TikTok and the Music Industry

By Taylor Bazzell

TikTok and the Music Industry

It’s not unheard of for social media to have an impact on popular culture, the latest trends, or to make ordinary people famous in the blink of an eye. The newest social media site, TikTok, is no exception. In the wake of its predecessor, Vine, being shut down, TikTok has risen to be one of the most used social media sites, with almost 700 million active users and growing.  With this increase in popularity and consumerism, TikTok has also had an impact on the music industry.

As the platform consists of fifteen second to three-minute videos, there are sound bites and voiceovers that users can add to their videos to gain more traction and interaction on the site. . The short snippets of songs that users add to their videos that become viral often end up charting the Billboard 100, Spotify Viral 50, or being downloaded over Spotify or Apple Music thousands of times over. Around 67 percent of TikTok users are more likely to seek out trending songs on music-streaming platforms, which also increases the exposure of budding artists and allows for already-established artists to promote their new singles or upcoming albums. It’s even possible for popular or recognizable songs from past decades to resurface on the app and gain popularity once again for new and old audiences.

For no-name artists looking for a way to put their foot forward into the music industry, posting TikTok videos of them singing original songs or covers of popular songs paves the way for them to, possibly, get recognized. Along with these up-and-coming artists, established artists and their marketing teams can also benefit from going viral on the app. By making deals with influencers on the app, the promoted tracks can become a source of income once they’ve gained popularity. Not only for the artists and their marketing teams, but also for the influencers who created videos that allowed the soundbite to shine. This method of promotion has become a big way in which both artists and TikTok content creators mutually benefit and make money.

Social media and the music industry, especially with TikTok, have started to become intertwined that as one grows in popularity, the other will grow as well. The industry is always looking for new and fresh artists that have something unique about them. Using a platform that millions of people from around the world upload their content on is a surefire way for the industry to stay afloat and produce new talent that could change the course of popular culture.