The Last Dinner Party On Attention To Business Side, Owning Masters

For British indie rock quintet The Last Dinner Party, success arrived infamously fast, with the group that formed in 2020 performing live for the first time one year later before signing a management deal in 2022.

In April of 2023, The Last Dinner Party released their first single “Nothing Matters,” one which has now amassed over 100 million streams on Spotify alone alongside nearly 600,000 views of the video on YouTube, dropping their debut album Prelude to Ecstasy via Island Records this past February.

Their attention to detail informs everything they do, from the dialed in songwriting to the decadence and fashion that permeate both their music videos and live performances.

Sunday afternoon at Lollapalooza in Chicago, in anticipation of a presumably substantial draw, The Last Dinner Party was moved to a bigger stage and given an additional 15 minutes to perform, ultimately offering up a rewarding one hour set on the Tito’s Handmade Vodka stage.

I spoke with singer/guitarist Lizzie Mayland and keyboard player/vocalist Aurora Nishevci backstage at Lollapalooza about what they’ve learned taking a closer look at the business side, the benefits for any artist of owning their own masters, negotiating that first contract and opening for the Rolling Stones in Hyde Park in 2022. A transcript of our conversation, lightly edited for length and clarity, follows below.

Jim Ryan: With the way things have moved so quickly for The Last Dinner Party, what have you learned about the importance of keeping a closer eye on the business side these past few years?

Mayland: We’ve learned so much.

Nishevci: You’re a business owner at the end of the day.

Mayland: An employer.

Nishevci: It’s a big responsibility actually. It’s very overwhelming still. There’s a lot to learn. I don’t think I fully realized that in the music industry, the artists, the employers, are the bosses. They are hiring so many people to do so many different jobs. And it’s kind of like your responsibility to set the regulations as well.

Mayland: The industry standard is very poor for looking after people and well-being. And human resources! There’s no f—ing HR in the music industry!

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Nishevci: Artists end up canceling tours because the mental stress takes over. And that’s probably to do with, yes, going on tour and being perceived by the public – but also all of the responsibility you hold as an artist and as an employer. And maybe when you grow up dreaming to be a rock star, you’re not necessarily dreaming to be an entrepreneur.

Mayland: And being held accountable for so many moving parts, it’s a really interesting kind of experience. Like, yes, we’re running a business – but we don’t really have the expertise to suddenly be business owners. Because none of us have been to business school or done any of that. So, it’s been really an ongoing process very much. But I’ve really enjoyed learning about it. And it makes me want to change the industry for the better. And I think we try to do that in our small way.

Ryan: I was reading an interview earlier that the band gave and there was a quick comment made in passing about ownership of masters. Does The Last Dinner Party own its masters?

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Nishevci: Not yet! But contracts. People gave me advice when we were signing a record deal: the shorter the contract the better. So, yes, they’re going to take your masters. But negotiate to get them back at some point. Because so many artists, I think especially young teens who sign, give their masters away forever. And then, when they get big, they have to pay millions or do a “Taylor’s version” or something to get their songs back, you know?

Mayland: We will get ours back in a few years.

Ryan: Selfishly, I must ask this of anyone who has opened for the Rolling Stones. Especially when that someone has opened for the Rolling Stones in Hyde Park. What do you take from an experience like that, especially one so early on for The Last Dinner Party?

Mayland: Oh gosh…

Nishevci: It was like being chucked into the deep end, right?

Mayland: It really was, oh my god – sink or swim. I think we paddled.

Nishevci: Yeah! We paddled through.

Mayland: It was such a massive stage and we were all like right next to each other in the middle of the stage – because we didn’t have cables long enough. It was amazing. But also, we got to watch the Rolling Stones. I took away from it, “Oh, you can be 70 years old and still do this.” If you want to. So, that was pretty inspiring.