Getting rejected from record labels affected Matty Healy’s mental health.
While The 1975’s longtime manager Jamie Oborne had the indie label Dirty Hit, he knew the band needed a bigger company behind them but admitted that rejection from record companies at the beginning of their career directly impacted Matty’s wellbeing.
He told Rolling Stone magazine: "We always thought they did need a bigger record company, because I knew what kind of album Matthew wanted to make. We didn’t really have the money to make it.
"Literally every record company in the world passed on them twice. I could really feel Matthew’s disillusion with the business side of the record industry. It was damaging him, meeting these people who didn’t really follow through on their word. It was impacting his mental health."
Eventually, the band ended up signing with Dirty Hit and gained a US distribution deal through Interscope.
Osborne added: "I’ve never been a fan of conventional record deals. I feel like they’re not very fair to artists. When I first started, I thought I didn’t understand them because they were just so sh*t! I thought I must be missing something. But I actually did understand. They’re just not very good deals."
And now Healy works as Dirty Hit’s creative director, helping to sign new acts.
He said: "I only sign stuff that I f**king think is dope and that I’m a bit jealous of. I’m never in a room with somebody who I think I’m gonna have to draw blood out of a stone. I go into rooms, get excited about their music with them, and tell them they can do whatever the f**k they want."