Charli XCX said she was “lying for fun” about her record label asking her to make more TikToks.
The musician on Tuesday responded to a tweet collage of screenshots of artists complaining about having to make TikToks. One of the screenshots was from Charli XCX’s TikTok video from October 2021. The text over the video reads, “When my label asks me to make my 8th TikTok of the week.”
The tweet with the screenshots, read in part, “but some artists also told the truth.” Charli XCX wrote in response: “not me — i was just lying for fun.”
A representative for Charli XCX did not immediately return a request for comment.
The response from Charli XCX comes as people online are pointing to certain posts from artists that seemed inauthentic.
Most recently, Halsey claimed her label Astralwerks/Capitol Records refused to release her new album if she didn’t have a viral moment on TikTok.
Astralwerks and representatives for Halsey did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“it’s not about making the tiktoks I already make tiktoks! They are saying if they don’t reach some imaginary goalpost of views or virality than they won’t give me a release date at all. I’m not claiming to be oppressed! just saying that all not all marketing methods are universal,” Halsey wrote in one of several tweets,
Now, a TikTok Halsey posted about needing a viral moment has more than 8 million views. A subsequent TikTok about the issue has more than 4.5 million views.
“Basically, I have a song that I love that I want to release ASAP but my record label won’t let me,” Halsey wrote in the text of her TikTok. “My record company is saying that I can’t release it unless they can fake a viral moment on TikTok.”
Many on social media have questioned if the singers who claimed they have to make viral TikToks for their label were making the statements for clout.
Posts from various artists about needing to go viral have prompted theories that complaining about having to promote the song was part of a larger marketing ploy.
Asking followers for likes and shares on a TikTok so that a label will release music has been a tactic used by artists, big and small, on the platform to quickly gain traction and attention.
Morgan Sung contributed,
