Friday, Addison Rae, dubbed a “fucking genius” by leading pop avant-gardist Charli xcx, will launch her debut studio album. But first, she’s going long on what led her to this point, including her breakout success on TikTok.
Speaking with Jon Caramanica and Joe Coscarelli for The New York Times‘ Popcast for a recently released, nearly 90-minute interview, Rae reflected on the false narrative put forth by some that she’s “just a TikTok dancer” whose own music doesn’t come from a place of authenticity. This spurred a larger conversation about the impact of TikTok on the music industry, leading to Rae’s reveal of labels offering her “like 20 bucks” earlier into her rise to share clips soundtracked by their artists’ songs.
“I actually remember getting little brand deals from labels paying me to post to the songs when I was in college,” Rae said when asked what she learned while being prolific on TikTok, particularly earlier into the app’s own rise to prominence. “They jumped on that really fast.”
Rae went on to cite Lykke Li’s 2018 track “sex money feelings die” as an example of this practice in action, noting that this was happening prior to the app’s full-fledged ubiquity. When the figure of $100 was mentioned by the Popcast duo in passing, Rae corrected that estimate.
“100 bucks? I wish,” she said. “It was probably like 20 bucks. I actually remember being like, ‘Holy shit, 20 bucks!’ Yeah, they were PayPaling it. It was actually really sketchy.”
Rae, at the time, didn’t have a team, thus negotiations weren’t on the table.
“I was just like, ‘Whoa, I’m getting paid $20,’” she recalled.
Watch the full interview below.
Addison is out this Friday, June 6, and features previously released singles including “Diet Pepsi” and “Headphones On.” In May, Rae unveiled the album’s full tracklist using custom Victoria’s Secret PINK panties.
