Lorde parts ways with longtime manager Scott Maclachlan

Just days after being awarded the International Achievement award at the NZ Music Managers Awards for his achievements managing Lorde, Scott Maclachlan has parted ways with the Auckland-raised Grammy winner.

The New Zealand Herald broke the story after noticing Lorde’s image was removed from his company website Saiko Management. The Herald reports Maclachlan and Lorde ended their professional relationship “about a month ago”. Machlachlan and Lorde’s label Universal Music have declined to comment.

Maclachlan signed Lorde to a Universal Music development contract in 2008 and saw her go from school band frontwoman to 2x Grammy Award winner with her breakout global #1 track Royals. Since the release of Royals in June 2013, Lorde has picked up 29 awards, including an APRA, a Brit Award, a Billboard Music Award, an EMA and a World Music Award. She’s also up for two rock awards at the Billboard Music awards today for her #2 ARIA charting debut LP Pure Heroine.

In March this year Maclachlan took the stage at the 10th Coopers AMP to be interviewed by Fairfax Senior Music Writer (and AMP judge) Bernard Zuel alongside artist manager John Watson (Gotye, Silverchair, Cold Chisel).

Maclachlan said of his time with Lorde: “It gets to the point where people say ‘you don’t know what you’re doing, you’ll fuck this up’. And literally, for whatever reason, not trust you and the artists to be in control of that destiny, and that, at times, was very, very tough. Especially because I also have a responsibility of protecting a – at the time [Lorde aka Ella Yelich-O'Connor] had just turned 17. There were many levels of keeping Ella from the spotlight.”

“[…] My role with Ella was, she had a vision and I was just clearing the way for her to come through," MacLachlan continued. "Whether people bought into that or not, to be honest I didn’t really care. I think she and I were so on the same page, we didn’t want to do it any other way anyway. If it was a failure, we would have been happy with it the way it was done, which is important.”

Maclachlan also manages operatic-pop trio Sol3 Mio, dubstep duo Mt Eden, pop gospel artist Parson James and alt-pop act Thomston.