Sky Ferreira felt “trapped” as a young artist trying to break into the music industry.
The 30-year-old star was just 18 when she dropped her first singles in 2010, and she revealed how everyone was “trying to mold” her in a certain way.
Speaking to Nancy Sinatra for Interview magazine, she said: “In the music industry, everyone’s trying to mold you. They have an idea of what you should be.
“People get greedy. When I was younger, I got cornered in situations where it was like, ‘You have to do this,’ and I didn’t know better.
“It was just different back then… The internet was there, but it wasn’t this thing that people had figured out.
“I used it to my advantage – that really helped me get my stuff out. But I’ve been shelved so many times.”
Earlier in her teens, Sky used MySpace to release early material, before being “pigeonholed” into bubblegum pop image.
This year, she’s set to finally release her repeatedly-delayed album ‘Masochism’ – which was first announced in 2015 – after a “musical chairs” situation with her major label.
She explained: “One person might run the label, then another – they just switch seats. I wanted to try to have a better relationship with them originally.
“I wasn’t going to compromise, but I was willing to be a little more open, because I didn’t want to have a bad relationship with them. I wanted them to do stuff with me and give me a fair chance.”
Sky reflected on her own experiences in the industry, and admitted it’s a combination of sexism and coming into the industry at such a young age.
She added: “It’s a respect thing. A lot of it is sexist, but I also think it’s because I started when I was 14, so they feel like they can manipulate me, or treat me like a 14-year-old or something.
“I’m 30 years old now and it’s the same thing.”