Charli XCX Has Disagreement Over Social Media Demands

Last week, Charli XCX reportedly left a meeting with her record label after they advised her to be more “real” on social media.

Talking to Trick Mirror author Jia Tolentino on Dazed’s A Future World podcast, the English pop singer – who has also written songs for the likes of Iggy Azalea, Selena Gomez and Blondie – revealed that she’d previously felt pressure from her label to be relatable to fans.

Charli XCX stated,“There is this quest at the moment for authenticity within all art, but particularly in music. There’s this stigma of, ‘They don’t write their songs, they’re not real. I think that transferred to the way labels wanted artists to be on social media.”

She continued, “I remember having a meeting with my record label, probably around the time of ‘Boom Clap’ where they were like, ‘We just need you to post every Tuesday about your flaws and maybe you could take some pictures of dogs,” as though posting imperfection and pet-related content is the key to an authentic image.

“I stormed out. I was like, ‘This is f**king ridiculous!’ It was crazy. That’s not real.”

Charli previously admitted she feels like an “outsider” in the music industry, having Tweeted, “I feel like outside of my fans I don’t really provide people with the opportunity to feel much ownership over me or my decisions, which is maybe why i have a sort of outsider status within pop music and also experience rejection from the “industry” side of music sometimes (sic).”

She then added, “I always give my collaborators credit. my producers/mixers/artists I collaborate with etc. i have never once pretended I am solely responsible for the songs I release – but I also recognise that none of my art would be the same or even possible without my own vision & talent (sic).”

How much of a say should record labels have in the content that artists post? How “real” can content be if it is  dictated by an external source? Charli XCX’s row with her record label raises questions about what is honest and what is fake online, as well as how much autonomy artists should have when building their online presence.