Artists Rally Around Nate Smith After Candid Message About Mental Burnout and Social Media Pressures

Each day, people spend hours scrolling through social media, liking, commenting, and consuming endless content while creators work to keep up with constant demand. For many artists like Nate Smith, the pressure can be even greater, with platforms often doubling as both a promotional tool and a way to determine how well a song will do.

Smith recently shared a candid perspective in a new Instagram video, explaining how difficult it can be to constantly feel the pressure of needing to post and stay visible online in order for a song to be considered successful in today’s standards. He has since wiped out every other post on his page except for this honest statement.

He started out by thanking everyone who has shown him support over the past few years, offering the utmost appreciation for those who have bought tickets to his shows and played his music.

“I appreciate you guys so much. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. I appreciate you always supporting me, showing up to my shows, playing my songs. That means the world to me. I’m so thankful for you guys.”

He paused before admitting, “I don’t know where to go from here. I don’t know how to navigate this really weird world that we’re in right now.”

Nate Smith also speaks from an artist’s point of view about what releasing music looks like in today’s social media-driven world, where expectations can feel incredibly high. He explains that he’ll write a song he truly loves, feels eager to share it with fans, and posts a video of himself singing along.

Over the next few hours and days, he finds himself fixated on the numbers. As the views come in, he admits he can’t help but watch them closely, often feeling discouraged when the response doesn’t meet his team’s expectations.

“[I] watch as my team goes, ‘Ah, shoot. Yeah, that one only got 20,000. We’re not seeing a big poll on that song. Oh, man. Probably not a hit. Probably not a smash.’ And then my worth is all determined based on likes and all this stupid stuff.”

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This cycle has proved to be mentally draining for Smith.

“I’m tired, you guys. I’m tired. I just want to make music. I just want to make music,” he emphasized. “I just want to play shows. I don’t want to play these games. That’s kind of what this all feels like. It feels like one big game and it’s old and it’s tiring and it’s mentally exhausting and I know I’m not the only person out there that feels like this.”

The California native was clearly correct in his last statement, as comments began to pour in from fellow artists all admitting to feeling the exact same way that he is.

Chase Matthew wrote, “Gosh I feel you bro. Hard to stay passionate about the art when it starts to feel like a machine.”

Mitchell Tenpenny agreed, pointing out, “We are all tired of this horseshit. Keep making music bro. I feel you 🙏🏼”

Caylee Hammack assured Smith he “ain’t alone in it” and used Alex Warren’s massive hit “Ordinary” as an example of how an artist’s intuition about a song is always something to pay attention to as supposed to the algorithm and numbers on social media.

“Alex Warren’s song ‘Ordinary’ was not going to be a hit according to his team. No one believed in it & it wasn’t hitting online. He created 11 pages to promote it on & finally once it went viral on booktok, his team pushed it. But he KNEW the entire time. No one else did until they saw numbers. 
Listen to your gut, push those songs, focus on what makes you love music & the music will find its way to the fans. We love you🧡”

Drew Baldridge and Charly Reynolds jumped in to say, “PREACH.”

Hundreds of fans, singers and songwriters all confirmed that Smith is not the only one who is feeling this way.

Continuing his statement, the “After Midnight” singer said he strongly feels there has to be another way to navigate releasing music in today’s world.

“There has to be a different way and I’m over it. I’m over the reels. I’m over the weird teasing things and stuff like that. I’ve got some great songs that I want to share with you guys, but I’m not doing it this way. There’s just got to be another way.”

He went on to suggest alternative approaches, including debuting new music directly to fans at concerts so they can experience and record it in real time, or simply releasing songs he believes in without buildup or explanation online and simply letting the music speak for itself.

“I’m tired of this hamster wheel crazy, crazy, crazy thing that we’re doing out here. This isn’t what I got into music for. Yeah, that’s all I have to say,” he concluded.

While Smith says he’s still searching for answers, his honesty has resonated widely. For now, his only a desire to get back to the music itself and find a way to better navigate the pressures around social media while still staying true to himself.