. Just like when we got that photo in 2015 of Harry at Irving's office. I think it was posted in order to send a message to Simon/Sony/whoever was working against Harry that he had big guns behind him. I don't know what he's thinking or planning, but after giving them three successful albums, winning AOTY, winning three other grammys, winning a bunch of Brits, mounting a hugely successful tour, and generating millions and millions of dollars for everyone, I think he's got some leverage to negotiate with.

I could be totally wrong, and he just likes not working, but it's very unusual for him. The chess post (which, for some reason, I don't have. Can someone please send it to me?) wasn't a mistake, either. It's all a chess game, and I really hope he's winning.

The deleted chess video can be found here.

[mr-styles]

Harry and Rob Stringer at Kenilworth Road - February 18th, 2024

[thestylesindependent]

Harry and Rob Stringer arriving at the Luton vs Man United game, February 18, 2024 (via TelemundoSports)

[voxina]

Hi! Did Harry write LOML and As It Was at Rob Stringer’s house?

Because I remember he mentioned in the same interview he wrote AIW at Strjnger house, and LOML at one his friends house. But I think at one show, he thanked Rob for letting him use his house to write both songs.

Hi nonnie!

It would really seem so based on what we know so far.

So, during the interview he did with Zane Lowe & Apple Music on 16 May 2022, Harry explained why he used a friend's house to record rather than a studio. He said:

“I’ve spent a lot of time there. I knew it was really peaceful and I wanted to be away from everything and be able to go outside. I’ve always enjoyed doing that. I don’t love distractions.”

It was later confirmed that this friend was Rob Stringer, chairman of Sony Music Group and CEO of Sony Music Entertainment. And we know this because it's Harry himself who said this when introducing “Love of my Life” at One Night Only NY on 20 May 2022.

"[Rob Stringer] also lent me his house to make this album. He continues to be incredibly generous to me; allows me to make what I wanna make. The next song was written in his house, the ringtone in the background is his."

And then again, on 11 February 2023, when he accepted his award for Song of the Year at the BRITs, Harry said:

“Hello! This album and this song was the most fun I ever had making music. I wanna thank Rob Stringer for lending me his house to record this in, write this in. I wanna thank Tom and Tyler, and everyone, all my friends who supported me. [To Tom] Do you wanna speak? [Tom declines] Okay. Thank you to everyone who listened and…Thank you Lewis[Capaldi].”

However, it was Kid Harpoon, interviewed for Consequence on 5 October 2022, who confirmed that As It Was was also recorded at Rob Stringer's house:

“What’s funny about that song is it was just one of a few songs written that day. It’s funny because some of these get written in such a quick window that you don’t know what they’re going to be at the time. That was just song two or three that day, and now it’s “As It Was,” with this whole other meaning. It’s become such a big song this year, and it’s definitely not what any of us thought it was going to be, which almost makes it more special. We recorded the song at [Sony Music Entertainment CEO] Rob Stringer’s house in England. We moved all the furniture out and put a drum kit in the TV room. “As It Was” was done in that setup. Harry came in with a riff idea, and we ran with it. It’s a funny one because it happened so quickly that I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to recreate that magic again — it was just so good.”

[skepticalarrie]

Allie, I just read on another blog that the CEO of Sony supposedly said at one point that Harry is a free artist and nothing we see about him is manufactured. Is that true? Could you give me some context on what was going on at the time, please? I find it super strange that he would say something like that.

Also, did anyone actually believe it? Because it doesn’t make sense to me. Harry is Sony/Columbia's most profitable artist, so it would be too risky to give total freedom to someone generating that much money. Quite the opposite, a lot of his public image seems manufactured.

“There’s not an element of what we’re doing with Harry now that’s manufactured. He has all the attributes of a true artist, and what’s coming next is even more exciting.”

