{{Short description|Pejorative for musical artists}} {{Distinguish|Industrial plant}}
'''Industry plant''' is a pejorative<ref>Sources for "industry plant" being a pejorative: * {{cite web |last1=Cunningham |first1=Kyndall |title=How "industry plants" became the internet's hottest conspiracy |url=https://www.vox.com/culture/24114819/industry-plants-music-poprap-internet-hottest-conspiracy |website=Vox |access-date=November 24, 2024 |date=April 11, 2024 |quote=In recent years, the pejorative 'industry plant' has been employed with fervor among music fans much like the term 'nepo baby' has been in acting.}} * {{cite web |last1=Chaudhry |first1=Aliya |title=Is This Viral Band Really Who They Say They Are? |url=https://slate.com/culture/2021/04/tramp-stamps-tiktok-controversy-pop-punk-feminist-queer.html |website=Slate |access-date=November 24, 2024 |date=April 24, 2021 |quote=This background has earned Tramp Stamps the badge of 'industry plant.' The term is a pejorative aimed at artists who are found to have major label ties, despite presenting themselves as DIY or independent.}} * {{cite web |last1=Tharpe |first1=Frazier |title=How 4batz Became Music's Hottest New Star: 'Ain't Nothing Calculated' |url=https://www.gq.com/story/4batz-gq-hype |website=GQ |access-date=November 24, 2024 |date=April 29, 2024 |quote=The overused pejorative term industry plant describes an apocryphal type of artist ...}}</ref> used to describe musicians who are believed to have become popular through nepotism, inheritance, wealth, favoritism, or their connections in the music industry rather than on their own merits or organic growth. Artists described as industry plants often present themselves as independent and self-made, but are alleged to have their public images manufactured for them by record labels.
The term originated in the early 2010s on hip hop-focused message boards to describe various rappers before being used against indie rock and pop musicians, such as Clairo and Billie Eilish, in the late 2010s. It has been called a conspiracy theory by critics and criticized in the media by artists for being disproportionately used against female artists and for placing scrutiny on individual musicians rather than the music industry as a whole.
==Usage== The term "industry plant" commonly refers to musicians who quickly find success, regardless of skill or merit, and describe themselves as self-made and independent despite being heavily supported by a record label or having other resources and connections to the music industry that they intentionally hide, while also being more focused on business than on artistic expression.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Branigin |first1=Anne |title=Oliver Anthony and the 'mainstreaming' of conspiracy theories |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2023/08/17/oliver-anthony-rich-men-north-of-richmond/ |newspaper=Washington Post |access-date=6 January 2024 |date=20 August 2023}}</ref><ref name="RSTS">{{cite magazine |last1=Shaffer |first1=Claire |title=Queer Punk Band With Ties to Dr. Luke Sparks Backlash on TikTok |url=https://www.rollingstone.com./music/music-news/tramp-stamps-dr-luke-tiktok-backlash-1156440/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=28 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415213347/https://www.rollingstone.com./music/music-news/tramp-stamps-dr-luke-tiktok-backlash-1156440/ |archive-date=15 April 2021 |date=15 April 2021}}</ref><ref name="ORNewshub">{{cite news |last1=Clark |first1=Emma |title=Olivia Rodrigo: Is she an industry plant and does it matter? |url=https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/entertainment/2021/06/olivia-rodrigo-is-she-an-industry-plant-and-does-it-matter.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210707032417/https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/entertainment/2021/06/olivia-rodrigo-is-she-an-industry-plant-and-does-it-matter.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 7, 2021 |website=Newshub |access-date=28 December 2023 |date=14 June 2021}}</ref><ref name="VoxTS" /> It is typically used as a pejorative by music fans, largely of Generation Z, against artists who they believe to be undeserving of their fame or success.<ref name="NCPaste">{{cite web |last1=Manno |first1=Lizzie |title=Charli XCX's I'm With The Band on Netflix Is Heartwarming Despite Its Relative Fakeness |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/tv/im-with-the-band/im-with-the-band-nasty-cherry-review |website=Paste |access-date=29 December 2023 |date=18 December 2019}}</ref><ref name="FarOutBillie">{{cite web |last1=Taysom |first1=Joe |title=Charting the meteoric rise of Billie Eilish |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/charting-the-meteoric-rise-of-billie-eilish/ |website=Far Out |access-date=6 January 2024 |date=18 December 2021}}</ref><ref name="NYTClairo">{{cite web |last1=Coscarelli |first1=Joe |title=Clairo's 'Pretty Girl' Went Viral. Then She Had to Prove Herself. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/23/arts/music/clairo-pretty-girl-diary-001.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=28 December 2023 |date=23 May 2018}}</ref><ref name="CR">{{cite web |last1=Galil |first1=Leor |title=How did the 'industry plant' take root? |url=https://chicagoreader.com/music/how-did-the-industry-plant-take-root/ |website=Chicago Reader |access-date=28 December 2023 |date=15 March 2019}}</ref>
Artists who are called industry plants are sometimes alleged to have had their personas manufactured by marketing executives before being marketed to the public.<ref name="PPWhat">{{cite web |last1=Rindner |first1=Grant |title=What Is an Industry Plant? |url=https://www.complex.com/pigeons-and-planes/a/grant-rindner/what-is-industry-plant |website=Pigeons & Planes |access-date=28 December 2023 |date=31 March 2020}}</ref><ref name="DomFikeNYT" /> It has been compared to the idea of "selling out".<ref name="CR" />
==History== [[File:Raury Melt! 2015 02.jpg|left|thumb|American rapper Raury (''pictured'') was widely accused of being an industry plant online in 2015. In response, he wore a shirt reading "industry plant" on the cover of ''XXL''{{'}}s Freshman Class issue in 2015.]]
