Halsey Says Record Label Won’t Release New Song

I don't get why bigger artists like this aren't moving away from this typical record label structure. It's such a trap for artists where white men take their money and ownership. Halsey is huge, she has a big big fan base, if she went independent or went to a smaller label with better morals she would still have those fans, people would still listen to her music. What's stopping her from doing that?

Artists like her have enough money to put into their own work by now. She could even start her own label where she treats artists like they should. Halsey, and artists like her, are in a perfect position to change things. Why don't they?

I know there are contracts and such in some situations, but steps can be made to start getting away from this.

 

More interesting in the sense of this is how the pop music industry works now. Tiktok

 

How is this different from requiring a band to make a music video for MTV 25 years ago?

Only the platform has changed. If it's a good hook (see Lizzo's "About Damn Time"), people will get creative and riff off it.

 

It's missing the whole point she's been making. There's something sinister about how the label won't let her release a song unless she does things that not only she hasn't signed up for in the first place (TikTok is still relatively new), but that even if she submits to their demands and actually does do these things, there's no guarantee the song will be released anyway.

 

Because I really don't think this is how the industry works. Even if I had $10m in cash and the ability to sell a multi-platinum record + sell out an arena tour, that amount of cash isn't enough to front.. all the pre-production in the studio, the studio time, the producer, book mixing time, market the album, press the album, book arenas, book staff for the arena, book logistics and transportation for the tour, insurance for everything, and on and on and on, and have a legal team to draw up contracts for all of it. It's not just about cash. She can do it on her own on some scale, sure, but not like the ones she's used to having.

 

She didn't sign up to make a music video to promote her work on an app that people spend HOURS every day on?

I'm a fan of Halsey but I'm definitely not getting this one.

 

Labels KNOW they’re losing relevancy with big artists. That’s why they gave Adele her last deal. They’re paying them to make it more attractive to stay rather than go through the hassle of setting up their own operation. I’m also VERY willing to bet she either has ownership of (or will soon) all of her masters. Thus, turning the deal into ‘just’ a distribution situation at some point.

Some money is better than no money.

You can absolutely make most of these moves with ‘limited’ capital (and large credit lines), especially given the platform and exposure she already has.

Adele’s last promotion was buying random billboards and putting the number 30 on it. That’s it. And it’s sold BIG. Halsey can do similar things, and she still has her social media presence to capitalize on.

 

Hi skaorsk8, hope your day life/whatever is going well.

Yes, back in the good ol' 1980's when bands created music videos it was a popularity booster. Record companies wanted bands, singers, rappers, hell even Eddie Murphy to make a video as well. It was great. They knew MTV = dollars. Simple formula. Make video or three and your odds of having a song be more successful were that much greater.

Halsey mentioned TikTok. Ya know, that thing. She mentioned how the premise of a false viral occurrence isn't kosher. Much different than a scripted video by a hair metal band wearing their girlfriends pants. Follow so far? It's not just fake viral videos though. It's daily updates, videos, regular streaming viewings with fan interaction/Twitch game streaming, even more TikToks. Where's the music making? Wheres the touring? Follow still?

Even Mike Shinoda talked about it. Remember him? Cool dude
Mike Shinoda Blasts Music Industry for Forcing Artists to Prioritize Social Media Content

So, just a hair different from a record company wanting another video by Cinderella. Although Tom Kiefer is a majestic piece of man though. Have a good day champ.

 

Labels dropped over 7 figures to make those and then used them to promote the artist by paying MTV to play them, not make the artist create something themselves, for free, to promote themselves, on app without compensation ... in order to have the pleasure of releasing a single ... for one difference.

 

Misterwives were dropped from FBR according to their lead singer for not making TikToks over the pandemic.

 

Hi, I'm good, thank you for asking. I hope you're doing well.

I watched Halsey's original TikTok where she outlined the problem. She's already doing what the label was asking for, since that video has 1.2 million likes. What the label was requesting was for her to use TikTok to build up some interest and momentum around the song, and then once there was buzz around the song, they would release it.

I'm following your line of reasoning, but still fail to see the difference between how Halsey's label is asking her to market the song vs. how songs were marketed in the past - artists would go on morning radio shows to promote their song, visit TRL to promote their song, go on late night talk shows like Fallon or Corden to promote their song, go on daytime shows like Kelly/ Ryan or any other ways that I'm not thinking of.

In those instances of artists promoting their music in the past through the various methods I just mentioned - where was the music making? Where was the touring? They could have spent time and energy writing new music, but yet - those artists needed to promote their work.

To be fair, I am not 100% in agreement with the label for 1 small reason - I take issue with the label asking for a "viral moment" as if she needs to do something outrageous to get people talking - but now, because of this whole discussion, she already has it. Mission accomplished. But now it's not about the song anymore, she made it about her protest - which takes away from the song.

 

Giving an interview on absolutepunk is another one lol.

 

Tom Kiefer reference, respect. lol

 

You're describing (mostly paid) promotions from a record label after a song has been released versus telling an artist to create viral tiktoks before they will let you release a single. These are not the same thing.

 

Fair point. However, I'm pretty sure that the artist is booked on those promotional events before the single is released - likely weeks or months in advance. The artist wouldn't get booked unless they had a single or an album coming out.

 

That actually helps the artist - it gives them more power and creative freedom to express whatever vision they have, then instantly share it with the world.

No gatekeepers required.

 

So the equivalent in your scenario would be the artist being told they need to book their own promotional event, pay for it, and create hype for it before they could release their song. Which of course would be asinine.

 

You’re somehow confusing “required by someone you’re in a contract with” with “a freelance artist doing something of their own volition.”

 

@skaorsk8 Respectfully, you're coming at this at the wrong angle. Like Jason said, this is something labels would set up that artists would be paid for compared to something the artist does completely on their own in their own time. I talked about this a bit in the Halsey album thread, but it's taking time away from other avenues, especially for younger artists. I hear what you're saying about artistic freedom, but that only goes so far. Sure Lizzo can get a dance to go viral on TikTok. Not every artist can tap into the things that work on TikTok. Every app has its own language and not everyone knows how to speak it. And while TikToks are typically 15 seconds or a little bit longer, they still take time to produce. That's time that (especially for younger artists) could be spent creating, networking, gigging, practicing, etc. It does all add up eventually. If I'm a popular artist who can't dance to save her life and doesn't share the humor that works on TikTok, why should I be penalized for that? TikTok is absolutely a valid avenue to gain traction but it doesn't work for everybody and it shouldn't be considered the end all be all which is basically what we're seeing start to happen.

 

Friend works for a label

I'll always remember being a kid, in 2002, turning on MtV X when they were having hair metal days...

 

Do artists get paid to be active on Twitter and social media? Or is someone in charge of that?

 

This. Particularly in songwriting. I feel like I’ve observed SO MANY instances where artists went independent and you could tell producers played a huge role in their art when the quality of the songs (not even how they were mixed/engineered) diminished substantially