How Tik Tok Impacts the Music Industry
According to Maryam Moshin at Oberlo, by February 2021, 62% of Tiktokers in the United States were between the ages of 10 to 29 and a growing number of adults were also beginning to make their mark on the app. All this to say, Tiktok is basically the app of the decade. From their previous entity, musical.ly, till today, it has reigned supreme over trends, rising stars, and their unmatched level of content.
At this point, it is more surprising when someone does not have TikTok downloaded on their phone, because it is just so overpowering in terms of Gen Z culture in this day and age. It was so substantial, that Instagram even created a new feature called, “reels”, to somewhat mimic the 15 second clips that TikTok offers.
Because almost everyone is on it, there are so many different factions across the board that are targeted specifically to one’s tastes and interests, including music. Even in times of musical.ly, the whole premise of the app was affixed upon the songs that were trending at the time, the features and crowns were dependent on lip syncing.
Songs that trend on TikTok get charted on editorial playlists and placed on global charts. Just take a look at artists like Doja Cat with Streets, BENEE with Supalonely, and the most recent ones of all, The Backyardigans with their wonderful song, Castaways, which hit No. 1 on Spotify’s global charts.
This gives rise to an interesting concept that has more recently been creating discourse online: the quality of songs as a whole. Because the majority of TikTok trends only utilize 15 seconds, usually less, of songs that are trending, the music industry has taken that into account and taken it under their wing. How can they write a relatable lyric so that it will induce a relatable trend, a catchy chorus so that it will be used in a catchy dance? Some believe that it is getting easier and easier to pick out these sections in songs, and a fraction of these songs are losing quality in the broader, overall sense.
TikTok’s impact is not to be taken lightly. Now we also witness world wide stars in their teenage years like Charli D’amelio, whose family now has a reality tv show coming out, and her sister Dixie who is also releasing her own music. Content creators who originated in the Hype House such as Chase Hudson, Nessa Barret, and Jaden Hossler all have songs on streaming platforms that get a good amount of traction, and much of it is because of their prior standing on this app.
This gives rise to the question: How much of it is talent, and how much of it is luck? Now this is not to say that any of the music from the artists previously mentioned have “bad music”, because everyone has different tastes, and all music takes effort and time to put together and release, so that in itself should be respected.
However, the reason that this question is rational is because of the ratio between independent artists, and these content creators who get signed to well known music labels even before their first singles are released because they are already guaranteed to have fans who will stream their music.
There is an extremely large space on TikTok that is carved out for rising singer-songwriters who post originals on the daily, musicians who share their covers and production without cease, but when is it their time to break out and get their share of spotlight?
One could post a plethora of videos a day, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they are going to get on the screens of 1 million people who will remember them, or remember their release date for the new single that they are releasing independently. It is so hard to get noticed on this app, and although there are increasing opportunities because of the ever growing community and the volatile climate of the app, being seen is only the first step. Being remembered and followed through is the harder part.
That being said, it is so important to continuously support smaller artists, artists of color, those in the LGBTQ+ community, and all the artists that are struggling to be seen and remembered.
Here are some of my favorite musicians on TikTok that bring their love for music onto the screen, and a playlist of some of my favorite artists that I have discovered through this app. Go stalk! Go stream!
TikTok Accounts:
@solomonmusic @michal.leah @nate.poshkus @lianglawrence @sarahkinsleyd @samuelhlim @searows @leithross @cowgirlb3b0p
