Lizzo Says “Racist And Fatphobic” Algorithm Is Hurting Her Album Promotion

Did you know Lizzo has a new album called Bitch coming out soon? We did, because it's our job to know that sort of thing, and also we get emails from people whose job it is to notify us about upcoming album releases. But not everybody can be blessed with such an inexhaustible Gmail inbox; some people rely on social media algorithms to keep up to date with new music. According to Lizzo, those algorithms are the primary hindrance in her album promotion.

Lizzo posted a nearly four-minute TikTok yesterday arguing that the music industry is being "destroyed" by social media platforms serving content in non-chronological order. This, combined with artists having to rely on social media for promotion due to slashed marketing budgets, has apparently made it difficult for Lizzo to push Bitch despite "doing [her] part." She acknowledges the fact that users have some input in curating their own unique algorithms based on what they choose to interact with, but Lizzo says that being presented with content in non-chronological order is making it hard for fans to keep up with their favorite artists. "It's not just me, because virality does not equal album sales," Lizzo says. "There are people who are super viral whose albums just don't sell as much as their fame. Their albums don't match the amount of views they have on their posts."

In the caption, Lizzo added: "Don't get me started on how the algorithm is racist and fatphobic." Here's everything she had to say in the TikTok:

Hi, I'm Lizzo. I have an album coming out in 23 days, and I bet you nobody even knows that. I'll tell you why. Full disclaimer, last time I made a video like this, I got some hate on the internet because people were like, "Oh, she's just mad that she flopping." But in person, in real life, real people in the industry came up to me and said, "Thank you for saying what you said, because everybody else is too scared to say it." So I'm gonna end this disclaimer by saying, I don't really care what somebody on the internet who's never done this before has to say about it, because you don't know what you're talking about, and I do.

The algorithm-based way that social media functions now is destroying the music industry. Now, when I say the music industry, I don't mean music culture. I don't mean the good music that's out. I don't mean our ability to connect via social media to music. I'm talking about the actual industry that allows artists to sell their music for profit. Because if your algorithm is super serving you things out of order of when they're happening, then the general public has no idea when music is actually coming out. I have had several occasions where there were artists whose music I was actually looking forward to [that] I completely missed because I didn't realize it was out, because my algorithm didn't tell me. And I don't want to blame everything on the algorithm, of course. We curate our own reality. However, back in the day, which was maybe even just five years ago, we used to get things chronologically. Because of streaming and social media in our post-COVID chronically online society, most of music marketing is online. Not to mention budgets are [cut]. Therefore music marketing relies heavily on social media. But now, ever since the algorithm has been showing us things out of order, baby, there's actually no way to successfully promote an album where everyone knows your album is coming.

Now, mind you, when I say everyone knows your album is coming, that doesn't mean whether they care or not that it's coming. Believe it or not, once upon a time, there were artists who were just the biggest on the planet, who everyone knew their album was coming, whether they were gonna buy it or not. It was ubiquitous. Where it bites me in the ass is I have a private page. I have a private page with over 280,000 people who follow me because they support me, because they love me. But even when I post on that page, I'm not hitting their algorithm. I have 280,000 people who want to buy my album, who want to see me on tour, and they're not even seeing my promotional videos, and I get accused of not promoting my album when I'm doing morning shows, podcasts, Netflix specials, dropping the packaging, dropping the cover, doing my part.

And it's not just me, because virality does not equal album sales. There are people who are super viral whose albums just don't sell as much as their fame. Their albums don't match the amount of views they have on their posts. And listen, I'm gonna be OK. I'm a big girl, I'm a very successful woman. I have a loyal fan base. I'm saying this to bring awareness to where we're headed. It is deeply concerning, you guys. Fans are not even aware that their favorite artist is releasing music, and they're doing everything they need to do to keep up with their favorite artists. They follow them. Something has got to give about this. But you know what? What do I know? I'm just a girl. My album Bitch is coming June 5, and if you didn't know now, you know.

Maybe she can phone a friend for help:

Bitch is out 6/5 via Nice Life/Atlantic.