Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park has issued statements critiquing the intense pressure musicians are under to produce social media content. Since the arrival of the TikTok apps and the nature of viral songs topping Billboard charts, many artists are feeling lost after the new wave of technology. 

“I’m tired of hearing musicians be told they’re not investing enough energy in social media content,” Shinoda noted. “[Other artists] say they’re spending way too much time making little videos to support their careers, but wish they could spend more time making and playing music.”

“How is a young artist expected to put in enough time to get great at their craft when they need to feed all these content channels? The time they spend generating mind-numbing ‘content’ might have been at the expense of the best song they never wrote,” Shinoda concluded in his Twitter thread.

It is no secret that Instagram Reels and TikTok viral sounds correspond directly to the success of certain track’s ranking on the Billboard charts, specifically in the case of Doja Cat and Lil Nas X’s track record of utilizing these platforms to bolster their music. Halsey has also commented on this intense pressure.

Halsey commented that her record label would not allow her to release her new track until it went viral on TikTok. Halsey notes, “Everything is marketing. And they are doing this to basically every artist these days.”

Photo Credit: Shareef Ellis