TikTok, which has one billion users, is transforming the music industry by uncovering new talent and forcing artists and labels to face the ambitions of the Chinese social network.
Within a few years, TikTok has pulled artists like Lil Nas X out of anonymity — his song “Old Town Road” has become the best-selling song in US history — and launched careers like rapper Doja Cat.
Major labels, confused at first, had no choice but to sign license deals with TikTok and make it a central part of their marketing strategy.
“When an innovative platform comes along, it’s easy to understand that rights holders feel uncomfortable,” Ole Obermann, TikTok’s international music director, told AFP.
After its worldwide explosion during the first lockdown, the Chinese short-video social network — initially called Musical.ly — has indeed become the main driver of music discovery among young people.
On TikTok, 75% of its users discovered new songs in 2021 and 175 of them made it to the US Billboard Hot 100 list, according to the company.
Its secret is a powerful algorithm, capable of accurately probing the musical tastes of subscribers and offering a selection of videos adapted to each of them.
In mid-2021, young Americans went wild with a slow-motion remix of the song “Alors on danse” by Belgian artist Stromae, replaying a choreography created by influencer Usim Mango millions of times.
Ten years after its release, “the music’s popularity has skyrocketed in streaming”, explains Jean-Charles Mariani, director of digital strategy at Universal Music France, to AFP, “especially among young people, as almost 30% of them have listened to this music for the first time”.
The success of the songs in the app is reflected on the ‘streaming’ platforms (Spotify, Deezer), where two-thirds of users re-listen to the songs they’ve discovered.
In fact, 72% associate the songs directly with the ‘dance challenges’ that go viral on the app, calling them “TikTok music”.
In recent months, he has breathed new life into hits like Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” (1977) and Boney M’s “Rasputin” (1978).
It also helped independent artists, such as London-based composer Tom Rosenthal, gain a large following.
On the other hand, some artists point out the risk of musical uniformity on TikTok, as the algorithm favors pop or hip-hop productions, susceptible to catching the attention of followers in a few seconds.
I have over 8 years of experience in the news industry. I have worked for various news websites and have also written for a few news agencies. I mostly cover healthcare news, but I am also interested in other topics such as politics, business, and entertainment. In my free time, I enjoy writing fiction and spending time with my family and friends.
