How TikTok changes the music industry
If you’re a TikTok user, you probably have a few songs from the app stuck in your ear. But even if you don’t use it, chances are that some of the songs you heard on the radio while driving or in the mall while shopping emerged on TikTok - like Lizzo’s "About Damn Time." So what is the power of TikTok in discovering new music, and how are music artists using it to grow the popularity of their songs?
Without further due, let's get right into it.
TikTok — music artists sidekick
The places and formats we get in touch with music are changing. Long gone are the days of CDs, cassettes, and vinyl, as they are nostalgic memory for generations like Gen X and Millenials. But for Gen Z — a tour of the museum.
ByteDance company leaders saw trends and wanted to switch their app, Douyin, to younger generations while expanding globally. To do so, they acquired an app called Musical.ly on November 2017, which already had a ton of users in the US, and merged the two apps, Douyin and Musical.ly, to create the ultimate app — TikTok. Now let's meet TikTok, a mobile app that allows users to create short-form videos. Since its release, the app has become ultra-popular. In October 2020, it surpassed 2 billion mobile downloads worldwide.
Today it is one of the most popular apps around the globe, but there is something different about TikTok than other apps. It was designed to attract people to stay on it as long as possible, serving them an endless loop of content that they can scroll up for hours. It was also designed to give its users related content based on their preferences. Moreover, the app relies on the Musical.ly routes, which is lip-sinching. Thanks to a vast Commercial Music Library, users can lip-sinch to a song they place in the background of their videos.
Proof of success
There is a reason why so many music artists are turning to TikTok; It has become a go-to platform for discovering new music. 67% of the app's users are more likely to seek out songs on music-streaming services after hearing them on TikTok — according to a 2021 TikTok study.
There is also nothing new with trending songs on TikTok ending up on the world's top music charts. But, lately, it has become a quite often situation. The app's ability to turn pieces into viral hits is being proven time and time again. But unfortunately, sometimes, the creators of those viral songs become signed by record labels.
Lil Nas X is one of many music artists that owe their fame to TikTok. Originally from Atlanta, he made a song called "Old Town Road" featuring Billy Ray Cyrus. His song topped the Billboard 100 Chart and broke some records, but it's all thanks to the world-famous app, where he first went viral in the form of a challenge. The app also allowed him to perfect his song to the audience's tastes since it took a couple of remixes to get viral.
Many more share a similar story, like Lil Nas X — Doja Cat, Lizzo, and Jack Harlow are only some of the names.
Strategies used by famous artists
Everyone wants to go viral on TikTok, but only some artists have unlocked their true power. So what things are they doing to try to get trending?
Dance challenges
Many music artists turn to their fanbase for help when they want to make their songs go viral on TikTok. They know how creative their fans can be, so they ask for a new, catchy, creative dance challenge that includes the artist's song. But they don't leave their fans empty-handed. Artist's often promise an award, a feature on their socials, or a chance to go with them backstage — fans are going to invest even more energy to get the reward. These videos then get shared among hundreds of thousands of users across the app, leaving other users with the urge to try this new dance challenge.
Remixes and mashups
Remixes are prevalent forms of TikTok videos. Songs are constantly being remixed and published by users, creating new versions of the original piece. As a result, songs are being slowed down, sped up, and mashed with other tracks. This has led music artists to collaborate with remix artists as a part of their strategy for TikTok, which helps them expand their music to a broader audience and even bring some old songs back to life.
One example of the most recent remixes for TikTok is Coi Leray's "Players" jersey club remix by DJ Smallz 732.
Influencers
Lately, music artists are turning to song promo deals between them and TikTok influencers to gain their songs some steam on the app. "Some users can earn hundreds or even thousands of dollars for a single video where they promote an artist's track," Insider reports.
TikTok and beyond
There is one exciting phenomenon connected to our favorite app. Meta liked the TikTok concept of an app so much that they created their alternative: Instagram Reels. But it's not just Instagram; every short-format app today has music for users to use on videos. Therefore, if a video becomes viral on TikTok, it will likely transfer to other apps. It's like a domino effect. And one song, in particular, will be all over these videos — the one in the background of the viral video.
The never-ending change of trends.
As music artists adjust to TikTok, new technologies are already on the horizon. First, we saw the power of AI with tools like ChatGPT for writing and Microsoft's DALL-E for painting. The world of music is next, and with voice cloning and AI called VALL-E already on the market, only time will tell what exciting new apps and AI tools will shape the music industry even more.
And that will do it. Until next time!
