The Profound Impact of TikTok on Modern Music What You Need to Know in 2024
Once little more than a quirky social media platform filled with dancing teens, TikTok has become among the most potent forces shaping music in 2020—and it is remaking everything from how songs are discovered and propelled up the charts to how artists break through to fame. Over the past few years, TikTok has rapidly become one of the largest music platforms, typically driving which songs make it to No. 1 (and sometimes even break a new act worldwide). That and its innovative algorithm, along with the mass quantities of user-generated content, have driven it to become a global trendsetter for music. In this piece, I look at the far-reaching implications of TikTok for music in how it has developed to date, changed modes of musical discovery — among others, via its influence with signed acts and labels alike — and heavier layers around cultural passing.
Table of Contents
1. TikTok Is the New MTV: The Platform that Defines an Era of Music
The evolution of TikTok, from a simple lip-syncing app to its current role as a music tastemaker, has been emblematic of the evolving landscape of modern-day digital era ways in which we buy and listen to our favorite tunes. First introduced as a Musical. When it was launched in 2014, the app centered around lip-syncing videos of popular songs. It has attracted the interest of teenagers and young adults. Still, it only won traction once rebranded as TikTok with ByteDance in 2018. The rebrand included an updated focus on short-form video, encompassing a wide range of videos made by users with music playing a central role.
The Birth of TikTok: A Brief History
First, a transformed notification tray will be delivered in new releases of WhatsApp for Android and iOS (pushed recently). The closest relative to its present iteration has been a significant moment in the app’s lifetime. Musical. In other words, Musical.ly was just an app that only some people used and were fans of. TikTok became a global phenomenon in comparison. The idea was to make an app that had elements of “entertainment, creativity and a sense of community.” Due to the app’s algorithm, designed to circulate content based on audience engagement rather than user following numbers, ordinary people immediately managed (and still manage) to become viral within hours. That democratization of content creation catapulted TikTok and paved the way for its profound influence on music.
TikTok Terminology: How it is Structured
The music works well with TikTok’s algorithm, the secret sauce to its higher-profile success. It studies the involvement of users, i.e., like-share comments and further facilitates to anticipate which content would engage a user most. That meant that even an obscure song could find considerable exposure if it resonated with TikTok users. By giving so much weight to these bite-sized pieces of music—many are only 15 seconds or a minute long—the app has encouraged users to experience songs in this new way that whittles down tunes into the most exciting bits. The video format also engages users to join the challenges, lip-syncing or dance content and fuels a song even more.
2. Impact of TikTok on Music Discovery and Listen Time
TikTok is single-handedly changing how we find new music and listen to it, turning tracks into viral hits in a way that hasn’t been possible since the heyday of Top 40 radio. Methods of music discovery have expanded beyond traditional measures like radio play or an invisible hand in your Spotify algorithm thanks to the global teen-run phenomenon that is TikTok. As with anything, TikTok’s topic is unmatched in the platform’s ability to persistently compel new tracks out of obscurity via user-generated dealings and creating a brand-new type of music fan who takes their cues from what song goes viral.
Mainstreaming the Viral: The TikTok Challenge
At its core, TikTok’s influence on music comprises challenges. These challenges typically ask users to make videos featuring a particular song, often coupled with dance or reinterpretation of the lyrics. The song for any given viral challenge usually comes after it. Take the song “Say So” by Doja Cat, maybe, which went viral mainly due to a TikTok dance challenge. Since then, the platform has become an essential tool for artists and record labels in selling new music — mainly because of its ability to foster these viral moments.
The Algorithm of TikTok & Music Recommendations
The app’s algorithm is partly responsible for maintaining the power of music discovery in TikTok, with songs currently trending on the platform being surfaced more prominently to users. While other music platforms still organize expert-created playlists, TikTok uses an algorithm to determine which tunes it should promote based on people’s interactions. This means a song doesn’t need significant label support or radio play to chart- it just needs TikTok. The thought behind the algorithm is to highlight songs that will excite you and have some relatability component, so your favorite jams inevitably make their way up and into those TikTok challenges or trends.