Rob Stringer on Harry (x) - 03/04/22

This was during the Harry’s House promo a couple of years ago, and it was so scripted. Harry had been repeating the same lines about finally having the freedom he wanted to create his album. Which, honestly, sounds pretty depressing when you consider how much creative freedom he didn’t have in comparison to his previous works. Maybe he did have more freedom with Harry’s House, and that’s why this sort of talk because, well... he knows how to play the game and chooses his words carefully, doesn't he.

So, when it comes to Harry, I do think he was being honest. But again, I believe he was referring to creative freedom and the ability to fully release something he truly believes in. But Stringer’s statement is just pathetic. I totally agree with you, any artist worth millions and millions of dollars, like Harry, is still completely in the hands of the label. And Stringer is at the top of the food chain. Marketing and PR continue to play a huge role in all of this.

Harry IS a true artist, and maybe what he meant was that his music is entirely his. But, honestly, it was a terrible way to phrase it considering the amount of stunts they always manufactured for his career.

[seasurfacefullofclouds1]

in reference to that ask about other bands staying together - Little Mix and Paramore are good for comparison purposes as well.

other than Jesy, who they still care about but has shown them vitriol and disrespect since leaving, Little Mix all respect and genuinely care about each other as people and continue to support one another in their solo careers (plus they all agreed on taking a break!). i’ve listened to anecdotes from all of them about their break and their time together as a band - and from the beginning there was a collective, intelligent decision to reject ideas like “a lead singer” and to work together to make sure everyone felt supported and no one was receiving unequal treatment.

they’re not shy about how tough it was at many points, but Perrie in particular has talked about turning down solo opportunities that she felt were a slippery slope and respected her bandmates enough to not listen to the executives and label people that were whispering in her ear. Jade believes them being away from each other - for the first time in a long time - during COVID, unable to speak openly one on one and share their fears and insecurities with each other, was what led Jesy to let the irresistible idea of solo success (to the detriment of her bandmates) take root.

with the exception of Jesy, i really believe them when they say they plan to get back together in the future. they speak highly of each other, seem to have a lot of love for one another, and don’t feed fans ideas about “18 months”. there were no sneaky solo recordings leaked. they truly all seem to have started each of their solo ventures on equal footing, which was the goal.

Hayley Williams was always singled out in Paramore and was very vocal about how the rest of the band deserved mention in articles and they were all vital & responsible for their success. when she made music on her own (primarily about the grief she felt after her divorce - which she understandably wanted to make on her own), the rest of the band supported her and Paramore got back together to continue making music as a band like she said that they would.

one direction did not have any of that. not to get too much into gender politics, but they started out with a very boyish idea of friendship - without any regard for obstacles and powerful people lurking in the shadows that would put that friendship to the test. women grow up being pitted against each other and feeling preyed upon, so i believe Little Mix already knew what would happen, but on a larger scale. i think around 2012, when 1D was being asked on a regular basis about how long they planned to stay together and there were various articles speculating about “who the breakout star would be” is when reality began to sink in a bit.

Louis is really the only one who had the right idea from the beginning, responding with a firm ‘no’ when asked about going solo. he had the respect and love for his bandmates (and band) required to uphold the same boundaries as Little Mix, but i think the problem was that some of that refusal stemmed from insecurity and lack of belief in his own capabilities. i don’t believe Liam or Niall had the spine or loyalty necessary to back him and stand together as a collective (and i also think that Liam had a simultaneous psychological fear & codependency connected with the band that threw a wrench in the works).

Zayn had Louis’ back as a friend, but was far too competitive and perceptive to jeopardize his own chances and uphold an idea of a band that equally supported & respected each other while it was slowly falling apart. Harry’s people pleasing, narcissism, and manufactured overconfidence was never going to allow a peaceful, mutually agreed upon break where they all began on equal footing. his decision to allow himself to be singled out and focused on was the end of the beginning - and his selfishness & disloyalty really are at the root of all the dissension & resentment that was sown.

but in summary, it’s exactly like you said. the individual qualities, merits, and shortcomings of each member are what’s truly indicative of their ability to stay together. Louis’ loyalty could not compensate for the independent motivations & characteristics of four other members.

