Charli XCX said she was "lying for fun" about her record label’s asking her to make more TikTok videos.
Charli XCX responded Tuesday to a tweeted collage of screenshots of artists complaining about having to make TikTok videos. One of the screenshots was from Charli XCX's TikTok video from October. 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 reply to a request for comment.
People online are pointing to certain posts by artists that seemed inauthentic.
Most recently, Halsey claimed that 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 requests 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.
A TikTok video Halsey posted about needing a viral moment has more than 8 million views. A subsequent TikTok video 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 video. "My record company is saying that I can't release it unless until they can fake a viral moment on TikTok."
Many on social media have questioned whether the singers who claimed they have to make viral TikTok videos for their labels were making the statements for clout.
Posts by various artists about needing to go viral have prompted theories that complaining about having to promote songs is part of a larger marketing ploy.
Asking followers for likes and shares on TikTok videos so labels will release music is a tactic artists big and small have used on the platform to quickly gain traction and attention.
