Sam's obsessions

For years I asked, pleaded for a chance to own my work. Instead I was given an opportunity to sign back up to Big Machine Records and ‘earn’ one album back at a time, one for every new one I turned in. I walked away because I knew once I signed that contract, Scott Borchetta would sell the label, thereby selling me and my future. I had to make the excruciating choice to leave behind my past. Music I wrote on my bedroom floor and videos I dreamed up and paid for from the money I earned playing in bars, then clubs, then arenas, then stadiums. 

Some fun facts about today’s news: I learned about Scooter Braun’s purchase of my masters as it was announced to the world. All I could think about was the incessant, manipulative bullying I’ve received at his hands for years. 

Like when Kim Kardashian orchestrated an illegally recorded snippet of a phone call to be leaked and then Scooter got his two clients together to bully me online about it. (See photo) Or when his client, Kanye West, organized a revenge porn music video which strips my body naked. Now Scooter has stripped me of my life’s work, that I wasn’t given an opportunity to buy. Essentially, my musical legacy is about to lie in the hands of someone who tried to dismantle it.

This is my worst case scenario. This is what happens when you sign a deal at fifteen to someone for whom the term ‘loyalty’ is clearly just a contractual concept. And when that man says ‘Music has value’, he means its value is beholden to men who had no part in creating it. 

When I left my masters in Scott’s hands, I made peace with the fact that eventually he would sell them. Never in my worst nightmares did I imagine the buyer would be Scooter. Any time Scott Borchetta has heard the words ‘Scooter Braun’ escape my lips, it was when I was either crying or trying not to. He knew what he was doing; they both did. Controlling a woman who didn’t want to be associated with them. In perpetuity. That means forever. 

Thankfully, I am now signed to a label that believes I should own anything I create. Thankfully, I left my past in Scott’s hands and not my future. And hopefully, young artists or kids with musical dreams will read this and learn about how to better protect themselves in a negotiation. You deserve to own the art you make.

I will always be proud of my past work. But for a healthier option, Lover will be out August 23. 

Sad and grossed out,

💔

He said to his Dad “I didn’t hug her because she said no, but I told her I liked her sweater!” And his dad said “Cool buddy!” And they went on with their shopping trip.

Ok so you know how sometimes evolution, and particularly sexual selection, leads to some really over-the-top traits in males? Like how male birds of paradise develop ridiculous plumage for mating that makes them more visible to predators and hinders their flying ability? Well, let me introduce you to Mesoplodon layardii, the strap-toothed whale. 

Yes, those are tusks growing out of the male’s lower jaw. Tusks that can grow up to a foot in length, and curve back and over the jaw, eventually preventing the male from opening his jaw by about 50%. 

The tusks aren’t used for feeding (they primarily eat squid, so no teeth necessary), but instead are used for fighting, similar to a narwhal’s tusks. Does it seem practical to partially fuse your jaw shut, severely limiting the variety of prey you can pursue, in order to fight for mates? No. Seems like really bad idea to me. But what do I know? I’m not a strap-toothed whale. 

???????????????

Adults: *create a space for other adults*

Minors*: *come into that space* 

Minors: this isn’t a safe space for kids!!

Adults: …..uhh no, it’s not.

Minors: why are you personally attacking me personally?

Adults: ….????????………… 

Minors: I know you want to fuck children

Me: *looks at fic with one character that’s in his 40′s and another that’s in his 50′s, with no children in sight* 

Me: ………please get out of my house

(I still get a lot of responses to this post calling me a pedo and I am t i r e d of this bottom-of-the-barrel quality discourse)

Minors: that’s not appropriate for children.

Adults: yep! that’s why it’s tagged as explicit and has a warning for mature content and also is tagged for various sex acts in case you’re not into that.

Minors: that type of content makes me uncomfortable.

Adults: we totally get that but that’s why the tags and warnings are on it.

Adults: look you even have to agree:

This work could have adult content. If you proceed you have agreed that you are willing to see such content.

Adults: so if you’re not into that type of thing then you can just skip over it.

Minors: it make me uncomfortable.

Adults: ……then… don’t… read it?

Minors: no. 

Minors: you should stop writing it.

And now… 

13 Reasons Why is not supposed to be a feel good, watch with your family and kids, romantic and sweet, show. It may surprise you guys to know this, but when writing 13RW, the writers were NOT looking to make a kid-friendly show.

This show’s goal is to RAISE AWARENESS. The goal is not to write a romantic plot, make people happy, or even to leave them comfortable- if you want a feel good movie, I suggest going to Disney.

This show is aimed to make you uncomfortable with the lies and masks that society puts up on a daily basis. They want you to be upset about the secrets that society- and people- try to hide and cheat their way out of.  They want you to know that suicide and rape are very real issues. 

In this day and age, people are so often bombarded by statistics and campaigns that are shoved in their face, that they learn to ignore and even forget these things. Take an anti-drugs campaign for example: If someone said, “Don’t do drugs. They can seriously mess you up or even kill you”, chances are, no one will give much thought to it. But if a campaign showed pictures or images from the life of a drug addict- the bouts of rage, losing friends, uncontrollable actions, over-spending, deteriorated health, harming themselves and those around them… If you told the story of a kid who grew up with an alcoholic parent, or a someone killed by a drunk driver: you will have a significantly higher impact.

In a similar way, this show is aimed to not just show you the story, but show you the people. It aims to gives the victims a face and a voice. That ‘kid killed in an accident’ is no longer a headline, but Jeff Atkins: a baseball player who loved the people around him and tried his best in everything he did, who will never get a chance to go to college or play in the pros. ‘That girl who committed suicide’ is no longer a dead corpse, but Hannah Baker: a poet who felt so alone, and wanted to love and be loved; who never got the chance to learn that Clay Jensen loved her. ‘That girl who got raped’ is no longer another face in the crowd, but Jessica Davis: a cheerleader with loving parents, who is adored by everyone who meets her; who tried to get away from him but wasn’t strong enough, and who will never get the chance to erase what happened, or to forget what she endured.

13 Reasons Why explicitly states that if you may be triggered by depression, suicide, rape, etc. then this show is not for you. They say that this show will trigger you, is not intended for younger viewers, and is very intense. It is rated TV-MA, for mature audiences. They warn you, and ask you not to watch if you will be triggered. 

This show is not for your enjoyment. This show is meant to make you uncomfortable and to know the faces and stories of these characters and people. Please do not continue to watch the show if you will be triggered by any of the aforementioned. But if you know that you get triggered by these things and still watch, please seek immediate help, but also please be careful to  not to be hateful towards the show, as it is the responsibility of the viewer to identify their triggers and stop watching immediately.