Post Malone says he struggles “to make something natural” on TikTok

Post Malone has discussed his relationship with TikTok, saying he struggles “to make something natural” on the social media platform.

Conversations around the demands on artists from record labels to use the platform have been in the headlines in recent weeks after Halsey shared a number of posts claiming that their label were holding a new song hostage until they could “fake” a viral TikTok.

Taking to their TikTok page, the singer – who released latest album ‘If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power’ last year – said in a post titled “I’m tired” that there is new music she wants to release “ASAP,” but that “marketing” is getting in the way and the label won’t let her share the new song.

The song, ‘So Good’, has now got a release date of June 9, with her label Capitol Records telling Halsey publicly: “We love you and are here to support you. We are an artist first company that encourages open dialogue. We have nothing but a desire to help each one of our artists succeed, and hope that we can continue to have these critical conversations.”

In a new interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music, Post Malone said it was “interesting to hear” Halsey’s opinion, adding that, for himself, it’s “just so hard for me to make something natural” on TikTok.

Asked by Lowe whether he believes he is successful enough to push back at any label demands for social media content, he said: “I just think it’s my personal opinion and the changes that I’ve made mentally to distance myself from that and that’s really impacted my life in a positive way.”

He added: “Do what’s right for you. It’s not choosing whether you’re like, ‘Oh I don’t have to do that because I play arenas, I headline festivals.’ It’s just whatever makes you comfortable because, at the end of the day, you just gotta be comfortable with what you’re doing. And social media is something that I’m not super comfortable with.”

In the aftermath of Halsey’s comments, a number of artists have entered the conversation around artists’ use of TikTok and label demands.

They include FKA twigs, who has said: “It’s true all record labels ask for are TikToks and I got told off today for not making enough effort” and since deleted her TikTok account. Charli XCX, Florence Welch and more have also expressed similar sentiments.

Rebecca Lucy Taylor, aka Self Esteem, has since penned an essay about the pressure she believes female artists face to provide TikTok content.

Writing in The Guardian, Taylor said: “I think it’s no coincidence that the recent examples of artists who say their labels have forced them to get on TikTok are all women.

“My pub-psychologist theory is that the music industry thinks of social media as an inherently female thing – it’s just another patriarchal idea that women and gay men are interested in the minutiae of other women, while men are just too busy and important to be interested in that stuff.”

Post Malone, meanwhile, will release new album ‘Twelve Carat Toothache’ tomorrow (June 3). He’s released two singles from it thus far: the Weeknd-featuring ‘One Right Now’ and the Roddy Ricch collab ‘Cooped Up’. Last month on Instagram Live, he shared snippets of a bunch of other collaborations set to appear on the album, including songs with Doja Cat and The Kid LAROI.

By Will Richards