Influencers and Content Creators
These songs are becoming popular mainly due to TikTok influencers and content creators. They are users that, often on a vast scale — turn people onto new music by having what is essentially “use it in my video” access to the audience of their choosing. In some challenges or innovative videos, the influencer uses songs, which can result in making those tracks extremely popular across the globe. For instance, songs such as “Stunning’ by Curtis Waters” and “Lottery (Renegade) by K CAMP went viral, with TikTokers using these to combine them in their content. As people find music through influencers, the more we realize how powerful social media can be in influencing our musical tastes.
3. How TikTok has influenced artists and the music business
TikTok presents challenges and opportunities for artists and the rest of the music industry that can disrupt long-held ideas about what brings an artist to success. Through the power of its network, Soundcloud has decentralized music promotion and made it possible for emerging artists to access a global stage without requiring significant label support. But it has simultaneously put artists under new strains and reshaped the centuries-old connection between artist and label.
Introducing New Artists: Unknown to Success
TikTok has become an artist launching pad where new musicians and bands can highlight their music to millions. So, huge artists like Lil Nas X and his hit “Old Town Road” are in TikTok’bt. The track quickly became a viral hit on the service, detailed in a tweet before eventually finding its way to mainstream radio. Since then, this new avenue to success has democratized the music industry and created opportunities for indie musicians who might never have otherwise landed a major record deal. This does mean that artists need to keep people interested in them on TikTok all the Time, though.
The Reinvention of Old Hits
Sometimes, even breathing life back into older tracks that have yet to take hold in the mainstream consciousness. TikTok trends bring life to possibly forgotten or overlooked songs. An example is the 2007 song Dreams by Fleetwood Mac that, thanks to a viral video on TikTok in 2020, made its way back into public consciousness. The revival of old hits has helped spark a newfound appreciation for older music, which benefits the original artists and the entire industry.
Record Labels and TikTok: Adapting to the New Normal
Record Labels At TikTok Are Dealing With The New Normal
With TikTok’s entirely new landscape, record labels have been forced to pivot fast. Many labels are now actively attempting to break their acts on TikTok, realizing its power as a hit generator in waiting. A few labels even craft TikTok strategies for their artists, with instructions to participate in the platform’s trends and challenges. This has resulted in a renewed spirit of labels and artists working together, with the idea to produce songs with legs on TikTok.
4. The Economic Impact: Monetization and Revenue Streams
TikTok not only reshapes the music industry, it also creates new economic opportunities — just like back then with MTV • but probably even harder fought over than in those days. It is not a service that should be underestimated for its effects on music sales, streaming numbers and concert ticket sales. One of the struggles is the TikTok monetization process for music, which involves correctly disseminating earnings while avoiding copyright infringement issues.
How musicians can make money on TikTok
Artists and labels have also become wise to the plethora of ways in which TikTok can bring them cash. For instance, the TikTok Creator Fund pays creators based on how well their content does, which is one of the most direct ways. In addition, artists can also direct their followers to streaming platforms and modules such as stores or concerts through TikTok. TikTok — Creator never collaborates with them on brand. The respective artist gets a chance to earn money from sponsored content.
Challenges in Revenue Distribution
A complicated issue about TikTok is that, although there are opportunities enough with it to become revenue coming through its viral promotion or via an influencer sponsorship,… Given the shortened, loopable format of TikTok videos compared to standard-length song files (upwards of three minutes), this makes tracking royalty payments between artist and user far less straightforward. In addition, TikTok has risen faster than regular licensing processes and with disputes between the company track holders. This has spurred numerous negotiations as the industry moves to ensure that artists and songwriters are paid for their efforts.
The Future of Music Monetization on TikTok
In the future, the monetization of music on TikTok will change as this platform continues to expand. This could result in more complex licensing agreements, artist-to-fan revenue streams directly and new monetization models catered to short-form content. The challenge will come as TikTok grows up — the platform must learn how to balance its seed-infarction virality against a more mature, equitable creator environment.
5. Global Music Trendsetter: The Cultural Impact of TikTok
TikTok has created a new musical world that is more inclusive than any other in the history of recorded music. The result is a landscape where anyone from any culture can now create and distribute music to an international audience at the touch of a button.
Global Hits Cross-Cultural Exchange
TikTok has helped break down borders in music, allowing regional hits to be discovered worldwide. For instance, New Zealand producer Jawsh 685’s track Laxed (Siren Beat) exploded globally after it was adopted as the backing for a vast TikTok trend — which ultimately begat Jason Derulo into making Savage Love. It has helped TikTok become global status as a platform where hits can be created across any language and cultural boundaries.