The term "industry plant" is believed to have originated on hip hop message boards in the early 2010s, gaining popularity after being used in a thread on the discussion forum KanyeToThe in 2012, in which rappers such as Lil Wayne, 50 Cent, and Waka Flocka Flame were alleged by users to be industry plants.<ref name="PPWhat" /> American singer Lana Del Rey has retrospectively been described as an early example of industry plant accusations. Upon the release of her debut studio album ''Born to Die'' (2012), her wealthy parents and her previous musical career as Lizzy Grant led to questions about her authenticity as an artist.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Jones |first1=Nate |title=Lana Del Rey's 10-Year War With the Culture |url=https://www.vulture.com/article/lana-del-rey-cancelled-timeline.html |website=Vulture |access-date=29 December 2023 |date=25 March 2021}}</ref>
After American rapper Raury released his mixtape, ''Indigo Child'', in 2014, was quickly signed to Columbia Records, and received coverage from ''Billboard'' for the music video for his song "God's Whisper", he was frequently called an industry plant online in 2015.<ref name="PPRaury">{{cite web |title=Industry Plants, Raury, and the Importance of Artist Development |url=https://www.complex.com/pigeons-and-planes/a/pigeonsandplanes/raury-love-renaissance |website=Complex |access-date=6 January 2024 |date=16 June 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Dye |first1=David |title=Heavy Rotation: 10 Songs Public Radio Can't Stop Playing |url=https://www.npr.org/2015/07/28/423603470/heavy-rotation-10-songs-public-radio-cant-stop-playing |publisher=NPR |access-date=6 January 2024 |date=28 July 2015}}</ref> He appeared on the cover of ''XXL'' for their annual Freshman Class list of up-and-coming artists in 2015, where he wore a shirt reading "industry plant" in response to the accusations.<ref name="CompWhat">{{cite web |last1=Charity |first1=Justin |title=What Is an Industry Plant? |url=https://www.complex.com/music/a/justin-charity/what-is-an-industry-plant |website=Complex |access-date=6 January 2024 |date=5 June 2015}}</ref> Christina Lee of ''Vice'' wrote in 2015 that "recent talk of Raury being an industry plant" was "silly" but "makes some sense", while Chris Thomas of ''Out'' called Raury "a popular target of industry plant conspiracy theorists" in 2017.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lee |first1=Christina |title=Raurfest Report: Is Raury the Ringleader New Atlanta's Been Waiting For? |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/raurfest-report-is-raury-the-ringleader-new-atlantas-been-waiting-for/ |website=Vice |access-date=6 January 2024 |date=28 June 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Thomas |first1=Chris |title=Meet Nick Harwood, the Industry Plant Behind the Year's Best Music Videos |url=https://www.out.com/out-exclusives/2017/12/11/meet-nick-harwood-industry-plant-behind-years-best-music-videos |website=Out |access-date=6 January 2024 |date=11 December 2017}}</ref> Chance the Rapper faced similar accusations of being an industry plant on music forums by 2015 due to his sudden success after independently releasing several mixtapes.<ref name="CompWhat" /><ref name="Tellygraph">{{cite web |last1=Ruskell |first1=Nick |title=From Lana Del Rey to Tramp Stamps: why we love to unmask an 'industry plant' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/artists/lana-del-rey-tramp-stamps-love-unmask-industry-plant/ |website=The Telegraph |access-date=29 December 2023 |date=4 May 2021}}</ref>
The term "industry plant" later became popular among indie rock fans. The increase in industry plant rumors in the late 2010s has been attributed by critics to the rise of music streaming.<ref name="CR" /><ref name="NCPaste" /> Clairo, who quickly rose to fame after her song "Pretty Girl" went viral online in 2017, was described by Leor Galil of the ''Chicago Reader'' as "a magnet for 'industry plant' insults" since 2017, when Reddit threads about her father working as the chief marketing officer of Converse and co-founding its Rubber Tracks recording studio before she became popular led to accusations of her being an industry plant.<ref name="CR" /><ref>{{cite web |last1=Samways |first1=Gemma |title=Clairo: 'This industry drains young women until they're not youthful any more' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/jul/13/clairo-this-industry-drains-young-women-until-theyre-not-youthful-any-more |website=The Guardian |access-date=28 December 2023 |date=13 July 2021}}</ref> Other users alleged that her "homespun" image was also created by her father and his associates, and the usage of the term to describe her led to the term gaining more widespread usage.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Zoladz |first1=Lindsay |title=The Curious Case of Clairo |url=https://www.theringer.com/music/2018/7/25/17610744/clairo-diary-001-music-industry |website=The Ringer |access-date=29 December 2023 |date=25 July 2018}}</ref>
