Platform-built stars fail to cross over into the mainstream culture industry

Evidence

Where millennials such as Odd Future and Lena Dunham redefined cool for their generations by appealing to existing institutions, Gen Z’s TikTok-era icons largely built careers outside the formal culture industry. This self-isolation created challenges when they attempted to cross over. Bella Poarch secured a record deal with Warner Records but never scored a hit. Louisiana-born Addison Rae attempted to leverage her TikTok following into a mainstream career, appearing in a Netflix reboot of 1999’s She’s All That called He’s All That. But her momentum stalled after a “cringe” appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. She struggled to break through with her initial music releases. — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 672

Categorization

• SEED: The failed crossover (Poarch, Rae) is evidence for the rebuttal that the era’s blankness is really a two-world separation — platform fame and institutional fame no longer convertible.