The Impact of TikTok on Music Genres
Certain types of music thrive on the platform because it is based on short, engaging content. ADVANTAGE POLAR Hashtags that make sense to the target audience are used more often in genres like pop, hip-hop, and electronic dance music, which work well for TikTok content. Moreover, with so much digital noise, it finds a music limit by artists emerging in genre-bending and experimentalism to make the sound necessary for standing out on TikTok. This has helped enable a broader soundscape, with genre vectors often condemned to dissolution or obliteration.
TikTok Music and Curation
TikTok users are also tastemakers, curating (and I mean that as a verb here) what music changes the masses on and off the platform. The “For You” page automatically plants new tunes in the user’s ears based on the musical interests and favorites you enter. It speaks to how TikTok has become a vital force for music discovery, one that may ultimately define where the industry goes next. With the way users still use the platform, TikTok’s ability to shape music curation will only become more significant.
6. TikTok has Come under Much Criticism and Controversy
As much as TikTok has benefited the music industry, it didn’t come without its fair share of criticisms and controversies. Jukin’s influence has prompted rumors regarding the integrity of musical trends, even more pressure on artists and concerns about copyright infringement.
Artists: Pressure to Go Viral
With TikTok becoming increasingly influential, artists are forced to think about content specifically for the platform. Pressure can be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it is a powerful tool for artists to reach mass audiences. Alternatively, it could result in writing about what is more likely to go viral than the art of creation. The question it poses to artists is: Which do you value more, art or content?
The Great Music Authenticity Debate
Unsurprisingly, a common criticism of the effects of TikTok on music is that it could take precedence over being trendy rather than authentic. Critics claim this orientation towards virality incentivizes creating music that gets stuck in your head rather than more profound or trailblazing tunes. This has added to fears that TikTok could lead to a fall in the music standard, as artists and labels aim to make songs that likely fare well on the platform.
Music Copyright Problems with TikTok
One interesting byproduct of TikTok’s rapid ascendency has been the can-of-worms it cracked open with music copyrights. TikTok is also no stranger to rowing with rights holders over using unlicensed music in its user-generated content. Although TikTok has tried to resolve this by signing licensing deals with several major labels, copyright infringement still needs to be solved. The platform’s fate will continue to hinge upon its handling of these legal issues while not underpaying artist and songwriter royalties.
Conclusion: The Future of TikTok and Music Industry
Whether TikTok will continue to affect the music business in the long term still needs to be seen; only one thing remains sure: The App itself is going nowhere. There is no question that TikTok has forever changed music, how songs are found, and how artists interact with their fans. Still, the platform has brought new challenges and more exciting doors for artists, labels, and fans. Even though TikTok is still relatively new, we may well be looking at a platform which will ultimately prove to have changed the way the music industry functions for years (if not decades) to come with brand-spanking new monetization solutions, fresh content approaches and democratized routes through which users can discover great songs.
Your questions answered
FAQ
How has TikTok changed the way music is discovered?
TikTok has revolutionized music discovery by allowing songs to go viral through user-generated content, often leading to mainstream success without traditional promotion methods. The platform’s algorithm surfaces trending music based on user interactions, making it a key player in modern music discovery.
Can TikTok help new artists gain recognition?
Yes, TikTok has become a powerful tool for new artists to gain recognition. By participating in trends or creating engaging content, artists can reach a global audience, often leading to record deals or chart-topping hits.
What challenges do artists face with TikTok's influence?
Artists may face pressure to create content specifically designed for TikTok, which can sometimes conflict with artistic creativity. Additionally, issues like revenue distribution and maintaining authenticity can present challenges in the TikTok-driven music landscape.
How does TikTok handle music copyright issues?
TikTok has faced challenges with music copyright, particularly with user-generated content that includes unlicensed music. The platform has worked to secure licensing agreements with major labels, but copyright issues remain a concern that TikTok continues to address.
What impact has TikTok had on older music?
TikTok has revived older songs by featuring them in viral trends, leading to renewed interest and increased streaming numbers. This has brought classic hits back into mainstream consciousness, benefiting both the original artists and the music industry.
