Why did a music label drop Liam Payne few days before his demise?

It has been reported that a music label silently dropped Liam Payne a few days before he passed away. Sources state that he was dropped because the label was not sure if the kind of music he wanted to produce now would be admired by his One Direction fan base. 

Payne passed away on Wednesday (Oct 16) at 31 years of age after falling off from the balcony of the hotel’s third floor in Buenos Aires, Argentina. 

Did Universal back out because of online memes? 

A source exclusively revealed to Mail Online, “Liam wanted to make the sort of music he enjoyed but his label believed it wouldn't win over 1D fans so there were disagreements about the way his brand should have been marketed.” 

The sources also said that the label had a limited budget and that was also a reason to dissolve their agreement. 

They alleged that Payne’s bad press including “all the memes and jokes people made about him online,” partly resulted in the label’s decision. The source also told the media outlet, “The entire music industry is making cuts and restructuring to cut costs, so Universal decided to drop Liam quietly and invest in other artists. He didn't need the money because he was wealthy, but yes it did hurt him because he was under constant pressure to compete with the other guys in the band.” 

Another source stated to the media outlet, “It was more to do with public perception than anything because other musicians are a lot harder to work with. But Liam was being mocked in public, so it was much easier for his team to abandon him.” They added that “Liam made millions for the industry but was shunned when he wanted it to support him.” 

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Universal’s tribute to Liam Payne 

According to the media outlet, many sources claimed that Payne was paid in advance by the label, but he didn’t redeem it. Payne was left without any publicity representation when his London-based publicist also dropped him, earlier in October 2024.