Indie artist Ben Lee signs with Warner Music Australia

Warner Music Australia (WMA) has signed veteran independent recording artist Ben Lee.

The deal includes his forthcoming album I’M FUN!, out on June 17 next year, as well as the artist’s 19-album back catalogue.

Lee’s new single ‘Born For This Bullshit’ is also out today.

Warner Music Australasia president, Dan Rosen, said he can’t wait for Lee to write the next chapter of his career with WMA.

“Ben Lee is an iconic Australian artist and we are proud to be Ben’s new home for his latest single and forthcoming albums,” he said. “His creativity, wit and fearlessness continues to challenge and entertain music fans around the world.

“We are privileged to now represent his back catalogue which has so many classic songs, that have even more strongly resonated with the Aussie public as we’ve navigated through these challenging COVID times.”

Lee said signing with the major label felt right.

“From day one, the Warner team have just been like ‘What do you want to do? How can we help?’, which are the dream words every artist wants to hear,” he said. “They know that with an artist like me you don’ try and fit a square peg into a round hole, you let me do my thing without interference, as strange as some of my choices might be, and that’s how you get the best results. I’m really grateful for this opportunity.”

The album, I’M FUN!, will be a compilation of songs about growing up, celebrating being a weirdo and embracing positivity, he said.

“Like all the best songs I’ve written, I had no idea how relevant [‘Born For This Bullshit’] would be when I first wrote it,” he added about his new single. “‘We’re All In This Together’ was the same way. I wrote ‘Born For This Bullshit’ in 2019, but I finally understand it in 2021. It’s about positivity, swagger, keeping your chin up, even though we’re in total global chaos, true crisis, but still kinda choosing to enjoy the ride.

“I can be a bit of a cheeky bastard. It’s about refusing to be bogged down in negativity.”

The song’s video was director by Byron Spencer.