The Profound Impact of TikTok on Modern Music What You Need to Know in 2024
Once little more than a quirky social media platform filled with dancing teens, TikTok has become among the most potent forces shaping music in 2020—and it is remaking everything from how songs are discovered and propelled up the charts to how artists break through to fame. Over the past few years, TikTok has rapidly become one of the largest music platforms, typically driving which songs make it to No. 1 (and sometimes even break a new act worldwide). That and its innovative algorithm, along with the mass quantities of user-generated content, have driven it to become a global trendsetter for music. In this piece, I look at the far-reaching implications of TikTok for music in how it has developed to date, changed modes of musical discovery — among others, via its influence with signed acts and labels alike — and heavier layers around cultural passing.
Table of Contents
1. TikTok Is the New MTV: The Platform that Defines an Era of Music
The evolution of TikTok, from a simple lip-syncing app to its current role as a music tastemaker, has been emblematic of the evolving landscape of modern-day digital era ways in which we buy and listen to our favorite tunes. First introduced as a Musical. When it was launched in 2014, the app centered around lip-syncing videos of popular songs. It has attracted the interest of teenagers and young adults. Still, it only won traction once rebranded as TikTok with ByteDance in 2018. The rebrand included an updated focus on short-form video, encompassing a wide range of videos made by users with music playing a central role.
The Birth of TikTok: A Brief History
First, a transformed notification tray will be delivered in new releases of WhatsApp for Android and iOS (pushed recently). The closest relative to its present iteration has been a significant moment in the app’s lifetime. Musical. In other words, Musical.ly was just an app that only some people used and were fans of. TikTok became a global phenomenon in comparison. The idea was to make an app that had elements of “entertainment, creativity and a sense of community.” Due to the app’s algorithm, designed to circulate content based on audience engagement rather than user following numbers, ordinary people immediately managed (and still manage) to become viral within hours. That democratization of content creation catapulted TikTok and paved the way for its profound influence on music.
TikTok Terminology: How it is Structured
The music works well with TikTok’s algorithm, the secret sauce to its higher-profile success. It studies the involvement of users, i.e., like-share comments and further facilitates to anticipate which content would engage a user most. That meant that even an obscure song could find considerable exposure if it resonated with TikTok users. By giving so much weight to these bite-sized pieces of music—many are only 15 seconds or a minute long—the app has encouraged users to experience songs in this new way that whittles down tunes into the most exciting bits. The video format also engages users to join the challenges, lip-syncing or dance content and fuels a song even more.
2. Impact of TikTok on Music Discovery and Listen Time
TikTok is single-handedly changing how we find new music and listen to it, turning tracks into viral hits in a way that hasn’t been possible since the heyday of Top 40 radio. Methods of music discovery have expanded beyond traditional measures like radio play or an invisible hand in your Spotify algorithm thanks to the global teen-run phenomenon that is TikTok. As with anything, TikTok’s topic is unmatched in the platform’s ability to persistently compel new tracks out of obscurity via user-generated dealings and creating a brand-new type of music fan who takes their cues from what song goes viral.
Mainstreaming the Viral: The TikTok Challenge
At its core, TikTok’s influence on music comprises challenges. These challenges typically ask users to make videos featuring a particular song, often coupled with dance or reinterpretation of the lyrics. The song for any given viral challenge usually comes after it. Take the song “Say So” by Doja Cat, maybe, which went viral mainly due to a TikTok dance challenge. Since then, the platform has become an essential tool for artists and record labels in selling new music — mainly because of its ability to foster these viral moments.
The Algorithm of TikTok & Music Recommendations
The app’s algorithm is partly responsible for maintaining the power of music discovery in TikTok, with songs currently trending on the platform being surfaced more prominently to users. While other music platforms still organize expert-created playlists, TikTok uses an algorithm to determine which tunes it should promote based on people’s interactions. This means a song doesn’t need significant label support or radio play to chart- it just needs TikTok. The thought behind the algorithm is to highlight songs that will excite you and have some relatability component, so your favorite jams inevitably make their way up and into those TikTok challenges or trends.