Well said. x

In short, I think One Direction met Irving Azoff, Irving happened to be looking for a breakout star to start his son’s career, and Azoff was a force that easily battered the fragile wall of 1D solidarity.

Maybe Harry could have been tempted by another manager, but Irving’s power over the music industry (media, venue, Ticketmaster and Live Nation), along with Fulwell’s promise of access to Hollywood (Winston-Corden et al., + Cindy Crawford’s and Anna Wintour’s access to fashion, the Kardashians’ fame by association, Rob Stringer’s grip on the label), and especially the offer to own a percentage of everything he touches— not simply a pawn but a player— the offer was one that Harry could not resist.

The thing that every Harry Styles defender gets wrong is misrepresenting Harry’s agency in his own life. He wasn’t a young pawn, and he hasn’t become an adult puppet. Harry is where he is precisely because he took the offer to betray his band and control an empire.

Harry’s fans all know this and they love him for his ruthless ambition. They all proudly imitate him online when mocking the rest of One Direction.

In the end, one can say that Harry did what 99% of people would have done, knowing that music is a Darwinian game and sometimes you do have to let your friends perish. Literally. That’s just how the game goes. Harry became Harry Thee Styles (as Jeremy O. Harris called him) at the expense of his old bandmates. Maybe Harry did lay a finger on the scale, who cares really. Music is a rigged game. If the rigging goes in your favor and hurts others, it seems less rigged and more fair and accurate.

So a tribute to Liam at the Brits would smooth out all the yucky competitiveness and form a united front, which makes the past ten years of isolation and ugly PR tactics okay. I’m sure words said after Liam’s death mean just as much now as they would have meant before his death… to Harry Styles and Irving Azoff. After all, grief is an opportunity. PR over substance, that’s the Styles mantra.

And it will work. Fans will love him more than ever.

Back to your analogy with Little Mix, anon. Maybe seeing One Direction as a cautionary tale, Little Mix approached their solo careers realizing that there is no limit to betrayal. Like pregnancy, you can’t betray your friends a little bit. Once in, you’re all in. The friendships simply can’t stay the same, and life decisions will change irrevocably with career decisions.

Even if fans pretend it’s 2013, it’s not 2013. One Direction are not blind to their own history, even if some fans lie to other fans about it.

This is the way it always goes. Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles, No Doubt, many bands. As Harry wrote in Something Great:

But Harry didn’t rip it all to shreds. He sang about angst, longing, temptation, and love, but when it came to real life, there was no angst. Only business. “The script” was an old business playbook, used successfully many times. Harry followed it.

Since Liam’s passing, there are so many 1D lyrics that take on a deeper and sadder meaning. I think of Louis’ lyrics, “All the lonely shadow dances from the cradle to the grave/ It's a solo song and it's only for the brave,” reflecting on the feelings of abandonment and loneliness. And these lyrics from One Direction’s Story Of My Life, which seemed nonsensical once upon a time:

[cantquitu]

HSHQ ATTACKS LOUIS TOMLINSON

Last week, in reply to the usual Larrie goading on Twitter, Louis Tomlinson indirectly referred to Larry as "ridiculous childish theories and conspiracies". Revenge from Larries has been swift. They're angry. They're insulted. They're broken-hearted! They're mocking and vengeful. They're undeterred in their Larrying.

In short, they're all the things they always are whenever Louis addresses their stupid bullshit.

BUT!

Other fans of Louis - fans who are definitely not conspiracy theorists and certainly not Larries, oh no! - have uncovered an even darker tale of anger and revenge.

It isn't just Larries who have responded furiously to Louis' denial of Larry.

Harry Styles HQ has unleashed a vicious, vengeful attack on Louis!

That's right. According to seasurfacefullofclouds1, "when Louis does anything to shatter the 'Larry' illusion, Sony (HSHQ, Irving and Jeff, Rob Stringer etc) get very angry".

And how do they deal with that anger? By posting a "disgusting" video of Louis on Sony's TikTok "that is so obviously targeted harassment against Louis they make it obvious that they are the power that causes industry to blacklist Louis".