{{multiple image | footer = The use of the term "industry plant" online to describe American singer Clairo (''left'') in 2017 brought it to more widespread use. American singer Billie Eilish (''right'') also became a frequent topic of industry plant discussions online by 2018. | total_width = 300 | image1 = Clairo @ El Rey 04 11 2019 (48498299611).jpg | width1 = | alt1 = | image2 = Billie Eilish at Pukkelpop Festival - 18 AUGUST 2019 (01) (cropped).jpg | width2 = | alt2 = }}
After gaining fame from her song "Bury a Friend" in 2018, American singer Billie Eilish was frequently called an industry plant online on YouTube and Reddit, where users similarly made threads about her personality being manufactured.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Stewart |first1=Allison |title=On 'Happier Than Ever' Billie Eilish delivers a second album that shows she wasn't just a whisper |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/billie-eilish-happier-than-ever-review/2021/08/01/21ae363c-f2dd-11eb-9068-bf463c8c74de_story.html |newspaper=Washington Post |access-date=29 December 2023 |date=1 August 2021}}</ref><ref name="IndyBillie">{{cite web |last1=O'Connor |first1=Roisin |title=Why Billie Eilish is the ultimate teen-pop icon |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/billie-eilish-happier-than-ever-b1888437.html |website=The Independent |access-date=28 December 2023 |date=27 July 2021}}</ref><ref name="BFNBillie">{{cite web |last1=Dominguez |first1=Alessa |title=Is Billie Eilish Really That 'Weird'? |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/alessadominguez/is-billie-eilish-really-that-weird |website=BuzzFeed News |access-date=6 January 2024 |date=17 August 2019}}</ref> Puerto Rican rapper Iann Dior named his debut studio album, ''Industry Plant'' (2020), after his being called an industry plant due to his quick rise to fame.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Thomas |first1=Fred |title=Iann Dior - Industry Plant Album Reviews, Songs & More |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/industry-plant-mw0003336870?1627784812012 |website=AllMusic |access-date=30 December 2023 |date=8 November 2019}}</ref> Also in 2020, American singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers responded to accusations that she was an industry plant, including a music critic who tweeted that they were "on team 'Phoebe Bridgers is an industry plant'", by stating that the Strokes and "every white boy who is mediocre" were industry plants as well and calling it "such an insane fucking double standard".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Barber-Way |first1=Mish |title=Cover Story: Phoebe Bridgers |url=https://www.thefader.com/2018/09/06/phoebe-bridgers-cover-story-interview |website=The Fader |access-date=29 December 2023 |date=6 September 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Kemp |first1=Ella |title=Phoebe Bridgers: 'I definitely feel a lot less apologetic than I did before' |url=https://www.nme.com/big-reads/phoebe-bridgers-cover-interview-2020-punisher-2685827 |website=NME |access-date=29 December 2023 |date=12 June 2020}}</ref><ref name="Tellygraph" />
The American pop punk band Tramp Stamps were widely criticized by social media users as industry plants in April 2021, particularly on TikTok, due to their previous solo careers as pop singers and how their image had changed and become "calculated" and "polished" upon starting the band.<ref name="Vice">{{cite web |last1=Terry |first1=Josh |date=23 April 2021 |title=Stop Calling Artists 'Industry Plants' |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/stop-calling-artists-industry-plants-tramp-stamps/ |access-date=28 December 2023 |website=Vice}}</ref><ref name="VoxTS">{{cite web |last1=Jennings |first1=Rebecca |title=How a pop-punk girl group became the most hated band on TikTok |url=https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2021/4/20/22392694/tramp-stamps-industry-plant-band-tiktok-dr-luke |website=Vox |access-date=28 December 2023 |date=20 April 2021}}</ref> Reddit users also found that the band's guitarist, Caroline Baker, was signed to record producer Dr. Luke's publishing house Prescription Songs, which furthered the accusations.<ref name="RSTS" /> In response, Rebecca Jennings of ''Vox'' wrote that "being an 'industry plant' is about the worst thing you can be accused of on TikTok".<ref name="VoxTS" />
