Because of the virality of certain songs, TikTok has become essential for promoting new music. However, a number of musicians have lately spoken out against their record labels, claiming that they have been overly pushed onto the platform. On Sunday, May 22, Halsey entered the debate with a video accusing their company, Capitol Songs Group, of preventing them from releasing new music until the impending album generates enough social media hype.
“Our belief in Halsey as a singular and important artist is total and unwavering,” a Capitol Music Group spokesperson said in a statement to Elite Daily on May 24. “We can’t wait for the world to hear their brilliant new music.”
The label’s statement comes just days after Halsey posted a TikTok that featured on-screen text with the following message: “Basically I have a song that I love that I wanna release ASAP but my record label won’t let me. I’ve been in this industry for eight years and I’ve sold over 165 million records and my record company is saying I can’t release it unless they can fake a viral moment on TikTok.”
“Everything is marketing, and they are doing this to basically every artist these days,” Halsey claimed. “I just wanna release music, man and I deserve better tbh. I’m tired.”
what tiktok has done to the music industry is upsetting like… pic.twitter.com/bSJ0EIVfv1
— allure (@alluregaga2) May 22, 2022