Courtney Love spoke at an event in Cannes about her career and insights into the music industry. She discussed being driven by competition and having no backup plan but to succeed as a rock star. Love also talked about the importance of finding mentors to help artists succeed and advised seeking support from the spouse of influential people. Additionally, she commented on challenges modern female artists face in standing out and how trends develop organically rather than by trying to start them.

1. AHoleinOne:
Courtney
Lovecharms
Cannes
insights from a CONVERSATION
WITH courtney love
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2. A Hole in One: Courtney Love charms Cannes
Courtneyon
competition
“I’m driven by competition,” she says. “When
Hole toured with Nine Inch Nails, I used to go
into Trent Reznor’s dressing room and say, are
you ready, punk? I’m gonna crush you.” This
same competitive spirit still informs Courtney’s
songwriting. “I listen to superior writers like
Bob Dylan, PJ Harvey and Leonard Cohen,
and scream why didn’t I think of that?”
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3. Courtneyon
confidence
Courtney credits Hole’s success with an
inordinate amount of self-belief. “I was
ambitious, and I had no Plan B. I was going to
be a rock star, or I was going to throw myself
off a building by the time I was 25.” Utterly
convinced of her own specialness, Courtney
strode into the Factory in New York and
demanded that Andy Warhol take her picture.
The response? “Sure, but she needs a nosejob.”
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A Hole in One: Courtney Love charms Cannes

4. Courtneyon
Kanye &
mentoring
Of her fellow celebrity speaker, Courtney
simply said; “Some of what he said was
absurd, but some of it was really smart.”
One thing Kanye mentioned which struck a chord
with her was the importance of finding a mentor,
somebody to nurture and champion your work:
“He was right; he couldn’t have made it without
Jay-Z, Eminem couldn’t have made it without
Dr Dre.” No matter how influential the man,
though, Courtney would always advise artists:
“Go for the wife! That’s where the power is.”
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A Hole in One: Courtney Love charms Cannes

5. Courtneyon
Katy Perry &
standing out
“I get so excited when I see a new female
artist that’s good and doesn’t have
fireworks coming out of her tits.”
Courtney rushed to rationalize that statement, saying
she empathizes with artists like Katy Perry who, in
a post-Gaga world, are pushed to greater attention
seeking limits just to get by. It’s the nature of the
beast: “In the world of hits,” she says, “there’s only
two kinds of songs. Ballads, and novelty songs.”
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A Hole in One: Courtney Love charms Cannes

6. Courtneyon
Kate Moss
& Trends
Never one to namedrop, Courtney told the audience a
little story about the time she went vintage shopping
with bestie Kate Moss and they both bought the same
Victorian capelet. “I wore it, and I was slammed,”
goes the tale. “Kate wore the same garment a few
weeks later, and all of a sudden it’s a trend.” That’s
what you get for being friends with a supermodel.
“You can’t try to start a trend,” she
says. “That happens organically.”
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A Hole in One: Courtney Love charms Cannes