She's More Than a "Brat": The Curious Case of Charli xcx
Charli xcx poses at a phone-free listening event for her album Music, Fashion, Film at Metrograph in New York City. (Photo: GQ / Courtesy of Metrograph)
When Charli xcx shared on the Nicky at Night podcast that she was apathetic about whether or not her new album “Music, Fashion, Film” would flop, most business-oriented music listeners, executives, and labels would raise an eyebrow. Following the insane commercial success of her breakthrough album “BRAT” in 2024 (now grossing over $10 million for Charli xcx herself (more than definitely meaning much more in profits for her label and her team)), most artists would often fall into the loop of attempting to recreate the scale that her album did. In protest of this “fate”, Charli xcx did something different that feels more contingent with the precedents of today’s modern music industry; she leaned into the political aspects of rock that embraced artistry rather than commercial success. On her new seventh studio album, “Music, Fashion, Film,” Charli practically becomes the true embodiment of an artist and points a middle finger at her label, Atlantic.
Before discussing the new album itself, the hostile relationship between Charli and Atlantic is one of the most classic “tables have turned” dynamics that the pop industry has seen in a while. Only 16 when she initially signed a five-album record deal with Atlantic, much of the two parties’ history has been turbulent. Many creative controls were often taken over by Charli, who, in response, was not usually passive. Even resulting in the shelving of one of her most anticipated albums, “XCX World,” it’s clear that Charli wasn’t having it–she wanted more creative control but was hindered from her artistic goals.
But Charli has never been the type of artist to quietly allow the label to get their way. Listening to her older songs, it’s evident that the true voice of Charli often seemed to be quietly whispering, even if muted by her label. Now, escaping the initial label deal (ending with a commercially successful album “CRASH” to prove to the label that she’s capable of going “mainstream” in her artistry) she brings to her fans “BRAT” and “Music, Fashion, Film,” during her new two-album deal with Atlantic, ensuring creative control.
However, something unique has happened in the rollout of her new album: there doesn’t seem to be any urgency for Charli to turn a buck. Frequently sharing that she feels “lucky to be inspired” and is clearly immersed in a uniquely philosophical questioning of fame and art within this new album, there’s no doubt that Charli is just having a blast with making music as of now. But the question is, isn’t the label upset with Charli’s apathy in creating another hit album? Especially with Atlantic Records’ current financial strains, don’t they want to pressure Charli into releasing another album that receives large-scale funds?
More interestingly, the album is clearly not cheap: more than four music videos, featuring expensive cultural icons John Cale, Marc Jacobs, Martin Scorsese, Vincent Cassel, and David Cronberg. And there doesn’t seem to be much ROI. The most-streamed lead single from the album is barely shy of 20 million streams despite being released for over two months (even her lowest-streamed song from “BRAT” has more streams), and the album nearly missed debuting at a total of 10 million streams. While it’s a considerably good album despite mixed reviews (it’s a personal favorite for myself and scored an 8.2 and “Best New Music” on Pitchfork), from a business perspective, it usually isn’t critical acclaim that pays the bills.
While there is no factual evidence that one of these speculative possibilities is true, Charli may be one of the last-remaining high-value artists in Atlantic’s record. With the increasing rise in “independent mainstream artists”, younger artists becoming more cautious of signing label deals, and less centralized media formats such as MTV for labels to funnel their artists into, it’s become actively harder to secure top-earning artists. From a label perspective, Atlantic may be hoping that Charli will churn out another high-profit album rollout, even at the cost of a lower-performing post-BRAT album. Especially with their deal coming to an end after “Music, Fashion, and Film,” bothering Charli’s creative process too much and replicating a suffocating relationship that was previously existent before the end of “CRASH,” could risk the exit of xcx from the entirety of the label.
It’s certainly a curious case in seeing how Charli has dealt with the new album rollout cycle of “Music, Fashion, Film,” and is shaping a new dynamic with her label where she seems to hold more of the cards that the label used to hold above her head.
