The term ‘industry plant’ has been thrown around recently at artists like The Last Dinner Party, Wet Leg, and Clairo. The so-called intentions of the term are to condemn nepotism and recognise privilege in the music industry. However, definitions of the term are vague at best, and harmful at worst. So what does ‘industry plant’ actually mean? Who is it critiquing? And most importantly, who does it target?
Definitions of ‘industry plant’ remain vague, and nobody seems 100% sure on what it means. Vox describes it as “much like the term ‘nepo baby’ has been in acting”, while Dazed defines it as when “an artist or band pretends to be independent, all the while secretly enjoying financial backing and industry support”. However, Vice calls it “a catchall term for any artist we negatively respond to, or who we think holds an unfair advantage in the music industry”. The main themes across all definitions are a sense of unfairness, nepotism and corporatism.
The term originated in the early 2010s on hip-hop message boards, where a variety of rappers were accused of being industry plants because of their journey to fame. It’s definitely notable that the term began as a way to target predominantly non-white artists, and to dismiss the validity of their success.
One of the major points that the ‘industry plant’ term is aimed towards is the fact that the rich have a headstart in the industry. Clairo was labelled an industry plant after it was discovered that her father was a successful marketing officer and used his contacts to help her get a recording contract. The target of this criticism, though, went towards the artist rather than the industry, or the hierarchical capitalist business model within it. As Vice says, the term ‘industry plant’ is “blaming artists for the machinations of a system beyond their control”.
Further, using all the resources available to you is the main way to succeed within a capitalist system, and Vox argues that “the debate about industry plants serves as a reminder that the music industry is just that — an industry”. They note that it’s the job of record label executives to pick people out of nowhere and to bring them to fame, and that criticisms of industry plants are just criticisms of how the industry works. In a 2018 interview with New York Times, Clairo says said, “At the end of the day, when people say, ‘Oh, she’s an industry plant,’ I’m like, ‘No, I just have representation, like every single other artist you listen to. I’m not the first person to get a manager.”
Black Feminist scholar Chardine Taylor Stone, notes that criticising industry plants does “draw attention to how the industry patronises audiences and how it only allows women to prosper if they fulfill certain beauty standards”. She points out that industry plants tend to be white, and that recognising that the music industry has inherent racism is necessary for change.
The most widespread critique of calling artists industry plants is that the comment is most often directed towards women, and denies that their skills and work contribute at all to their success. Dazed notes that “for a certain kind of male rock fan, [female artists being industry plants is] a more plausible explanation than believing these bands made it off the back of their own talents – particularly as “being young and good looking” is often a core feature of the complaint.” Rising band The Last Dinner Party, made up of all women and non-binary artists, had their talents and promotional work dismissed as the reasons for their quick success, despite there being no concrete evidence of nepotism at work.
What can be concluded is that calling an artist an industry plant isn’t as simple as critiquing privilege, or recognising a lack of talent. It comes with a complex history that touches on classism and racism within the music industry, and sexism from audiences. Artists’ successes should be credited to their work as well as their connections, and criticisms may be more productively targeted at the largely prejudiced music industry, which supports only some artists while neglecting others. As Dazed says, “there are better ways to go about that than cyber-bullying some random band”.