Influencers and Content Creators
These songs are becoming popular mainly due to TikTok influencers and content creators. They are users that, often on a vast scale — turn people onto new music by having what is essentially “use it in my video” access to the audience of their choosing. In some challenges or innovative videos, the influencer uses songs, which can result in making those tracks extremely popular across the globe. For instance, songs such as “Stunning’ by Curtis Waters” and “Lottery (Renegade) by K CAMP went viral, with TikTokers using these to combine them in their content. As people find music through influencers, the more we realize how powerful social media can be in influencing our musical tastes.
3. How TikTok has influenced artists and the music business
TikTok presents challenges and opportunities for artists and the rest of the music industry that can disrupt long-held ideas about what brings an artist to success. Through the power of its network, Soundcloud has decentralized music promotion and made it possible for emerging artists to access a global stage without requiring significant label support. But it has simultaneously put artists under new strains and reshaped the centuries-old connection between artist and label.
Introducing New Artists: Unknown to Success
TikTok has become an artist launching pad where new musicians and bands can highlight their music to millions. So, huge artists like Lil Nas X and his hit “Old Town Road” are in TikTok’bt. The track quickly became a viral hit on the service, detailed in a tweet before eventually finding its way to mainstream radio. Since then, this new avenue to success has democratized the music industry and created opportunities for indie musicians who might never have otherwise landed a major record deal. This does mean that artists need to keep people interested in them on TikTok all the Time, though.
The Reinvention of Old Hits
Sometimes, even breathing life back into older tracks that have yet to take hold in the mainstream consciousness. TikTok trends bring life to possibly forgotten or overlooked songs. An example is the 2007 song Dreams by Fleetwood Mac that, thanks to a viral video on TikTok in 2020, made its way back into public consciousness. The revival of old hits has helped spark a newfound appreciation for older music, which benefits the original artists and the entire industry.
Record Labels and TikTok: Adapting to the New Normal
Record Labels At TikTok Are Dealing With The New Normal
With TikTok’s entirely new landscape, record labels have been forced to pivot fast. Many labels are now actively attempting to break their acts on TikTok, realizing its power as a hit generator in waiting. A few labels even craft TikTok strategies for their artists, with instructions to participate in the platform’s trends and challenges. This has resulted in a renewed spirit of labels and artists working together, with the idea to produce songs with legs on TikTok.
4. The Economic Impact: Monetization and Revenue Streams
TikTok not only reshapes the music industry, it also creates new economic opportunities — just like back then with MTV • but probably even harder fought over than in those days. It is not a service that should be underestimated for its effects on music sales, streaming numbers and concert ticket sales. One of the struggles is the TikTok monetization process for music, which involves correctly disseminating earnings while avoiding copyright infringement issues.
How musicians can make money on TikTok
Artists and labels have also become wise to the plethora of ways in which TikTok can bring them cash. For instance, the TikTok Creator Fund pays creators based on how well their content does, which is one of the most direct ways. In addition, artists can also direct their followers to streaming platforms and modules such as stores or concerts through TikTok. TikTok — Creator never collaborates with them on brand. The respective artist gets a chance to earn money from sponsored content.
Challenges in Revenue Distribution
A complicated issue about TikTok is that, although there are opportunities enough with it to become revenue coming through its viral promotion or via an influencer sponsorship,… Given the shortened, loopable format of TikTok videos compared to standard-length song files (upwards of three minutes), this makes tracking royalty payments between artist and user far less straightforward. In addition, TikTok has risen faster than regular licensing processes and with disputes between the company track holders. This has spurred numerous negotiations as the industry moves to ensure that artists and songwriters are paid for their efforts.
The Future of Music Monetization on TikTok
In the future, the monetization of music on TikTok will change as this platform continues to expand. This could result in more complex licensing agreements, artist-to-fan revenue streams directly and new monetization models catered to short-form content. The challenge will come as TikTok grows up — the platform must learn how to balance its seed-infarction virality against a more mature, equitable creator environment.
5. Global Music Trendsetter: The Cultural Impact of TikTok
TikTok has created a new musical world that is more inclusive than any other in the history of recorded music. The result is a landscape where anyone from any culture can now create and distribute music to an international audience at the touch of a button.
Global Hits Cross-Cultural Exchange
TikTok has helped break down borders in music, allowing regional hits to be discovered worldwide. For instance, New Zealand producer Jawsh 685’s track Laxed (Siren Beat) exploded globally after it was adopted as the backing for a vast TikTok trend — which ultimately begat Jason Derulo into making Savage Love. It has helped TikTok become global status as a platform where hits can be created across any language and cultural boundaries.