Now, I am not a skilled specialist in the nefarious ways of HSHQ, so when I saw this disgusting video of Sony's, I confess it wasn't immediately clear to me why it was so disgusting.

According to Louis' fans, HSHQ's tactics are sly and insidious. So sly as to be almost imperceptible to anyone other than the highly-trained eye of a watchful Louis Tomlinson fan. One might ask, if HSHQ's revenge can only be perceived by these LT sleuths, how can it be effective?

BECAUSE IT JUST IS, OKAY??! DON'T ASK DIFFICULT QUESTIONS!

The video in question is an 11-second compilation of clips of Louis from various One Direction music videos, soundtracked by the chorus of 1D's second single, Gotta Be You. It's one of a series of videos Sony posted of each of the 1D members, all set to the Gotta Be You chorus and captioned "It's gotta be Niall", "It's gotta be Harry" etc.

Hmm... the disgusting nature of this video was subtle in the extreme. I needed to refer to an expert.

Gracefullou said, "Sony posted a TikTok about Louis (as a 1D member) and used as a sound the part of that song that he said on aotv he was promised to sing only to find out when it was released they used that man's voice instead".

Aha! The clue here is in the use of "that man" - codename for Harry Styles. And of course - Gotta Be You!

In Louis' documentary, he shared the difficult memory of rehearsing and recording a verse in Gotta Be You, only to discover that his singing was not used in the final recording, and the verse was instead sung by Harry. Now, the disgusting Sony video does not actually use the part of the song Louis was referring to, but no matter! And the fact that the same chorus was also used to soundtrack the videos of the other four members of 1D is immaterial...ignore that part, it's Sony burying the lead! THIS WAS A TARGETED AND DELIBERATE ATTACK!!!!

Look, it's obvious. Harry, the Azoffs, Rob Stringer...they're all "still bitter he survived and is thriving rn".

You may think, but Harry is currently on a break, loved-up with his girlfriend. Why would he care that Louis has denied Larry again?

THINK, SHEEPLE, THINK!!

You may ask, "Haven't Irving and Jeff Azoff just launched The Sphere with a series of mind-blowing U2 concerts? Wouldn't they be too busy to monitor Louis Tomlinson's Twitter?"

WAKE UP! REAL EYES REALISE REAL LIES!!11!!

But, hold on - how would Rob Stringer, CEO of Sony Music Entertainment, have the time to prioritise the blacklisting of Louis Tomlinson in such a carefully-planned, time-consuming fashion?

SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP IF YOU CAN'T SEE THE TRUTH WHEN IT'S SO OBVIOUS THEN YOU NEVER WILL!

HSHQ will not tolerate Louis Tomlinson denying Larry, and they will continue their crusade against him in response. End of. I hope this has been educational.

[daisiesonafield-blog]

Feb 19 2024. Select excerpts. Full article here

[saraloveslove]

It's sad that the first thing that came into my mind when I first saw Harry's pics at the match was which one of the leeches he was promoting. And the even saddest part is that I was actually right: Rob Stringer is involved with the Luton team. And I guess this also mean he has resigned with Sony, sadly.

But, despite all of this, Harry looks fooking beautiful with this new haircut and it's that I wanna concentrate onto, at least for today. Also, he looks more mature, more adult, with this look and my very adult - almost decomposed - ass really does appreciate that.

And.... Last: is that a new ring??? 👀👀👀👀

[zot3-flopped]

Yes Harry was on the Rolling Stone cover for Sept 2022, which came out towards the end of August 2022 (his films were out Sept and Oct 22).

Louis' album was released on 11 November 2022. If he was going to be on RS cover it would have been the November cover, to come out at the end of October, to get everyone excited for his upcoming album. Not in August/September for an album coming out over two months later!

BMG are so full of shit, it's fascinating how much there was in the report that was just crap.

The way they kept talking about Harry was so desperate and attention seeking.