In June 2021, American singer H.E.R. responded to claims that she was an industry plant on Instagram.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Forde |first1=Kisha |title=H.E.R. Claps Back at 'Industry Plant' Conspiracy Theory |url=https://www.eonline.com/news/1284926/h-e-r-claps-back-at-industry-plant-conspiracy-theory |website=E! News |publisher=E! |access-date=28 December 2023 |date=30 June 2021}}</ref> Following the international success of American singer Olivia Rodrigo's debut single "Drivers License" in 2021, music journalists and critics debated on whether or not she was an industry plant.<ref name="ORNewshub" /> Podcaster DJ Akademiks has frequently discussed the concept of industry plants, including his calling American rapper Megan Thee Stallion one in June 2021 and alleging that her success in the music industry was due to her being shot by rapper Tory Lanez the year before.<ref name="CR" /><ref>{{cite web |last1=Brown |first1=Preezy |title=DJ Akademiks Calls Megan Thee Stallion's Career 'Overhyped' |url=https://www.vibe.com/music/music-news/dj-akademiks-megan-thee-stallion-career-opinion-1234622394/ |website=Vibe |access-date=28 December 2023 |date=30 June 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.thepostathens.com/article/2024/02/industry-plants-ice-spice-fake-streams-mainstream-artists | title=Industry Plants: What's the big deal? }}</ref>
{{multiple image | align = <!-- right (default), left, center, none --> | direction = vertical | background color = <!-- box background --> | total_width = <!-- total width of all the displayed images in pixels (an integer, omit "px" suffix) --> | caption_align = <!-- left (default), center, right --> | image1 = Wet Leg (2022).jpg | alt1 = | image2 = Glasto2023 (134 of 468) (53009109504).jpg | alt2 = | caption2 = British indie rock acts like Wet Leg (''top'') and The Last Dinner Party (''bottom'') faced accusations on social media of being industry plants in the 2020s. }}
The British indie rock duo Wet Leg became frequent targets of industry plant accusations after their rise to prominence in 2021, which they described as "just misogyny".<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Hiatt |first1=Brian |title=Wet Leg: That Whole 'Industry Plant' Thing is 'Misogyny' |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/wet-leg-grammys-2023-preview-sexism-1234607351/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=29 December 2023 |date=13 October 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Newstead |first1=Al |title=Wet Leg's silly, savage debut album proves they can be serious too |url=https://www.abc.net.au/triplej/news/wet-leg-feature-album-worth-hype-silly-savage-but-serious-too/13835906 |website=Triple J |access-date=29 December 2023 |date=11 April 2022}}</ref> American singer Gayle's song "ABCDEFU" became internationally successful by early 2022 after initially finding success on TikTok, where she premiered the song in response to a commenter asking her to "write a breakup song using the alphabet". Commenters on the platform alleged that she was an industry plant upon discovering that the comment prompting the song was left by an Atlantic Records marketing manager.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dodson |first1=P. Claire |title=Taylor Swift's Advice to Gayle Helped Her Move Past Backlash |url=https://www.teenvogue.com/story/gayle-on-abcdefu-backlash-touring-with-taylor-swift-trusting-herself-interview |website=Teen Vogue |access-date=6 January 2024 |date=27 April 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Sung |first1=Morgan |title=People are getting tired of the 'TikTok music formula' |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/people-are-getting-tired-tiktok-music-formula-rcna29741 |website=NBC News |access-date=6 January 2024 |date=24 May 2022}}</ref>
After the success of their debut single, "Nothing Matters", in April 2023, the British indie rock band the Last Dinner Party were widely accused by social media users, including on Twitter, of being industry plants due to their being signed to Island Records and opening for the Rolling Stones, among other things.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Savage |first1=Mark |title=The Last Dinner Party: 'Being a hyped, buzzy band can be a curse' |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-67331635 |publisher=BBC News |access-date=30 December 2023 |date=7 November 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Mumford |first1=Gwilym |title=The Guide #85: The brouhaha over The Last Dinner Party, indie's buzziest band |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2023/may/05/the-guide-the-last-dinner-party-music |website=The Guardian |access-date=30 December 2023 |date=5 May 2023}}</ref> The group responded to the accusations on Twitter, calling them "just a nasty lie".