“Addison Rae Shares That Music Labels Once Paid Her Just $20 for Promoting Songs on TikTok”

_{Published by Cel Manero from Global One Media Inc.}

“Looking back, it felt pretty shady,” she said during a ‘Popcast’ interview with The New York Times.

Before her rise in the pop music scene, Addison Rae was simply trying to make ends meet through TikTok.

In a conversation with The New York Times’ Popcast on May 30, the singer behind “Fame Is a Gun”, whose full name is Addison Rae Easterling, opened up about her early days on the platform. She revealed that when she started sharing dance videos in 2019, record labels were already reaching out—offering her just $20 to promote their music on her TikTok account.

“When I was still in college, I remember getting these small offers from labels,” said Rae, now 24. “They were quick to act. I thought it was wild how much the music business was depending on TikTok promotion.”

During the interview, co-host Jon Caramanica guessed that she must’ve made a few hundred dollars per post. Rae quickly corrected him with a laugh, saying, “A few hundred? I wish! I remember being excited about just getting $20. I was like, ‘Oh my god, $20?!’”

She added that these payments were sent through PayPal—and that the process felt a bit dubious at times.

“It honestly felt a little sketchy,” she admitted. “I kept checking, like, ‘Did that $20 hit my PayPal yet?!’”

Since those early days, Rae has released several singles in the lead-up to her debut album Addison, a 12-track project. Her recent work includes songs like “Diet Pepsi,” “High Fashion,” “Headphones On,” “Aquamarine,” and “Fame Is a Gun,” as well as a collaboration with Arca on a remix titled “Aquamarine / Arcamarine.”

In an April cover story for ELLE, Rae addressed critiques questioning the sincerity of her musical ambitions.

“I totally understand why some people think this isn’t the real me,” she said. “But the truth is, I wasn’t ready to show my true self before. I was scared—scared of how it would be received and what people might say.”