How Tik Tok is Changing the Music Industry
Cover Image: Flo Milli Photographed by Sarah Morris | Credit: Getty Images for BET
From “Old Town Road” to “Savage” to “Say So,” some of the past two years’ biggest hits have gained their popularity through Tik Tok. Understandably, the entire music industry, from small artists and household names to their labels and managers, are taking notice. In particular, many small artists are using Tik Tok to market themselves and their music, even without the budget of a big-name label. This tactic manifests in several ways: many take to Tik Tok to share their writing process in order to generate excitement about a debut EP or new songs, while others use their platform to post videos incorporating their music more subtly as background music. These videos are usually centered around non-music topics such as fashion or a “day in the life.”
While Tik Tok has inspired artists to get creative about how they approach marketing, many take the traditional approach of paying others to promote their music on the app. Almost anything under 60 seconds can be posted on Tik Tok, creating a wide variety of content available, but a good portion of the content found on the app is dance. Certain dances will gain traction across the app and evolve into a dance trend where both big and small creators will follow along and post their versions. This concept presents a unique opportunity for an artist to discreetly promote their music and many pay well-known Tik Tokers to create a dance or capitalize on the emerging virality of an existing dance, creating a “viral” hit. In early 2019, a manager for rapper Flo Milli tracked down the TikToker @nicemichael and offered him $200 to bring more attention to a dance already made for Flo Milli’s song “Beef Flomix.” According to an article in Rolling Stone, the resulting video amassed more than 100,000 likes which helped jumpstart the overall success of “Beef Flomix.” After the song rose to popularity on Tik Tok, Flo Milli was signed to RCA Records (Leight). According to digital marketers, the known impact of established creators using artist’s music is so massive managers are willing to pay over $10,000 for a single post – Micheal only charged $200, but many larger creators on the app like Charli Damelio may agree to post for anywhere from $25,000 to $40,000.
In other cases, the Tik Tok advertisement strategy begins with the writing process. Because of this, artists carefully craft 15-second hooks they know will inspire Tik Toks in hopes they’ll create the next viral hit. This strategy has led to Tik Tok having a direct effect on how music sounds, one of these ways being the “relatable” calls to action. Olivia Rodrigo, writer and singer of the Tik Tok famous hit “Drivers License” revealed that Tik Tok greatly affected the writing process of the song. In an interview with the NYTimes she stated that she wanted to include a certain melodic addition to the intro because she: “...wanted people to make Tik Toks where they could transition into it and I thought if there’s a little thing, there would be a cue” (NYTimes). While many agree this worked well in Rodrigo’s song, which now boasts over 130 million streams, many also believe that writing for a 15 second Tik Tok compromises the quality of the overall song for other artists.
Writing for virality – no matter where you stand on the artistic principle of it – has proven to be a successful business decision. Whether the songs are objectively good or not, the majority of the top streamed songs in the past few months got their popularity thanks to Tik Tok. In reality, all media we consume, from Youtube videos to podcasts to social media, is laced with product placement and marketing strategy. Many argue that Tik Tok is no exception, and while it does tarnish the facade of spontaneous Tik Tok fame, they raise the question: if you like a song you found on the app, does it matter how much calculation went into making sure you discover it?
By joining the likes of traditional streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music, as a go-to for music discovery, Tik Tok is still showing that it can benefit small artists. Flo Milli was relatively unknown when she paid that Tik Toker to promote the dance to her song and was able to achieve recognition and a record deal without splurging on a massive campaign she likely couldn’t afford. The nature of the app also allows aspiring artists to promote their music, without paying anyone, by making the dance or other content themselves which especially benefits those without connections or nepotism on their side.
The app’s established potential for impacting the music industry may be fulfilled in the future, creating a space for rising artists to share their work and be discovered, or, it could be crushed by catering to brands and executives rather than small creators. If there’s anything to take away from the trends already being observed, it’s that the months and years to come will be a good indication of not only where the app is headed but where the music industry is as well.
Sources:Want a TikTok Hit? Have $30,000? | Rolling StoneHow Olivia Rodrigo Wrote ‘Drivers License,’ the Biggest Song of the Year So Far | Diary of a Song