Tom Walker claims record labels now 'more interested in social media than songs'

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Scots singer-songwriter Tom Walker hit No1 with his debut album in 2019 in the same year he won a BRIT Award and is back in the Top 10 with his follow up.But Walker, 32, says he wouldn’t have a record deal if he was starting out in 2024 because labels are more interested in your social media following than your songs.Walker, who enjoyed a chart-topping debut album What A Time To Be Alive and is No4 in the charts with the follow-up called I Am, says he now has to split his time between trying to please people on social media and playing music.And he believes great talents will be missed if they are introverts and prefer to let their music do the talking because of the need to build a following online.He said: “When I signed my record deal, I didn't have any social media.

I think I had a personal Facebook account and that was it.“So it's really strange to see the difference.“I can't imagine that happening to an artist now, signing a deal without having 50,000 followers to prove that you can create an audience.“I think the amount of social media that is expected of new artists and an existing artists as well has totally changed.“Even in 2019, when we put the first album out, it was a lot less and it just seems to keep ramping up every year.“The best songs are written by people who are introverts and not people who are able to sell something very quickly on TikTok in their 30s.“The music industry always changes.

It's gone from vinyl to tapes to CD to streaming to streaming and social media.“I think it's I think it's going to affect what songs make it through.“You can get all bogged down in all that like an old man or you can just get on with it because it's a real privilege to do music."He added: “I’ve got a love hate