Charli XCX “stormed out” of a meeting with her record label because they wanted her to be more “real”.
The ‘Boom Clap’ hitmaker – who has also written songs for the likes of Iggy Azalea, Selena Gomez and Blondie – was unimpressed when management asked her to post photos with her dogs in a bid to appear more authentic.
Appearing on the ‘A Future World’ podcast, she said: “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.
“I remember having a meeting with my record label where they were like, ‘We just need you to post every Tuesday about your flaws and maybe you could post some pictures with dogs’.
“I stormed out. I was like, ‘This is f****** ridiculous!’ It was crazy. That’s not real.”
However, the 28-year-old singer isn’t against all changes in the music industry, as she praised the way TikTok has had a positive “impact” on the business as a whole.
She explained: “You can really see the impact of viral TikTok songs on the Grammys and the charts and that’s great.
“The thing I love about it is that it’s dictated by the kids and what they find and gravitate towards themselves rather than what they’re force fed.”
Meanwhile, Charli previously admitted she feels like an “outsider” in the music industry.
She 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)”.
And she 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 recognize that none of my art would be the same or even possible without my own vision & talent (sic).”