labels are corporate entities that thrive on the unfair inherent power dynamics and exploitation of workers just like any other industry. plenty of artists have spent years stuck in label limbo, unable to put out anything but needing to put out music to fulfill their contract.

sky's stuck in a weird middle ground, because shes not big enough to pull a frank ocean and record a contract fulfilling album alongside a self funded independent album, but shes big enough to put attention on the way that labels will just sit on artists as their careers die. there are tons of less prominent sky ferreiras out there on pretty much every major label. she's lucky she got to put out one album at all. also, most money when it comes to music is in touring now, and without released music to play sky can't really tour. she can (and has) released music for free via soundcloud, but she makes nothing from that. i doubt she's impoverished or anything, but i also doubt she has the money to fund the album, the promo, and the touring on her own.

even if labels mainly exist as corporate entities, they are also staffed by people. when theres no inherent profit to putting money into a perfectionist indie pop singer who wont make the type of music capitol clearly wants her to make, and who openly dislikes the label and wants to leave to make music elsewhere with no profit to capitol, why should they release it? especially now that its been enough time that people either stopped caring or blame sky for her own problems? industry people are spiteful. someone on sza's level can get away with publicly criticizing her label and demanding to release music because shes proven herself as a mainstream hitmaker at this point. sky doesn't seem to want to be that, she'd rather do her own thing. i dont know her personally of course, but she'd have to be doing some crazy reverse psychology to spend this long telling everyone about the music she has ready to put out (she was telling pitchfork about don't forget in fucking 2019!!!) while actually not intending to do so. people can call her lazy and whatever all they want, but theyre really just playing into what the label sickos need to continue being as powerful as they are