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Skinner |first1=Tom |title=The Last Dinner Party respond to industry plant allegations |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/the-last-dinner-party-respond-to-industry-plant-allegations-nme-radar-3436536 |website=NME |access-date=30 December 2023 |date=27 April 2023}}</ref> In June 2023, the indie rock band Picture Parlour released their debut single "Norwegian Wood" and were featured on the cover of ''NME'', leading to users on Twitter widely accusing them of being industry plants.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Daly |first1=Rhian |title=Class of 2024: Picture Parlour |url=https://diymag.com/interview/picture-parlour-diy-class-of-2024 |website=DIY |access-date=6 January 2024 |date=19 December 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Kelly |first1=Tyler Damara |title=Picture Parlour's producer Steph Marziano weighs in on the 'industry plant' discourse |url=https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/news/picture-parlours-producer-steph-marziano-weighs-in-on-the-industry-plant-discourse |website=The Line of Best Fit |access-date=6 January 2024 |date=23 June 2023}}</ref> The band's singer, Katherine Parlour, said in response to the accusations that they "seem[ed] like lazy journalism" and that there was "a predominant history of male-fronted bands{{nbsp}}... who have happened to gain a large buzz pretty quickly" and not "one that has been questioned".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Graye |first1=Megan |title=Picture Parlour: 'You couldn't have put the target on a more ridiculous head' |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/picture-parlour-norwegian-wood-courtney-love-b2362423.html |website=The Independent |access-date=6 January 2024 |date=25 June 2023}}</ref>
After his song "Rich Men North of Richmond" went viral and became popular among American conservatives in August 2023, American singer Oliver Anthony was suspected of being an industry plant by American progressives.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Willman |first1=Chris |title=Oliver Anthony's 'Rich Men North of Richmond' Is an Instant Smash Among Conservatives, While Progressives Wonder if He's a 'Plant' |url=https://variety.com/2023/music/news/oliver-anthony-rich-men-north-of-richmond-divides-conservatives-progressives-1235696805/ |website=Variety |access-date=6 January 2024 |date=15 August 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Graziosi |first1=Graig |title=Why have conservatives turned on 'Rich Men North of Richmond' singer Oliver Anthony |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/oliver-anthony-republican-accent-revealed-b2398458.html |website=The Independent |access-date=6 January 2024 |date=24 August 2023}}</ref> Also in August 2023, the hardcore punk band Scowl were alleged by fans to be industry plants, which prompted frontwoman Kat Moss to release a statement on Twitter denying and decrying the claims.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Ehrlich |first1=Brenna |title=Scowl Refuse to Let the Bastards Grind Them Down |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/scowl-kat-moss-interview-1234810280/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=6 January 2024 |date=25 August 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=DeVille |first1=Chris |title=Scowl's Kat Moss Fires Back At 'Industry Plant' Accusations |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2232542/scowls-kat-moss-fires-back-at-industry-plant-accusations/news/ |website=Stereogum |access-date=6 January 2024 |date=8 August 2023}}</ref> American rapper Ice Spice was accused of being an industry plant after she shot to stardom following the release of her song "Munch (Feelin' U)", which went viral on TikTok, in 2022.<ref>{{cite podcast| url=https://slate.com/podcasts/icymi/2023/05/ice-spices-meteoric-rise | title=Is Ice Spice an Industry Plant? | work=ICYMI | publisher=Slate |first=Candice |last=Lim |first2=Rachelle |last2=Hampton |date=24 May 2023 |time= |access-date=6 January 2024 }}</ref><ref name="URIceSpice" /> She stated in response to the accusations that she would "let people believe whatever they want to believe" in an interview with ''Variety'' in September 2023.