American singer-songwriter Halsey, who has sold over 165 million records, shared a video on TikTok in which she denounces that her label won’t let her release a new song if it doesn’t go viral on TikTok first.
The 30-second video did what Halsey’s record company wanted, though probably not what they wanted.
It got more than 8 million views in 24 hours and aroused great interest among fans, users in the industry.
Basically I have a song that I love and I want to release it as soon as possible, but my label won’t let me.
I’ve been in this industry for 8 years and I’ve sold over 165 million records. And my label says I can’t release it unless they can create a viral moment on TikTok.
It’s all marketing. And they’re doing it with pretty much every artist these days. I just want to release music, man. And I deserve better to be honest. I am tired.
Feedback on the video was split between those who expressed support and those who considered the release to be the true marketing plan the label wanted from the start.
@halsey I am tired
In a second video shared two hours later, Halsey responded to the allegations with a recording of someone speaking off-screen, apparently a record label representative, explaining how the TikTok viral campaign would have to play out in order for the song to be released.
At the end of the explanation, Halsey says to her interlocutor “I hate this. Sucks”.
@halsey
Just like MTV or radio stations, TikTok is where popular music now lives. Record companies understand.
For them, the appeal of TikTok is that music content can go viral quickly, offering the potential to save millions on other types of marketing. The artist’s main job, making music, remains the same. But now the video has to go viral.