Imagine Rob Stringer being interviewed about Harry and using the opportunity to ramble on about Louis Tomlinson. In nine years, nobody on Harry's team has ever mentioned Louis' name. He's completely irrelevant.

[hoovesandfloorpaws]

(added the entire post for archive purposes only!)

Hi!

Is it possible that this long break was planned way before it even started? Not just because H might’ve asked for it for his own well-being, but also because it’s a strategy other artists have used after going through a period of major public and media overexposure.

Plus, I don’t think there’s been any real sign that H changed record labels or management. He was seen with Sony’s CEO back in March last year, and the Azoffs are still using his name for promo. And there have been a lot of rumours he's coming back this summer.

hello anonnnn, and welcome to the show! (second one in a couple of days… we so back)

Rumours aside of dropping a single/coming back in July (these Twitter “insider” accounts have been changing months for when it’s coming for like over a year now, and also if one writes July the others are going to as well to make it look more real lol), this shit is business. It’s his job, right? But it’s more complex than having a shitty boss/team at an office/hospo job and moving on and cutting all ties because they were assholes. You can start fresh with a new company. The music industry is too intertwined and he’s working with the very top bosses - he’s not gonna cut all professional relationships with them, whether he’s still working for them or not.

I think it’s quite a common misconception about H, that he’d cut all ties and never speak to these idiots again when he finishes his contract. That’s simply not how it works. It’s in his very best interest for his career to keep them in his back pocket, and that’s where they’d like to stay too. Even if he leaves/has left them, unless he outs their shit to the world (in which will seriously negotiate the longevity of his career since these assholes own so much of the industry), they’re gonna stay on professional and friendly terms, regardless of whether he comes back at all. It’s all work, and they can offer him just about everything.

Rob, Azoffs, etc. are all gonna wanna be very nice to him to entice him to come back. They’re gonna offer him more money, more freedom, anything they possibly can to keep him because he is such a huge moneymaker for them. Of course they don’t want him to leave, but also, he’s quite isolated at the same time. It’s not that easy to jump ship when you’re at the level he is.

Everyone wants a piece of Harry, and I cannot imagine how frustrating that must be for him. He’s treated as subhuman, a product, a commodity, and I doubt any other managers can offer him more than they can, so he may not be attached to them for now but he has them to come back to if he wants. He could be in the midst of negotiation, he could be entirely out of a contract, but with his level of fame… those are unfortunately the guys he’s gonna be tied to unless he outs them and loses pretty much any chance of continuing on a highly successful career.

This industry is entirely to do with relationships and networking. It’s who you know. He could go to UMG and start over there with Capitol too (UMG have a larger market share and global recorded music revenue compared to Sony and WME), but that also involves potentially dissolving his own Erskine Records, and politics and there’s just sooooo much tied into this… it’s simply not that easy. Also, Mr Azoff has his fingers a little bit in the UMG pie too.

If he entirely leaves the Azoffs and Sony, there’s a good chance he’d be fine with UMG, but not if he speaks out publicly about how Sony has treated him. He becomes a problem then, and no one is gonna touch him because then what happens if he comes out and talks shit about UMG? The Azoffs and Sony and everyone else are gonna be like “nooooo we wouldn’t do that!!! we love our artists!!!!” and if he doesn’t speak out but moves to UMG quietly, Sony still looks kinda bad and they’re all intertwined and anyway it’s one big shit show. Azoff and WME are not friends though, at all, so if he went there… he’s fracturing relationships pretty intensely. And these relationships are so, so fragile.

The long of the short of it is, him speaking out and throwing all these losers under the bus, will throw away all the hard work he’s done and all his professional (and personal) relationships with these people. I want him to speak out, 100%, but he can’t do what he does without a big management team and label behind him. It would essentially cut his ties with Live Nation too, so he’d have to move on to AEG (who are like the second biggest promoter and strongly connected to UMG), which is fine but having Live Nation in your pocket is still more valuable in the long run. However, if he leaves quietly to UMG, he’s still gonna uphold those relationships in Sony/Azoffs/Stringer the best he can in the case that everything goes to shit. Even if signed to a diff manager. But it’s just very hard for him to leave.