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Geraghty |first1=Hollie |title=Ice Spice on industry plant criticism: "I let people believe whatever they want" |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/ice-spice-on-industry-plant-criticism-i-let-people-believe-whatever-they-want-3508254 |website=NME |access-date=6 January 2024 |date=3 October 2023}}</ref> On TikTok, users speculated that 4Batz, an American rapper who found success through his first three songs released independently throughout 2023—including "Act II: Date @ 8", the remix of which featured Drake—was an industry plant because of the rapidness of his rise to fame and his "Spotify-core" musical style.<ref name="Voxhot">{{cite web |last1=Cunningham |first1=Kyndall |date=April 11, 2024 |title=How 'industry plants' became the internet's hottest conspiracy |url=https://www.vox.com/culture/24114819/industry-plants-music-pop-rap-internet-hottest-conspiracy |access-date=August 17, 2024 |website=Vox}}</ref> He called the allegations "kind of cool" and likened himself to "the boogeyman" because of them.<ref name = "XXLMag">{{cite web |last1=Coleman II |first1=C. Vernon |title=4batz Thinks Industry Plant Rumors About Him Are Kind of Cool |url=https://www.xxlmag.com/4batz-industry-plant/ |website=XXL |access-date=August 17, 2024 |date=May 1, 2024}}</ref>
In 2024, Kyndall Cunningham of ''Vox'' attributed the increased online accusations of artists as industry plants to a rise in social media users' "compulsive skepticism" and their "questioning the legitimacy of everything" following the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref name="Voxhot" /> A social media post calling American singer Chappell Roan an industry plant went viral in June 2024.<ref name="Guardengineer">{{cite web |last1=D'Souza |first1=Shaad |title=The music industry is engineering artist popularity – listeners are right to be angry |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/article/2024/jul/29/the-music-industry-is-engineering-artist-popularity-and-listeners-are-right-to-be-angry |website=The Guardian |access-date=August 17, 2024 |date=July 29, 2024}}</ref> She pushed back against claims that she was an industry plant because of her runaway success and the quick rise in interest in her 2023 debut studio album, ''The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess'', in 2024, stating that she had been working within the music industry for ten years prior; the idea of her being an industry plant was also mocked online by fans and critics.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wratten |first1=Marcus |title=Chappell Roan expertly shuts down 'stupid' industry plant claims |url=https://www.thepinknews.com/2024/07/18/chappell-roan-shuts-down-stupid-industry-plant-claims/ |website=PinkNews |access-date=August 17, 2024 |date=July 18, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Andrade |first1=Sofia |title=How Chappell Roan did it |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/2024/07/25/chappell-roan-rise/ |newspaper=Washington Post |access-date=August 17, 2024 |date=July 25, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Coates |first1=Lauren |title=Is Chappell Roan An Industry Plant? Explained |url=https://www.themarysue.com/is-chappell-roan-an-industry-plant/ |website=The Mary Sue |access-date=August 17, 2024 |date=July 11, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Cramer |first1=Jude |title=Here's why Chappell Roan is the opposite of an industry plant |url=https://www.intomore.com/the-internet/controversy/heres-why-chappell-roan-is-the-opposite-of-an-industry-plant/ |website=Into |access-date=August 17, 2024 |date=June 20, 2024}}</ref>
The term has also been used online and by critics to describe artists such as Greta Van Fleet,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Horowitz |first1=Steven J. |title=Greta Van Fleet Talk SNL, the Grammys, and That Review |url=https://www.vulture.com/2019/01/greta-van-fleet-interview.html |website=Vulture |access-date=29 December 2023 |date=17 January 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Hyden |first1=Steven |title=Why Is Everyone So Mean To Greta Van Fleet? |url=https://uproxx.com/indie/greta-van-fleet-the-battle-at-gardens-gate-review/ |website=Uproxx |access-date=29 December 2023 |date=15 April 2021}}</ref> Dominic Fike,<ref name="DomFikeNYT">{{cite web |last1=Coscarelli |first1=Joe |title='Are You Up on Dominic Fike Yet?' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/article/dominic-fike-at-first.