Photo Credit: Geffen Records
Last month, reports indicated that Olivia Rodrigo was searching for a new manager after splitting with Camp Far West Management founder Kristen Smith. Now, ahead of her world tour, the 18-year-old has reportedly signed with Lighthouse Management.
Multiple outlets have detailed the management shakeup of Olivia Rodrigo, who rose to commercial prominence with last summer’s much-streamed Sour. Notwithstanding her breakout success while a client of Smith, however, Murrieta, California-born Rodrigo evidently parted ways with Camp Far West, as the initially mentioned January reports relayed.
And it came to light this afternoon that the “Drivers License” singer and songwriter – who’s up for seven Grammys – had reached a deal with Lighthouse Management & Media, which bills itself as “a Los Angeles based full service talent management, production & media company.”
Six-year-old Lighthouse Management hadn’t commented publicly on the matter at the time of this piece’s writing – nor had Rodrigo herself. But the firm, which maintains a website consisting solely of a non-interactive logo, reportedly represents the likes of Selena Gomez, Paul Rudd, and Jason Bateman.
Additionally, Rodrigo will reportedly be co-managed by Lighthouse founder and CEO Aleen Keshishian and partner Zack Morgenroth. The latter individual previously served as a talent manager for Brillstein Entertainment Partners, and Keshishian’s longtime assistant formerly worked at Brillstein and ICM Partners.
Needless to say, the precise reason(s) for Olivia Rodrigo’s management-team switch remain unclear. But it’s worth noting that the High School Musical: The Musical: The Series actress’s rapid career ascent hasn’t been without controversy – both publicly and behind the scenes.
On the former front, some accused Rodrigo of plagiarizing Elvis Costello’s 1978 hit “Pump It Up” on “Brutal,” and Costello himself eventually weighed in on the matter. “This is fine by me, Billy,” he responded to one Twitter user who pointed out the perceived similarities between the songs. “It’s how rock and roll works. You take the broken pieces of another thrill and make a brand new toy. That’s what I did. #subterreaneanhomesickblues #toomuchmonkeybusiness.”
But evidence suggests that other artists haven’t been as accepting of the technical characteristics that Rodrigo’s work purportedly shares with their own music; Rodrigo quietly added Taylor Swift as a songwriter on “Déjà Vu” last July.
Then, August of 2021 saw the Sony Music Publishing-signed creator add Paramore frontwoman Hayley Williams and former bandmember Josh Farro as songwriters on “Good 4 U,” presumably because of the track’s purported overlap with 2007’s “Misery Business.” Williams took to social media to acknowledge her credit on the song, which boasts a staggering 1.26 billion Spotify plays, compared to 1.30 billion streams for “Drivers License.”