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Halsey Says Their Label Won’t Release Song Until They Have 'Viral' TikToks

Halsey Says Their Label Won’t Release Song Until They Have 'Viral' TikToks

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"Basically, I have a song that I love that I want to release ASAP, but my record label won't let me."

Superstar singer Halsey is claiming that their record label is withholding music unless they make certain "viral" TikToks

The "Without Me" singer expressed her frustrations with their label in a TikTok on Sunday morning. "Basically, I have a song that I love that I want to release ASAP," the singer says in the video. "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," they continued. "I just wanna release music, man. And I deserve better tbh. I'm tired."

However, some fans and critics pointed out that now, Halsey does have a new viral video on TikTok, and wondered if the whole thing wasn't a marketing ploy.

After fans questioned the truth of Halsey's statements, the singer released another video featuring a clip of her talking to someone from her label about making TikToks about her music. "I just hate this," Halsey says in the audio clip. "It sucks."

Later, Halsey updated her fans, saying that she had talked to her label after her "tik tok tantrum."

"They say 'wow, the tik tok is going really strong!' I was like, ok cool, so can I release my song now?' They said, 'we'll see!'"

After Halsey's statements, the label -- Astralwerks-Capitol -- responded to the singer's claims.

"Our belief in Halsey as a singular and important artist is total and unwavering," they said in a statement. "We can't wait for the world to hear their brilliant new music."

Halsey then clarified on Twitter that the statement came from Astralwerks, the label that originally signed them, but that they have been upstreamed to Capitol Records, who now represents them. "This quote came from the company who believed in me from the jump," she said on Twitter. "Not the company I'm wrestling with right now."

Halsey isn't the only artist to complain about how their labels are making them use TikTok to create "viral" videos promoting their music. Twitter user Allure put together posts from Charli XCX, Florence Welch, and FKA Twigs, along with Halsey's post, to show that this is a growing trend being used against established artists.

Hopefully, we'll see an end to this trend soon, and get to hear Halsey's new song as well.

RELATED | Halsey Is a Mom Now! Check Out the First Pics of Their Beautiful Baby!

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Mey Rude

Mey Rude is a journalist and cultural critic who has been covering queer news for a decade. The transgender, Latina lesbian lives in Los Angeles with her fiancée.

Mey Rude is a journalist and cultural critic who has been covering queer news for a decade. The transgender, Latina lesbian lives in Los Angeles with her fiancée.