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=29 December 2023 |date=8 April 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Thompson |first1=Paul |title=Dominic Fike is ready to be very, very famous |url=https://www.thefader.com/2019/03/06/dominic-fike-3-nights-interview |website=The Fader |access-date=29 December 2023 |date=6 March 2019}}</ref> Jean Dawson,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Rodrigues |first1=Ashwin |title=Jean Dawson Made a Record for His 17-Year-Old Self |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/jean-dawson-asap-rocky-pixel-bath-noisey-next-interview/ |website=Vice |access-date=29 December 2023 |date=29 October 2020}}</ref> CJ,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Breihan |first1=Tom |title=CJ's 'Whoopty' And The Mainstreaming Of Drill |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2110126/cj-whoopty-brooklyn-drill-mainstream/columns/status-aint-hood/ |website=Stereogum |access-date=29 December 2023 |date=9 December 2020}}</ref> Bebe Rexha,<ref>{{cite web |last1=DeVille |first1=Chris |title=Bebe Rexha Is One More Hit Away From Becoming A Household Name |url=https://www.stereogum.com/1924093/bebe-rexha-is-one-more-hit-away-from-becoming-a-household-name/columns/the-week-in-pop/ |website=Stereogum |access-date=29 December 2023 |date=16 February 2017}}</ref> Boy Pablo,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Buchanan |first1=Rhys |title=Boy Pablo: 'I'm just a normal dude that got lucky' |url=https://www.nme.com/big-reads/boy-pablo-cover-interview-2020-wachito-rico-2767633 |website=NME |access-date=29 December 2023 |date=2 October 2020}}</ref> RMR,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cooke |first1=Shawn |title=The best albums of the week, from Chloe x Halle, RMR, and more |url=https://www.mic.com/p/the-best-albums-of-the-week-from-chloe-x-halle-rmr-more-22979922 |website=Mic |access-date=29 December 2023 |date=13 June 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Holmes |first1=Charles |title=RMR's Rascal Flatts Homage 'Rascal' Is a Viral Hit -- As Long As It Can Stay Online |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/rmr-rascal-rascal-flatts-viral-959688/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=29 December 2023 |date=2 March 2020}}</ref> Bella Poarch,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Haasch |first1=Palmer |title=How mysterious influencer Bella Poarch shot to fame with TikTok's most-liked video in just a few months |url=https://www.insider.com/bella-poarch-tiktok-tyga-tattoo-navy-age-military-how-old-2020-10#a-conspiracy-theory-spread-on-tiktok-in-october-that-poarch-sold-her-soul-to-the-illuminati-for-tiktok-clout-8 |website=Insider |access-date=29 December 2023 |date=14 May 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Rolli |first1=Bryan |title=Conspiracy theory claims Bella Poarch sold her soul to the llluminati for TikTok fame |url=https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/bella-poarch-tiktok-illuminati-conspiracy/ |website=The Daily Dot |access-date=29 December 2023 |date=28 October 2020}}</ref> the Kid Laroi,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Newstead |first1=Al |title=DAMN. The Kid LAROI overtakes Kendrick Lamar on Spotify |url=https://www.abc.net.au/triplej/news/the-kid-laroi-overtakes-kendrick-lamar-spotify-monthy-listeners/13053772 |website=Triple J |access-date=29 December 2023 |date=13 January 2021}}</ref> Skip Marley,<ref name="SkipMarley">{{cite web |last1=Kameir |first1=Rawiya |date=28 April 2017 |title=Skip this Marley |url=https://theoutline.com/post/1443/skip-this-marley |access-date=29 December 2023 |website=The Outline}}</ref> Your Old Droog,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Tosiello |first1=Pete |title=Your Old Droog Isn't Nas, and That's the Way He Likes It |url=https://www.spin.com/2017/03/your-old-droog-interview-2017/ |website=Spin |access-date=29 December 2023 |date=17 March 2017}}</ref> Post Malone, 4Batz,<ref name = "XXLMag"/> and Lizzo.<ref name="Jezzy">{{cite web |last1=Cills |first1=Hazel |title=Tramp Stamps and the Problem With 'Industry Plants' |url=https://jezebel.com/tramp-stamps-and-the-problem-with-industry-plants-1846713578 |website=Jezebel |access-date=28 December 2023 |date=19 April 2021}}</ref>
==Criticism== Claims of artists being industry plants have been described as conspiracy theories by critics.<ref name="CR" /><ref name="URIceSpice">{{cite web |last1=Williams |first1=Aaron |title=Is Ice Spice An Industry Plant? |url=https://uproxx.com/music/is-ice-spice-an-industry-plant/ |website=Uproxx |access-date=6 January 2024 |date=29 September 2023}}</ref><ref name="L&Q">{{cite web |last1=Wray |first1=Daniel Dylan |title=Just what is an 'industry plant' anyway? |url=https://www.loudandquiet.com/short/just-what-is-an-industry-plant-anyway/ |website=Loud and Quiet |access-date=6 January 2024 |date=7 March 2023}}</ref> In 2023, ''Complex''{{'}}s Trace William Cowen called industry plant accusations "among the dumbest quasi-theories some listeners like to throw around whenever a new artist breaks through".