‘Making music is about making assets for social media’: pop stars battle digital burnout

Musicians today are under steady, sometimes ruinous pressure to be always on'. Acts including Tegan and Sara and While She Sleeps explain their tactics to remain engaged without breaking down

The run-up to an album release is all about teasing and pleasing the fans: thrilling videos, the promise of a fantasy-fulfilling collaboration, the drip-fed unveiling of a musician's new era. But earlier this month, the British pop star Charli XCX said she was stepping back from Twitter after receiving negative comments from fans about the campaign for her forthcoming album, Crash.

I have been feeling like I can't do anything right at the moment," she said. I've noticed lately that a few people seem quite angry at me - for the choices of songs I've chosen to release, for the way I've decided to roll out my campaign, for the things I need to do to fund what will be the greatest tour I've ever done. I've been grappling with my mental health the past few months and obviously it makes negativity and criticism harder to handle."