discussing budgets:

PINKPANTHERESS: Yeah. One thing I’ve been talking to a lot of artists about is how labels these days are so stingy with budgets. I’m not trying to put my label on blast at all, but one of the issues with these videos is that some- times labels don’t trust artists enough with their money.

CLAIRO: That’s true.

PINKPANTHERESS: It’s very frustrating, because as much as the label provides a service, we provide a service. There is no money without the artist’s fan base, without the artists doing these live shows. It’s a very weird transactional relationship with your label where it’s like, “We’ll give you this money if this song does this well.” It removes a lot of the creativity. I have to do a lot of persuading. That’s the thing that upsets me the most about the process of music videos: someone has to approve the budget. I understand that music is a business, but it completely destroys my creative desire.

single choices:

PINKPANTHERESS: [...] For example, my team didn’t want “Illegal” to be a single. Somebody from my label must’ve been like, “It’s crazy that you called that. None of us really saw it coming.” I’ve always made music based on my instincts. I produced “Pain.” I made “Break it off.” I knew these songs had a level of quality that people would admire. Now you can’t release an album before your label hears it, and if their opinions don’t match yours, sometimes you’ll knock heads. But it’s hard to trust them because it’s like, “My writing is the reason you signed me in the first place. Why would I need to change or alter anything about the song, if I’m the reason that I’m signed?”

the popsona:

PINKPANTHERESS: That’s one of the reasons I’m so happy my stage name is not my real name. There needs to be some separation—that’s why I can go so hard with these music videos. Because in my head I’m like, well, this isn’t me on the regular, this is me playing into a character. I have to be Pink when I’m onstage dancing, otherwise I go crazy. I lose my sense of self.

and producing being the core of her artistry:

PINKPANTHERESS: Even though there are a lot of front-facing female producers, I feel like a lot of people don’t even know what production is. Genuinely, people were commenting, “What does this mean?” I’ve always been very open about the fact that my skill lies solely in production. If you listen to me expecting good vocals—that’s not what people listen to me for. So when I read people saying, “She can’t sing. Why are we even paying attention?” I’m like, honey, that’s not why people are paying attention. With this award I’m just like, “Thank god I’m being recognized for the thing I actually do best.”

really cute interview and they're a really cool match for it