<ref name="IceSpiceComplex">{{cite web |last1=Cowen |first1=Trace William |title=Ice Spice Addresses Industry Plant Chatter, Declares Herself a 'Marketing F*cking Genius' |url=https://www.complex.com/music/a/tracewilliamcowen/ice-spice-industry-plant-marketing-genius |website=Complex |access-date=6 January 2024 |date=28 September 2023}}</ref> Hazel Cills stated for NPR that industry plants "don't really exist" and that the term "keeps getting thrown around by younger audiences" because of changes in the music industry and "a kind of skepticism when a young person sees an artist and they're not already inundated with their body of work".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Powers |first1=Ann |last2=Ganz |first2=Jacob |last3=Cills |first3=Hazel |title=Meme Girls: Three squares talk about Wet Leg, the band everybody's talking about |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/04/09/1091730938/lets-talk-about-wet-leg |publisher=NPR |access-date=29 December 2023 |date=9 April 2022}}</ref>
The term "industry plant" has also been criticized as meaningless or vague.<ref name="Guardengineer" /> Josh Terry of ''Vice'' wrote that the term had "no adequate definition" and that there was "no consensus at all on what an 'industry plant' actually is".<ref name="Vice" /> For ''Clash'', Robin Murray wrote that the term was "hopelessly vague, and more a criticism of{{nbsp}}... a general, undefinable sense of inauthenticity, than any actual intersection with the music".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Murray |first1=Robin |title=The Last Dinner Party And The Vagaries Of Hype |url=https://www.clashmusic.com/features/the-last-dinner-party-and-the-vagaries-of-hype/ |website=Clash |access-date=30 December 2023 |date=27 April 2023}}</ref> For ''Jezebel'', Cills wrote that "the term often means nearly whatever the critic in question wants it to mean".<ref name="Jezzy" />
Critics have described the pejorative as being used more commonly against young women than other artists.<ref>{{cite web |last1=England |first1=Adam |title=Album Review: Clairo - Sling |url=https://www.gigwise.com/reviews/3401114/album-review-clairo-sling |website=Gigwise |access-date=28 December 2023 |date=16 July 2021}}</ref> Josh Terry of ''Vice'' wrote that it was "disproportionately directed at non-white, non-male-identifying artists".<ref name="Vice" /> Kyann-Sian Williams of ''NME'' also stated that it was "often assigned to non-white, non-male success stories", while ''Far Out''{{'}}s Elle Palmer wrote that it "seems to be disproportionately thrown at successful young women starting out in the industry, and often with very little research to back up the damaging label" and was "an easy way to dismiss the talent of young women".<ref name="NMEIann">{{cite web |last1=Williams |first1=Kyann-Sian |title=iann dior: 'My role? I'm picking up where Juice WRLD left off' |url=https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-radar/iann-dior-interview-mood-industry-plant-2808074 |website=NME |access-date=28 December 2023 |date=11 November 2020}}</ref> ''Under the Radar''{{'}}s Andy Von Pip also wrote that the term was "a crass and often deeply misogynistic attempt to undermine [the] credibility and creativity" of female artists.<ref name="UtRPicPar">{{cite web |last1=Von Pip |first1=Andy |title=Picture Parlour on Their Debut Single, Conspiracy Theories, and Future Plans |url=https://www.undertheradarmag.com/interviews/picture_parlour_on_their_debut_single_conspiracy_theories_and_future_plans |website=Under the Radar |access-date=6 January 2024 |date=17 July 2023}}</ref>
Nick Ruskell of ''The Daily Telegraph'' wrote that the music industry was "far more to blame" for artists with less connections not finding success "than individual artists trying to play the game".<ref name="Tellygraph" /> Cills wrote that the term "emphasiz[ed] a narrative that suggests popular artists are either authentic or totally fake, working without any outside help or label puppets, when in reality the lines are depressingly blurrier".<ref name="Jezzy" /> For ''Vox'', Rebecca Jennings wrote that the criticism of Tramp Stamps in 2021 as industry plants became "a complete dogpile on three individual women rather than corporatized capitalization on progressive politics".<ref name="VoxTS" /> Terry wrote that it "blam[ed] artists for the machinations of a system beyond their control".<ref name="Vice" />
==See also== * Nepo baby * Astroturfing * "Brian Wilson is a genius"
==References== {{reflist}}
Category:Pejorative terms for people Category:2010s neologisms Category:2020s neologisms Category:Internet slang Category:Music controversies Category:Nepotism