Singer mxmtoon Talks Using Social Media to Launch Career: "Music Was Dictated by Men in Suits" (EXCLUSIVE)

Singer-songwriter mxmtoon (real name Maia) made noise in the indie-pop music scene for her 2019 viral hit "Prom Dress."

Since then, the San Francisco native went from making music in her bedroom to releasing her debut album "The Masquerade" in 2019 and two EPs the following year.

The singer, who partnered with U by Kotex for a global campaign to combat period stigma, spoke exclusively with Distractify about how social media has influenced her brand and about how she uses her platforms to speak up for social injustice.

Social media has become a prominent tool in launching the music careers of many artists. With creators now having the ability to share their work directly with the world, there is a more diverse community of artists who find audiences.

"Music was dictated by men in suits working at record labels and as a young, queer, bisexual woman of color, I probably never would have been able to make this my job," mxmtoon noted.

"With a tool like TikTok, it’s now in the users' hands. It’s not in the audience's hands to decide what does well on the platform," she continued. "I think that it dictates the charts now and what does well in a larger sphere of pop culture. It’s really cool to see that people making music in their bedrooms could be the next big sensation just by putting videos online."

Currently, the emerging artist boasts nearly 3 million followers on TikTok.

The singer explained that while she uses social media to promote her brand and music, there is also a downside to having viral fame: trolls. However, mxmtoon tries not to focus on the haters behind the screen.

"It’s hard to ignore the negative stuff sometimes, but at the end of the day, I try really hard to focus on the positives," she said. "There’s always somebody new to discover that will find the art that you’re making and love what you’re doing."

If you scroll through mxmtoon's social media profiles, you'll notice that the singer often shows her support and lends her voice to Black Lives Matter, the Asian and Pacific Islander community, and more.

"I grew up in the Bay Area in California so I went to protests when I was a baby and I continued to go to protests as a teenager, so it has always been something that has been a part of my understanding of the world," she explained.

She continued, "I think it’s very important knowing my audience too that a lot of them are young queer people of color, and those are the identities that I share with them, and to speak about those issues is something that I feel really passionate about."

Aside from working on music and posting videos on social media, mxmtoon is also an avid gamer. The musician was even asked to be part of the upcoming game Life Is Strange: True Colors as the singing voice of the main character, Alex Chen.

We can't wait to watch (and listen) to what's next from mxmtoon.