Before they became a platinum-selling rock band known for anthems like “Renegades” and “Jungle,” the members of X Ambassadors were struggling, unknown musicians facing an insurmountable obstacle: debt. The secret behind the creation of their debut EP, Litost, and the emergence of their impactful early song “Litost!” was a massive, high-stakes gamble—a verbal contract with a recording studio to incur $60,000 in debt, based on a promise to pay only if they achieved fame.
In the early 2010s, X Ambassadors, fronted by brothers Sam Harris and Casey Harris, were working tirelessly but lacked the financial resources necessary to record a professional-quality EP. They understood that in the highly competitive music industry, a high-quality recording was essential to attract attention from labels and producers. The cost of producing their debut EP, which they named Litost (a Czech word defined by Milan Kundera as “a state of agony and torment created by the sudden realization of one’s own misery”), was estimated to be around $60,000—a crushing figure for a band with no income.
Faced with this financial roadblock, the band demonstrated the aggressive hustling spirit that later defined their music. They approached a recording studio and managed to persuade the owners to take an unprecedented risk. The band signed an informal, almost handshake-based, agreement: they would be allowed to use the studio and incur the $60,000 debt for the recording of the Litost EP. In return, they signed a contract stipulating a radical condition: they would only pay the debt back once they became famous and started making money. This extraordinary deal essentially bet the studio’s resources against the band’s potential for future success, showing the immense confidence the band members had in their own music, especially tracks like the eponymous song “Litost!,” which was featured on the EP.
The studio’s gamble proved to be a lucrative one. The Litost EP attracted the attention of Imagine Dragons’ Dan Reynolds, who helped get the band signed to Interscope Records. The band’s subsequent success rapidly outpaced expectations: their 2015 debut album, VHS, featured the multi-platinum single “Renegades,” which went on to be used heavily in commercial campaigns, securing the financial stability they had promised. The initial success and subsequent earnings allowed X Ambassadors to fulfill their end of the audacious deal. The story of the $60,000 debt remains a powerful testament to the band’s relentless determination and the faith they had to instill in others to realize their dreams.