The internet is the world’s biggest breeding ground for celebrity speculation. One recent trend in over-analyzing famous strangers on social media is the phenomenon of the industry plant.
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So what exactly is an industry plant? An industry plant is a musician who became successful due to their connections to the music industry, a label’s intention to create a money-making superstar, or plain old nepotism. They might be nepo babies, or they might just be rich enough to buy their way into fame. But are industry plants real? Possibly. However, quite a few artists have been labeled industry plants when there is simply no proof behind the claims.
Let’s take a look at four musicians that have been accused of being industry plants, and why they probably aren’t industry plants at all!
1. Lana Del Rey
Lana Del Rey bears one of the oldest accusations of being an industry plant. There’s no smoke without fire for this one, though. After she released the massive hit “Video Games” in 2012, a lot of people were convinced that she was a manufactured artist. She started making music years earlier under Lizzy Grant with a very different musical style, a very different aesthetic, and notably less plump lips.
However, calling Lana Del Rey an industry plant is a little unfair. Getting big in the music industry is incredibly difficult. Sometimes, reinvention is necessary. Del Rey managed to transform her style and music to fit a growing niche audience, and it worked. If anything, it’s admirable.
2. Billie Eilish
Billie Eilish’s rise to fame was less of a rising tide and more of a tsunami. She seemingly came out of nowhere around 2016 with a massive fanbase. Some believed she was an industry plant because of how “clean” and predictable her successful debut was.
However, Eilish and her team have consistently shot down those rumors and suggested that her initial fanbase on SoundCloud just vibed with her voice and aesthetic. It is worth noting that she had some connections to the entertainment industry through her parents, who are both actors and musicians. But those connections didn’t seem strong enough to catapult a then-unknown Eilish to the top of the charts alone.
3. Post Malone
Rapper-turned-country artist Post Malone released “White Iverson” back in 2015 through Republic Records. His fast track to success has been questioned by quite a few people online, namely because of how quickly he established a fanbase.
From what we know about Malone, he doesn’t have any connections to the music industry through his parents. He had been making music since he was a teenager and even started using free software to produce his first mix tape at 16. He moved to Los Angeles and made friends with a number of other artists and producers, which likely helped him build a fan base on SoundCloud. No evidence of an industry plant here! The guy just seems really likable.
[Catch Post Malone Live On The Festival Circuit In 2024]
4. Lizzo
Lizzo’s success in mainstream music has been attributed to the popularity surrounding her studio album Cuz I Love You in 2019 and her presence in the body positivity movement at the time. Many think she was manufactured in a similar fashion to Lana Del Rey.
However, Lizzo has been making music for years. She had two studio albums out before her big 2019 release. She was classically trained throughout her childhood as a flutist, too. When it comes down to it, Lizzo was simply the right combination of hard-working and lucky.
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