Lizzo has said that there’s no “song of the summer” this year because artists are struggling to break through social media algorithms.
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The singer took to TikTok to offer advice to emerging artists on Friday (September 5), telling them that “the music industry is in complete shambles right now, and you can use that to your advantage.”
“Back in the day, the music industry was very algorithmic, as any other industry was, but that industry was controlled to a certain extent,” she explained. “Now that we are in the digital streaming age, there is no control over the algorithm, and it is stressing people the fuck out. Myself included.”
She then went on to say that “every major artist besides Beyoncé has dropped music this year, or is planning to drop music this year,” including her own mixtape ‘My Face Hurts From Smiling’, which included features from SZA and Doja Cat. “I just dropped the deluxe to my mixtape today. And yet, there are still people who don’t even know I dropped music.”
“Every major artist, from Lady Gaga to Drake, has dropped albums this year, and yet everyone is saying there’s no song of the summer,” she added. “I’m going to be completely honest with you guys. It’s not because the music isn’t incredible. It’s because the way that the algorithm is set up, no one can serve the masses anymore.
“This industry used to be based on serving the masses, basically like servicing your song out to certain channels and certain radio stations. The internet space wasn’t so congested. There was a clear channel back in the day for major artists to put their music out and serve the masses.”
The musician then detailed how, because of TikTok’s “For You page”, people often don’t see content from users that they follow on the app. “For new artists, this is actually incredible news. You now more than ever, have an advantage over even major artists to get your music out there and connecting with people at a way quicker rate.”
She then went on to offer direct advice to emerging artists, saying: “Right now is the time to put yourself out there. I wouldn’t even try to go the old school route and get signed. I would just make as much music as possible, as much content as possible and put it on the internet.”
She concluded: “Anyway, I say all that to say that this year has been an incredible year for music. It just hasn’t been on your algorithm.”
@lizzo The song of the summer is Whim Whammy btw #fyp
In other Lizzo news, she recently took to social media to reveal the “truth” behind her weight loss, saying that it was down to diet and lifestyle changes rather than weight loss drugs.
Earlier this year, Lizzo was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live, where she played a medley of ‘Still Bad’ and ‘Love In Real Life’, the latter being the title track of her upcoming fifth studio album. In March, she said the record was “finished”, and was likely also to include ‘Don’t Make Me Love You’, which she also played on SNL.
Lizzo has explained how she came up with the album title, saying that it came about after she realised how much more integral real-life friendships are compared to those made through social media.
