TikTok: How the App Has Changed Music Marketing

            Since it was introduced in 2016, TikTok has had a meteoric growth in terms of their influence and users. TikTok itself is a social media platform where its users can share short videos where they lip-sync songs, make dances, do comedy skits to name a few. TikTok has been downloaded for 2.6 billion times as of December 2020, with downloads more than any other apps in the world last year.[1] This has shown the increasing significance of TikTok as an entertainment-based social media that is used as a platform to increase popularity for not only its users, but also for companies to use it as a marketing strategy to boost the popularity of their products or creation.

            This has been a prevalent strategy in the current social media times where companies seek endorsements from famous people on respective social media platforms to increase the popularity and sales of their products. One of the most known examples is the product endorsements in Instagram where it has been a successful marketing strategy for many enterprises, both on the platform and conventional commerce as well. However, this short essay will focus itself on how TikTok has been growing as the main platform for the music industry and artists alike to make their songs go viral and boost the popularity of their songs. This has arguably been one of the most apparent advantages that TikTok has produced and has piqued the interests of music and entertainment companies on how they market their creation.

            TikTok mainly consists of lip-sync videos that are usually coupled with catchy dance to go alongside it for less than a minute. This form of social media platform has gained traction due to its fun and unique use of songs in the app, making not only the stars of the app famous, but also the songs that millions of the users lip-synced and danced to. The power of how this platform has managed to be a catalyst of musical fame can be best exampled by ‘Old Town Road’ by Lil Nas X and ‘The Box’ by Roddy Rich.[2] Both of the songs were extensively used in TikTok videos and catapulted both into viral hits. As the song became viral on other social media and subsequently gained more radio plays, it became a force on the music charts as well. Both songs charted number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, which measures the best-performing songs in the US weekly. With 19 weeks at the top, ‘Old Town Road’ has become the longest charting song on the chart. Thanks to the fame of his song Lil Nas X also won a Grammy Award which is the biggest musical accolade in the world and shot him to international stardom. This has showcased that the viral status of these TikTok songs have become a force to be reckoned with in music marketing.

            This also has prompted companies and artists to promote their music through the app, in hopes of reaching the viral status or topping the charts. This is usually done by creating catchy dances or “challenges” in which the users can perform to the song and subsequently, introduce the song to other users on the platform. One of the example is when Justin Bieber asked his fans to promote his newest single “Yummy” on TikTok for it to go viral and top the charts.[3] This showed that even the most famous artists are getting behind this trend to cater their music to Gen-Z and through TikTok, they can hopefully boost the popularity of their songs without going through the conventional music marketing such as radios.

With TikTok popularity soaring in 2020, it has become one of the most influential digital trends last year. As their downloads are still increasing and growing from its viral contents, the app is expected to be a long-term social media hit. TikTok’s exponential growth also means that musicians will keep a close eye on how TikTok can catapult their songs to popularity. The examples above showed us that TikTok has changed how the music industry promotes the songs of their artists by making it more catchy, interesting and also accessible. This current trend has posed the question on how social media will continue to erode the conventional way of marketing through its online engagements, with TikTok spearheading it. TikTok doesn’t guarantee that the songs that are marketed there will be instantly famous, but if it did, it can be a life-changing one.

Author: Jasmine Noor Andretha Putri
Editor: Amelinda Pandu Kusumanigtyas


References

Hamilton, I. (2020). TikTok hit 1.5 billion downloads, and is still outperforming Instagram. [online] Business Insider Singapore. Available at: https://www.businessinsider.sg/tiktok-hits-15-billion-downloads-outperforming-instagram-2019-11/?r=US&IR=T [Accessed 19 Feb. 2020].

The Verge. (2020). ‘Old Town Road’ proves TikTok can launch a hit song. [online] Available at: https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/5/18296815/lil-nas-x-old-town-road-tiktok-artists-spotify-soundcloud-streams-revenue [Accessed 5 Mar. 2020].

The Verge. (2020). Justin Bieber is increasingly desperate for ‘Yummy’ to go viral on TikTok. [online] Available at: https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/3/21120037/justin-bieber-yummy-tiktok-viral-old-town-road-youtube-david-dobrik [Accessed 5 Mar. 2020].


[1] Iqbal, M., 2021. TikTok Revenue and Usage Statistics (2021). [online] Business of Apps. Available at: <https://www.businessofapps.com/data/tik-tok-statistics/> [Accessed 5 March 2021].

[2] The Verge. (2020). ‘Old Town Road’ proves TikTok can launch a hit song. [online] Available at: https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/5/18296815/lil-nas-x-old-town-road-tiktok-artists-spotify-soundcloud-streams-revenue [Accessed 19 Feb. 2020].

[3] The Verge. (2020). Justin Bieber is increasingly desperate for ‘Yummy’ to go viral on TikTok. [online] Available at: https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/3/21120037/justin-bieber-yummy-tiktok-viral-old-town-road-youtube-david-dobrik [Accessed 19 Feb. 2020].