TikTok has become a creative outlet for artists to showcase their music to a more diverse audience and has become arguably the biggest influence in today’s music industry.
In a Sept. 27 interview with National Public Radio, which features news and podcasts, LA Times pop music critic Mikael Wood explained how TikTok can be incredibly instrumental in popularizing songs in a way that hasn’t been seen before.
“So [labels] looked to TikTok, which had the added bonus that it had tens of millions of users just sort of locked in their houses, staring at their phones, making huge hits of these songs,” Wood said. “TikTok people in the company told me that you could hear the same song in five different videos in five minutes, which is a kind of exposure that you would never get on Top 40 radio.”
TikTok has helped artists, who have established careers in the music industry, grow even bigger, like Doja Cat and Lil Nas X.
Last fall, Doja Cat’s single “Say So” became popular after Haley Sharpe, a TikTok user, choreographed a dance featuring the song which became one of the biggest trends on TikTok.
As of Dec 1 2020, “Say So” has been used in over 17 million videos across the app, according to TikTok.
Sharpe was even invited to be in the “Say So” music video by Doja Cat herself.
It’s important to note that TikTok doesn’t provide monetary compensation to the artists directly, but they boost the artist’s popularity through the “sounds” feature. This is a feature where users can see all videos created with a specific song.
From there, users can listen to the songs on music streaming services like Spotify or Apple Music, which do provide monetary compensation to artists.
Another way in which artists can promote their music on TikTok is by making a personal account and interacting with fans.
Pop star Jason Derulo, who had many hits in the 2000s like “Whatcha Say” and “It Girl,” joined the app after the coronavirus pandemic began and mainly used TikTok to promote his new music.
It was an effective strategy as his hit single “Savage Love” hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 last month.
The pandemic left many people looking for a new way to stay entertained while being advised to stay inside and TikTok provided an outlet for that.
According to an April 29 article from The Verge, TikTok had been downloaded 315 million times during the first quarter of this year alone.
Another interesting way TikTok has shaped the music industry is the way it has repopularized older music to a younger audience that might not have heard it when it first released.
What’s even more interesting are the type of videos that are making this music popular again, which aren’t the type of videos one would expect.
Jack Johnson’s “Upside Down,” which was part of the soundtrack for the Curious George movie released in 2006, became popular on TikTok after one user posted a series of videos including the song where he documented his story of buying a television that only displayed an Arby’s menu.
Older songs that wouldn’t normally be heard by the modern generation are now coming back through trends and memes on TikTok.
Senior communications major Ashley Mehta is a local musician who has considered using TikTok as a way to promote her music.
“I think it’s effective, it’s an addition to other ways that artists can promote their sound and really get their music out there,” Mehta said over the phone. “Many people and supporters bring it up and it’s something I plan on diving into. I think a huge part of it was that consistency and the fact that there are a flood of musicians and artists who are doing different things.”
Mehta said what makes TikTok so interesting is that any video she posts has the potential to end up on anyone’s feed, including celebrities.
“Music is my biggest interest so most of my feed is music and it’s great because I can see other artists and find a way to connect with them,” she said. “We can gain creativity off of each other and motivation and I think that makes it effective.”
Mehta said she’s not sure if any of her music will become viral hits, but she’s excited to have an app like TikTok which provides an opportunity to artists like herself.