And that’s why I think the contract has expired and he’s staying out of it until he figures out what to do/gets what he wants. And he might sign with them again, sure, but it’s all politics and networking and until he does a tell all, he’s gonna be seen upholding good relationships and playing nice for his own sake of continuing on a career at his level. I don’t think it was planned. I could consider it being planned if it was like a year, because you’re right, the overexposure etc are all factors, but it’s been so long I just don’t think he’s still with them for now.

Sorry this is a bit of a mess I should’ve broken it down more in sections of mgmt vs label but I hope you get what I mean and I apologise that im a bit all over the shop today

[twopoppies]

People giving rob stringer argument as to whether Larry broke up Or not???

Damn I need to say this, this fandom (and all fandoms) face such cognitive dissonance when trying to do mental gymnastics about what is what. I did too in my initial years.

But if there's anything my decade long fandom membership taught me, that is, NOTHING THAT SEEMS TO BE TRUE IN THE ENTERTAINMENT WORLD IS TRUE. The relationships that we are being fed are definitely not.

The problem begins when we, the real life people, try to apply our real world logic, to entertainment industry relationships. The rules won't apply, people could hate each other and work together cause it's money (eg actors). The sole motive is money and lots and lots of it, so anything goes. And because how competitive it is and volume of money involved is high, manipulation needs to happen at the larger scale, so the media gets involved. And narratives are fed to clown the human monkey mind.

I personally 100% believe Larry is together because of how protective they are of their personal lives and how hard the denials are. It's something sacred and worth keeping out of the public eye, which is why they do it. Their relationship is not for our consumption and they are sending that message to us loud and clear and I respect that.

Sorry for the rant hah.

Personally, I agree.

[thestylesindependent]

Harry and Rob Stringer at Luton (via geoffdoyle1)

[larrylimericks]

12Jul24

Three hundred and fifty-six days Since last we saw Harry on stage, But tonight a duet! For Ms. Nicks’ Hyde Park set, And a Songbird who’s now flown away.

[laughingharrys-blog]

He looks 🥵

Harry arriving at Kenilworth Road with Rob Stringer - February 18th, 2024

[skepticalarrie]

hi allie! is it true that Rob Stringer is involved in sabotaging Louis’ career? I’ve seen a lot of people use that argument to dismiss that H and L are still together (because H is still under Sony and has a good relationship with Stringer)

Hi, anon. This isn’t directed at you personally, so I apologize if it comes off harsh, but wow… what an idiotic and oversimplified way to look at things. This is honestly one of the dumbest discussions I see these days because:

1. Why do people feel the need to “prove” whether they broke up or not? Like, does it actually change anything? If they’re not together anymore, so what? Larries originally existed to support them and their situation of being closeted, not to argue over whether they’d spend their entire lives together. People trying to prove whether they’re together or not are honestly worse than antis.

2. People think SO LOW of Louis. It’s like they see him as some struggling indie artist left on the sidewalk to starve, desperately in need of saving. Like WTF, honestly?!

Louis is doing so great, lately. Don’t get me wrong… I 100% believe he was sabotaged and blacklisted. I think he had it particularly rough both in the band and early in his solo career. That whole label situation under Syco felt like a way to keep him under their control while also keeping tabs on Harry. I fully believe they both pissed off a lot of powerful people by making certain choices, and Louis probably had it worse in terms of promo and industry support.

But honestly? He’s in a great place now. So why do people assume he needs saving? Why would he be anywhere else if not for Harry’s help? And why would that even be Harry’s responsibility? Louis knows plenty of people in the industry, too. How do people even know what’s gone on behind the scenes? Maybe Harry did help him. Maybe Louis doesn’t want or need help. Would they need to be married to help each other? Harry could be helping any of his ex-band mates if people want to have this sort of discussion. Maybe Harry doesn’t even have the kind of influence over Rob Stringer that people assume he does.

It’s just a ridiculous discussion built on layers of baseless assumptions for… what? Why?