The Impact of TikTok on Music Genres
Certain types of music thrive on the platform because it is based on short, engaging content. ADVANTAGE POLAR Hashtags that make sense to the target audience are used more often in genres like pop, hip-hop, and electronic dance music, which work well for TikTok content. Moreover, with so much digital noise, it finds a music limit by artists emerging in genre-bending and experimentalism to make the sound necessary for standing out on TikTok. This has helped enable a broader soundscape, with genre vectors often condemned to dissolution or obliteration.
TikTok Music and Curation
TikTok users are also tastemakers, curating (and I mean that as a verb here) what music changes the masses on and off the platform. The “For You” page automatically plants new tunes in the user’s ears based on the musical interests and favorites you enter. It speaks to how TikTok has become a vital force for music discovery, one that may ultimately define where the industry goes next. With the way users still use the platform, TikTok’s ability to shape music curation will only become more significant.
6. TikTok has Come under Much Criticism and Controversy
As much as TikTok has benefited the music industry, it didn’t come without its fair share of criticisms and controversies. Jukin’s influence has prompted rumors regarding the integrity of musical trends, even more pressure on artists and concerns about copyright infringement.
Artists: Pressure to Go Viral
With TikTok becoming increasingly influential, artists are forced to think about content specifically for the platform. Pressure can be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it is a powerful tool for artists to reach mass audiences. Alternatively, it could result in writing about what is more likely to go viral than the art of creation. The question it poses to artists is: Which do you value more, art or content?
The Great Music Authenticity Debate
Unsurprisingly, a common criticism of the effects of TikTok on music is that it could take precedence over being trendy rather than authentic. Critics claim this orientation towards virality incentivizes creating music that gets stuck in your head rather than more profound or trailblazing tunes. This has added to fears that TikTok could lead to a fall in the music standard, as artists and labels aim to make songs that likely fare well on the platform.
Music Copyright Problems with TikTok
One interesting byproduct of TikTok’s rapid ascendency has been the can-of-worms it cracked open with music copyrights. TikTok is also no stranger to rowing with rights holders over using unlicensed music in its user-generated content. Although TikTok has tried to resolve this by signing licensing deals with several major labels, copyright infringement still needs to be solved. The platform’s fate will continue to hinge upon its handling of these legal issues while not underpaying artist and songwriter royalties.
Conclusion: The Future of TikTok and Music Industry
Whether TikTok will continue to affect the music business in the long term still needs to be seen; only one thing remains sure: The App itself is going nowhere. There is no question that TikTok has forever changed music, how songs are found, and how artists interact with their fans. Still, the platform has brought new challenges and more exciting doors for artists, labels, and fans. Even though TikTok is still relatively new, we may well be looking at a platform which will ultimately prove to have changed the way the music industry functions for years (if not decades) to come with brand-spanking new monetization solutions, fresh content approaches and democratized routes through which users can discover great songs.
Your questions answered
FAQ
How has TikTok changed the way music is discovered?
TikTok has revolutionized music discovery by allowing songs to go viral through user-generated content, often leading to mainstream success without traditional promotion methods. The platform’s algorithm surfaces trending music based on user interactions, making it a key player in modern music discovery.
Can TikTok help new artists gain recognition?
Yes, TikTok has become a powerful tool for new artists to gain recognition. By participating in trends or creating engaging content, artists can reach a global audience, often leading to record deals or chart-topping hits.
What challenges do artists face with TikTok's influence?
Artists may face pressure to create content specifically designed for TikTok, which can sometimes conflict with artistic creativity. Additionally, issues like revenue distribution and maintaining authenticity can present challenges in the TikTok-driven music landscape.
How does TikTok handle music copyright issues?
TikTok has faced challenges with music copyright, particularly with user-generated content that includes unlicensed music. The platform has worked to secure licensing agreements with major labels, but copyright issues remain a concern that TikTok continues to address.
What impact has TikTok had on older music?
TikTok has revived older songs by featuring them in viral trends, leading to renewed interest and increased streaming numbers. This has brought classic hits back into mainstream consciousness, benefiting both the original artists and the music industry.
