It’s the summer of 2019, you download TikTok (ironically, obviously) so that you can do some dance with your friends at a party. You don’t think much of it and for a while, the app sits on your phone, unopened. Fast forward to 2020 and you’ve somehow become addicted to this ridiculous app and aimlessly scroll through your For You Page between Zooms, praying that it will still be on the app store the next day.
Okay sure, this may not be your story, but for millions of TikTok users, it is. The app currently has 800 million monthly active users— that’s 300 million up from January 2019. In the past year, it has not only become one of the most talked-about social media platforms, but it is also singlehandedly reshaping the music industry.
Through its existence, we have seen TikTok make stars out of everyday users, similar to the way YouTube has been known to do. One of the most explicit examples is Lil Nas X, the “Old Town Road” star who had his start on TikTok in February 2019 and soon after held a spot on top of the Billboard’s Hot 100 songs for 17 weeks. Similarly, LA-based Doja Cat, who was already established, had multiple songs blow up on TikTok, earning her multiple top spots on Billboard’s Hot 100.
This is partly credited to the way the app is designed: artists make money off of how many videos are made using their sounds and the algorithm makes sure that the content is spread as far and wide as possible. This way, anyone can release their music as a TikTok sound and, if all the stars align, Addison Rae will dance to it, securing the artist a record deal. It’s the American dream!
TikTok is not only reshaping the music industry for up-and-coming artists, but it is also forcing mainstream artists to make songs that appeal to the format of TikTok in order to remain relevant. For example, Drake’s recent single, “Tootsie Slide” was essentially a TikTok dance with high production value. Similarly, Justin Beiber’s management tried very hard to get users to do his dance challenge to his single, “Yummy.” Throughout the year, many large musicians have joined the app to engage further with their audience. The bottom line is that this app has grown to have major influence; it has the potential to create a person’s career and to make another irrelevant.
COVID-19 has only made TikTok’s power in the music world more evident. We are hitting the six-month mark of no concerts and music festivals; people are dying to connect and promote music, and TikTok is more than ready to play that role. Many might find this upsetting. There is obviously something inauthentic about making music that caters to a sixty-second format that someone will do a cheesy dance to.
The upside is, in my opinion, that the app has gathered so many users from so many different worlds, allowing the music that blows up to not be exclusive to radio pop. Artists such as Current Joys, Mild High Club, and Molchat Doma have also found success on the app. In some ways TikTok serves as a similar tool to Spotify, allowing people to discover new music and broaden their horizons with the genres they listen to. Whether or not TikTok will be banned in the upcoming week, this type of video platform isn’t going anywhere and is growing as a major tool in the music industry.