Stella Lefty leaves Disruptor Management as 'Boston' holds country No. 1
Stella Lefty has left Disruptor Management during the biggest chart run of her career so far.
The Chicago singer-songwriter's departure was reported by Billboard on 27 September. No reason for the split was given in that report.
The timing is striking. Her breakthrough hit "Boston" is at No. 1 on Billboard's Country Airplay chart, which tracks plays on US country radio, for a second consecutive week. The song also peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, the US all-genre singles chart.
That radio run made Lefty the first solo-billed woman to spend multiple weeks at No. 1 on Country Airplay with a debut single since Gretchen Wilson. Wilson's "Redneck Woman" spent five weeks at No. 1 in 2004.
Lefty was managed at Disruptor by Zach Horowitz, the company's director of A&R and management, alongside chief executive Adam Alpert. Horowitz found Lefty online while he was still in college. She later moved to Los Angeles, according to an earlier Billboard profile.
Her debut album, Long Way Home, reached No. 11 on the Billboard 200, the US albums chart. She is due to begin a sold-out tour in November.
There have been other changes around her. She has switched press representation from Align to Nashville-based Sweet Talk PR. She had earlier partnered with JKash for publishing, which handles song rights and royalties.
Two songwriting credits have drawn attention. Noah Kahan received a credit on "Boston" because the song interpolates "Stick Season", meaning it reuses part of that song's melody or lyric. Tia Sillers and Mark Selby are credited as writers on "Summer You Were Mine" for its similarity to The Chicks' 1998 hit "There's Your Trouble".
Lefty has also been accused of stealing songs, as reported by Rolling Stone on 15 September. The accusations remain allegations. They are separate from the formal songwriting credits listed above.
What makes this stand out is the organisation behind her. Disruptor Records describes itself as working across label, management and publishing, and as a joint venture with Sony Music Entertainment. For fans, this means the music and the tour remain in place, but the management team behind them has changed.
