#rob stringer

[harryworldwide]

Harry and Rob Stringer watching Shania Twain’s set before tonight’s show at Wembley Night 5 (via ln.c4_cs55)

[ssfoc]

I’ll never understand the narrative that Louis was surprised about hiatus. Zayn left, Harry was hanging with Azoffs, 1D numbers were declining. Furious? I believe that for sure. But if he was in a situationship with Harry, and if he is the smart business mind we believe him to be, he was not surprised in that meeting (or other meetings).

I think we can see it two ways.

1. Was Louis honest in describing his emotional response to the group meeting about hiatus? Probably yes, with some revision in hindsight.

Steve Bartlett asked whether they met on their own, or whether there were “representatives.” Louis replied tellingly, “It might as well have been representatives.” What representatives? They didn’t have individual managers. Who were these people that Louis was talking about?

Louis used the words “empty” and “cold.” The opposite of these adjectives would be “full” and “warm.” Contrast them to the usual narrative of “arm-in-arm, arm-in-arm.” Louis was describing an emotional scenario when, as a group, they no longer trusted each other to be honest. Louis’ intellect may have suspected something like “hiatus” was coming, but his emotions couldn’t accept that the Harry had changed. Harry had begun looking at his bandmates as commodities, as competition for revenue and fame— the same way that labels did. In hindsight, one could argue that Harry’s “representatives” taught him to see the band this way.

2. Why is Louis telling this story now? Why is he creating a narrative that it was “only the boys” who made the decision about hiatus, and that Sony and Syco let them do whatever they wanted?

Again, thoughts from a mutual below.

It’s funny for Louis to imply that the 1D guys could decide how long the hiatus would be. No forward planning needed by Sony. No shareholder concern over lost revenue while the guys messed around with solo stuff until they all failed and decided to come back, or succeeded and didn’t come back. No concern that the label and fans would move on. Supposedly they didn’t even have their own non-imposed management, but they were making the big decisions about $billions in corporate profit? It’s a fanfic view of the music industry where artists make the choices and helpful labels exist to enable them for their art.

In this telling, the 1D boys take the fall. They were naive; they made bad decisions; maybe they weren’t “brave enough,” maybe they were dishonest. The clowns— Simon Cowell and Modest Management— look foolish but not evil. Does any music exec come out of this badly other than the old bogeymen? Modest Management, not the Azoffs. Simon Cowell, not Rob Stringer. The powerful slip away.

The thing to remember, I believe, is that none of it is really organic. Too much money and power is involved right down the line. Fans are the herd; we’re not the farmers.

“Past the second year, no one can make us boys do something we didn’t want to do.”

And yet Liam was locked in hotel rooms in between concert gigs, emptying the mini bar, becoming an alcoholic and suicidal.

Niall had to perform with a knee that should have been operated on. And every media outlet was full of stories belittling the others and building Harry. And Louis was constantly undermined, described as the asshole of the group, not the singer, not the heartthrob, not the creative talent. The band was worked into the ground to maximize profits before the built-in kill date of 5 years. But they were totally in charge! This is the old basic story they used throughout the band… 5 ordinary lads full of beans and mischief being guided by strict but also lenient Uncle Simon. And Sony… invisible Sony, never blamed by fans even into 2020 because it chose Harry.

It’s more like after 2012, they became fodder in the Sony /Azoff machine. In One Direction, Simon Cowell had discovered a goldmine, which was essentially propping up Syco Music, and Sony wanted a piece of it. Simon tried to play with the sharks in industry, believing he held the cards with 1D. He ended up without a label and his main asset cannibalised. They all believed music is a formula, and no band from reality TV could last longer than 5 years. Stringer and Azoff saw a project to get rich on, a ready-made rock star with a fanatical fanbase, carefully created over three years after squeezing the band dry while carefully setting up its ending, and then this star launched fully formed, purely— of course— on his own outstanding talent! Harry also formed the basis of a new company for Jeff Azoff to run, with media set up to compare him to rock legends before one album even sold. I just think they were never as clever as they thought. They could manipulate and destroy and acquire, but they were so sure 1D was just another boyband, they paid no attention to its uniqueness. They planned for its destruction to create a greater product like Beyoncé or Justin Timberlake. They used a whole new set of tools to get inside fans’ minds, and herded us successfully, to an extent. But even with astroturfing and planted blinds and faux scandals and bought PR, it’s hard to create human magic. Maybe they were too old and hidebound to understand 1D wasn’t just a random band, luckily timed to launch with the explosion in social media. One Direction, instead, was actually a crazy, lucky mix of individually remarkable people— Simon’s one real stroke of luck. Which is why none of them just vanished conveniently after the assassination. The mix was the magic, and imo Louis was the key. On paper, Harry Styles should be covered in stardust. But he lacks things the others had, as they lacked things he had. The band could have evolved like, say, 5SOS, and done solo projects and grown. But Stringer and Azoff are old men with old ideas, and Harry Styles is an old man’s idea of a star.

This rewritten history, though, suggests something has changed between 2022 and 2025, especially after Liam’s death. Someone still cares enough to want the fandom to believe the old fairytales again, just with a bit of a rougher edge to feel like truth. I think it’s why Louis and Zayn are doing a documentary, and why Louis is finally getting another glimpse of the inside of the industry.

[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)

[obviously-im-a-boyo]

Insane to me that Rob stringer was there with Harry and the NEXT DAY he's doing all that *waves vaguely*

I'm curious to see if this is a one off or an album gf bc if it's a one off I've got a theory 👀

VERY interesting. i reckon the kiss was something they had in their back pocket in case people freaked out too much about H and L being at glasto together, but after L's like of that reel they decided to post it hours later as damage control.

and the fact H was with RS AND KH. could be album stuff because of that, or it couldve been a one-off just so they had something as damage control for this specific event. who knows 👀 im curious to see where this goes.

[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: