Industry plant

==History==

==History==

[[File:Raury Melt! 2015 02.jpg|left|thumb|American rapper [[Raury]] (''pictured'') was widely accused of being an industry plant online in 2015. In response, he wore a shirt reading "industry plant" on the cover of ''[[XXL (magazine)|XXL]]''{{'}}s Freshman Class issue in 2015.]]

[[File:Raury Melt! 2015 02.jpg|left|thumb|American rapper [[Raury]] (''pictured'') was widely accused of being an industry plant online in 2015. In response, he wore a shirt reading "industry plant" on the cover of ''[[XXL (magazine)|XXL]]''{{'}}s [[XXL (magazine)#Annual Freshman Class list|Freshman Class issue]] in 2015.]]

The term "industry plant" is believed to have originated on [[Hip hop music|hip hop]] message boards in the early 2010s, gaining popularity after being used in a thread on the discussion forum KanyeToThe in 2012, in which rappers such as [[Lil Wayne]], [[50 Cent]], and [[Waka Flocka Flame]] were alleged by users to be industry plants. American singer [[Lana Del Rey]] has retrospectively been described as an early example of industry plant accusations. Upon the release of her debut studio album ''[[Born to Die]]'' (2012), her wealthy parents and her previous musical career as Lizzy Grant led to questions about her authenticity as an artist.{{cite web |last1=Jones |first1=Nate |title=Lana Del Rey's 10-Year War With the Culture |url=https://www.vulture.com/article/lana-del-rey-cancelled-timeline.html |website=[[Vulture (website)|Vulture]] |access-date=29 December 2023 |date=25 March 2021}}

The term "industry plant" is believed to have originated on [[Hip hop music|hip hop]] message boards in the early 2010s, gaining popularity after being used in a thread on the discussion forum KanyeToThe in 2012, in which rappers such as [[Lil Wayne]], [[50 Cent]], and [[Waka Flocka Flame]] were alleged by users to be industry plants. American singer [[Lana Del Rey]] has retrospectively been described as an early example of industry plant accusations. Upon the release of her debut studio album ''[[Born to Die]]'' (2012), her wealthy parents and her previous musical career as Lizzy Grant led to questions about her authenticity as an artist.{{cite web |last1=Jones |first1=Nate |title=Lana Del Rey's 10-Year War With the Culture |url=https://www.vulture.com/article/lana-del-rey-cancelled-timeline.html |website=[[Vulture (website)|Vulture]] |access-date=29 December 2023 |date=25 March 2021}}

After American rapper [[Raury]] released his mixtape, ''Indigo Child'', in 2014, was quickly signed to [[Columbia Records]], and received coverage from ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' for the music video for his song "God's Whisper", he was frequently called an industry plant online in 2015.{{cite web |title=Industry Plants, Raury, and the Importance of Artist Development |url=https://www.complex.com/pigeons-and-planes/a/pigeonsandplanes/raury-love-renaissance |website=Complex |access-date=6 January 2024 |date=16 June 2015}}{{cite web |last1=Dye |first1=David |title=Heavy Rotation: 10 Songs Public Radio Can't Stop Playing |url=https://www.npr.org/2015/07/28/423603470/heavy-rotation-10-songs-public-radio-cant-stop-playing |publisher=[[NPR]] |access-date=6 January 2024 |date=28 July 2015}} He appeared on the cover of ''[[XXL (magazine)|XXL]]'' for their annual Freshman Class list of up-and-coming artists in 2015, where he wore a shirt reading "industry plant" in response to the accusations.{{cite web |last1=Charity |first1=Justin |title=What Is an Industry Plant? |url=https://www.complex.com/music/a/justin-charity/what-is-an-industry-plant |website=Complex |access-date=6 January 2024 |date=5 June 2015}} Christina Lee of ''[[Vice (magazine)|Vice]]'' wrote in 2015 that "recent talk of Raury being an industry plant" was "silly" but "makes some sense", while Chris Thomas of ''[[Out (magazine)|Out]]'' called Raury "a popular target of industry plant conspiracy theorists" in 2017.{{cite web |last1=Lee |first1=Christina |title=Raurfest Report: Is Raury the Ringleader New Atlanta's Been Waiting For? |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/raurfest-report-is-raury-the-ringleader-new-atlantas-been-waiting-for/ |website=Vice |access-date=6 January 2024 |date=28 June 2015}}{{cite web |last1=Thomas |first1=Chris |title=Meet Nick Harwood, the Industry Plant Behind the Year's Best Music Videos |url=https://www.out.com/out-exclusives/2017/12/11/meet-nick-harwood-industry-plant-behind-years-best-music-videos |website=[[Out (magazine)|Out]] |access-date=6 January 2024 |date=11 December 2017}} [[Chance the Rapper]] faced similar accusations of being an industry plant on music forums by 2015 due to his sudden success after independently releasing several mixtapes.{{cite web |last1=Ruskell |first1=Nick |title=From Lana Del Rey to Tramp Stamps: why we love to unmask an 'industry plant' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/artists/lana-del-rey-tramp-stamps-love-unmask-industry-plant/ |website=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |access-date=29 December 2023 |date=4 May 2021}}

After American rapper [[Raury]] released his mixtape, ''Indigo Child'', in 2014, was quickly signed to [[Columbia Records]], and received coverage from ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' for the music video for his song "God's Whisper", he was frequently called an industry plant online in 2015.{{cite web |title=Industry Plants, Raury, and the Importance of Artist Development |url=https://www.complex.com/pigeons-and-planes/a/pigeonsandplanes/raury-love-renaissance |website=Complex |access-date=6 January 2024 |date=16 June 2015}}{{cite web |last1=Dye |first1=David |title=Heavy Rotation: 10 Songs Public Radio Can't Stop Playing |url=https://www.npr.org/2015/07/28/423603470/heavy-rotation-10-songs-public-radio-cant-stop-playing |publisher=[[NPR]] |access-date=6 January 2024 |date=28 July 2015}} He appeared on the cover of ''[[XXL (magazine)|XXL]]'' for their [[XXL (magazine)#Annual Freshman Class list|annual Freshman Class list of up-and-coming artists]] in 2015, where he wore a shirt reading "industry plant" in response to the accusations.{{cite web |last1=Charity |first1=Justin |title=What Is an Industry Plant? |url=https://www.complex.com/music/a/justin-charity/what-is-an-industry-plant |website=Complex |access-date=6 January 2024 |date=5 June 2015}} Christina Lee of ''[[Vice (magazine)|Vice]]'' wrote in 2015 that "recent talk of Raury being an industry plant" was "silly" but "makes some sense", while Chris Thomas of ''[[Out (magazine)|Out]]'' called Raury "a popular target of industry plant conspiracy theorists" in 2017.{{cite web |last1=Lee |first1=Christina |title=Raurfest Report: Is Raury the Ringleader New Atlanta's Been Waiting For? |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/raurfest-report-is-raury-the-ringleader-new-atlantas-been-waiting-for/ |website=Vice |access-date=6 January 2024 |date=28 June 2015}}{{cite web |last1=Thomas |first1=Chris |title=Meet Nick Harwood, the Industry Plant Behind the Year's Best Music Videos |url=https://www.out.com/out-exclusives/2017/12/11/meet-nick-harwood-industry-plant-behind-years-best-music-videos |website=[[Out (magazine)|Out]] |access-date=6 January 2024 |date=11 December 2017}} [[Chance the Rapper]] faced similar accusations of being an industry plant on music forums by 2015 due to his sudden success after independently releasing several mixtapes.{{cite web |last1=Ruskell |first1=Nick |title=From Lana Del Rey to Tramp Stamps: why we love to unmask an 'industry plant' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/artists/lana-del-rey-tramp-stamps-love-unmask-industry-plant/ |website=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |access-date=29 December 2023 |date=4 May 2021}}

The term "industry plant" later became popular among [[indie rock]] fans. The increase in industry plant rumors in the late 2010s has been attributed by critics to the rise of [[Streaming media|music streaming]]. [[Clairo]], who quickly rose to fame after her song "[[Pretty Girl (Clairo song)|Pretty Girl]]" went viral online in 2017, was described by Leor Galil of the ''[[Chicago Reader]]'' as "a magnet for 'industry plant' insults" since 2017, when [[Reddit]] threads about her father working as the chief marketing officer of [[Converse (brand)|Converse]] and co-founding its Rubber Tracks recording studio before she became popular led to accusations of her being an industry plant.{{cite web |last1=Samways |first1=Gemma |title=Clairo: 'This industry drains young women until they're not youthful any more' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/jul/13/clairo-this-industry-drains-young-women-until-theyre-not-youthful-any-more |website=The Guardian |access-date=28 December 2023 |date=13 July 2021}} Other users alleged that her "homespun" image was also created by her father and his associates, and the usage of the term to describe her led to the term gaining more widespread usage.{{cite web |last1=Zoladz |first1=Lindsay |title=The Curious Case of Clairo |url=https://www.theringer.com/music/2018/7/25/17610744/clairo-diary-001-music-industry |website=[[The Ringer (website)|The Ringer]] |access-date=29 December 2023 |date=25 July 2018}}

The term "industry plant" later became popular among [[indie rock]] fans. The increase in industry plant rumors in the late 2010s has been attributed by critics to the rise of [[Streaming media|music streaming]]. [[Clairo]], who quickly rose to fame after her song "[[Pretty Girl (Clairo song)|Pretty Girl]]" went viral online in 2017, was described by Leor Galil of the ''[[Chicago Reader]]'' as "a magnet for 'industry plant' insults" since 2017, when [[Reddit]] threads about her father working as the chief marketing officer of [[Converse (brand)|Converse]] and co-founding its Rubber Tracks recording studio before she became popular led to accusations of her being an industry plant.{{cite web |last1=Samways |first1=Gemma |title=Clairo: 'This industry drains young women until they're not youthful any more' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/jul/13/clairo-this-industry-drains-young-women-until-theyre-not-youthful-any-more |website=The Guardian |access-date=28 December 2023 |date=13 July 2021}} Other users alleged that her "homespun" image was also created by her father and his associates, and the usage of the term to describe her led to the term gaining more widespread usage.{{cite web |last1=Zoladz |first1=Lindsay |title=The Curious Case of Clairo |url=https://www.theringer.com/music/2018/7/25/17610744/clairo-diary-001-music-industry |website=[[The Ringer (website)|The Ringer]] |access-date=29 December 2023 |date=25 July 2018}}