Sara Landry Responds to Industry Plant Accusations with a Revealing TikTok Video

Accusations of artists being “industry plants” have circulated for over a decade. This term refers to individuals who attain success through connections, wealth, or nepotism rather than talent. While it originated in hip-hop, it has permeated various music genres, including electronic music. These often misogynistic conspiracy theories have targeted many DJs, with Sara Landry being one of the latest to face scrutiny.

Since emerging from the pandemic, Sara Landry has quickly established herself as a leading figure in the techno scene, achieving global recognition. She has released stunning tracks, headlined major shows, and performed at festivals like Tomorrowland and EDC Las Vegas. Nevertheless, unfounded claims about her success being manufactured have persisted, and she has finally decided to address them.

Recently, Sara Landry took to TikTok to share a ten-minute video recounting her career journey, starting from her initial foray into DJing in 2014. The caption expresses her frustration: “Yall pissed me off so now you get to hear me yap. I ran out of time so this doesn’t cover my production work too much or my teaching and beta testing for Ableton, but this is my DJ story. Leave me out of your misogynistic nonsense. Save that smoke for people who don’t make their own music.”

In her video, Sara Landry reflects on her formative years teaching herself to DJ in New York City, recalling the moment she committed to learning, which involved two years of practice and mix-making. After leaving NYC and returning to Austin, she was able to focus more on her DJing and production.

“I was doing a full corporate job, and then every single day after that job, I would come home and sit in front of my computer, and I would struggle and be frustrated and try to figure out how Ableton works by myself,” she revealed. Eventually, she took a sound design course with Francis Preve, who became her mentor along with her new friends in Austin. Her first performance took place in 2016 during SXSW, where she played for a small audience.

This led to her first residency in 2017, but after clubs shut down and gigs became scarce, she began organizing her own warehouse raves in 2019. Initially playing a “big room techno” style inspired by Drumcode, her sound evolved after attending ADE later that year, where she discovered her passion for the industrial techno genre.

Upon returning from Europe, she lost her corporate job but remained focused on her music career. She was set to perform at the Yuma Tent at Coachella in 2020, which was ultimately canceled due to the pandemic. However, she continued to thrive by streaming regularly during that time—those performances can still be found on YouTube—and releasing tracks on European labels.

“I had built enough hype with my releases, my mixes, and those streams that I had gotten a small agent in the US who was able to get me booked outside of Texas,” Sara explained. “That was my 6AM show in LA, the first one that I did there. Then I did some shows in South America and some shows in Europe. They went super well, and it really started to catapult my popularity, so a few months later, I moved to Berlin in April 2022 and started touring Europe.” After gaining prominence in the industrial techno scene, her career skyrocketed.

“Now, after years and years and years of work, here I am, doing Tomorrowland Main Stage and playing for Insomniac,” she concluded. “So no, not an industry plant, not an overnight success. 11 years of grinding, and don’t you fucking forget it.”

Sara Landry is poised to continue her upward trajectory in 2025, with the announcement of her ETERNALISM tour, featuring stops in Europe and NYC. She will also make appearances at major festivals such as EDC Mexico, Coachella, Electric Forest, Parookaville, EXIT Festival, and more. Keep up with her on social media for the latest updates.