Singer-actress Nadine Lustre has shared the opportunities and obstacles of being a self-managed artist.
In an interview with Nylon Manila, Nadine shared the good and hard outcomes of her decision to terminate her Viva contract and self-manage her career.
In January 2020, Nadine’s lawyer Atty. Lorna Kapunan made a press statement saying Lustre is no longer with Viva and will be self-managing her career.
This comes after Nadine signed a deal with Careless Music by her former boyfriend James Reid.
“It’s about time that a David strikes out a Goliath that has taken advantage of young artists in the industry for the longest time,” said Kapunan.
Viva on the other hand has filed a case against Nadine in December 2020 for breach of contract. Viva insisted that Nadine is still under artist management contract until 2029 and that the actress cannot personally deal project for herself.
Meanwhile, according to Nadine leaving Viva has given her the freedom and independence to be who she is. During her time with Viva, Nadine said she was molded into something that she’s not.
“When you say independence, it really is freedom. Freedom to do what you say what you want without anyone really stopping you. Before, there were so many things that I couldn’t do. I was branded differently, you know, the usual artista where everyone has to look up to you like you’re a saint, which I’m not.
“Well, I mean, ever since nag showbiz ako, it’s one thing that I’ve been so afraid of. In show business, people tend to tell you what it is that you should be doing, how you should look, what you should say, you know? Everything is given to you, and it’s kind of them molding you to become someone you’re not. So, that pretty much happened to me.
“As soon as I left the agency, I was able to say no to things that I didn’t want to do. I was able to say yes to things that they probably wouldn’t take me do, but I really wanted to do. I was able to dress the way that I want, I was able to put out things that are up to the quality that I want. Before, there were so many limitations.”
While leaving Viva is a decision she wanted, Nadine said going solo in managing her career was not easy.
“I’m not going to say it’s easier. It’s definitely harder. The job is five times harder than before because you don’t have an agency to back you up. Now, it’s like, you want do this? You have to do it by yourself. You have to fund it or find someone to partner with you…no one else is going to back you up financially this time.”
But the actress also added that while it’s much harder than before, getting her independence was worth it.
“Mas mahirap siya…But it is worth it,” Nadine shared.
“There’s something healing about your experiences—what you’ve gone through, especially in a form of art that people will see. It’s an emotional release…there’s something freeing about it.
“And so now that, you know, I’ve broken out into that mold. Now that I am braver, you know, I kind of am braver of showing everyone who I really am, nagtuloy-tuloy na lang siya,” Nadine continued.
