I’m sure we’ve all experienced a time when you opened TikTok and was greeted by the most heavenly, dance inducing, emotionally moving piece of music behind the first video that popped up. So, you click on the sound icon or head to the comments to figure out the name of the song playing so you can quickly add it to one of your playlists.
Then, you get in the car with your friends, or you send your sibling a song that you know they’ll love, but instead of being met with thanks for blessing their ears with such beautiful music, they say in a mocking tone, “you found that on TikTok, didn’t you.” And just like that, the mood is ruined, all because finding music through TikTok has been deemed “bandwagon” or “fake fan” behavior.
For too long I have been plagued with insecurity when it comes to showing people new music, lest I be berated for finding it on a social media platform that was founded on the very premise of sharing music to sing and dance to. Its icon is LITERALLY a music note.
So, how did we get here?
I find that many people who loved a song or artist before they blow up on TikTok feel a certain superiority to new fans, some jokingly posting that they know their music in a more, “deep and complex way” than other people when said song or artist becomes widely popular.
Yes, there have been a few instances where I have felt a little annoyed when one of my favorite songs went viral on TikTok and everyone started “putting me on” to it when I had been listening to it for years.
However, as much as I want to play the “I’m the bigger fan” card, the fact that I now get to talk about a song I love so much with so many other people outweighs any superiority I may start to feel.
Also, TikTok and other social media platforms are a great way for new artists to promote their music and launch their careers. There are even some accounts that specifically take requests from small artists to promote their music and gain new listeners. For the most part, this proves extremely successful for them too.
So, why not be happy for your favorite underground artist that they’re finally getting the recognition they deserve instead of hoping they fall into irrelevance again so you can “gatekeep” them.
TikTok also does a great job of reviving old music, helping bridge the gap between generations with music.
There have been multiple times when I start to play an artist I found from the ’80s or ’90s that I heard about on TikTok in the car. My mom then remarks on the fact that she used to listen to their record when she was my age, or maybe even saw them in concert. It’s exciting to find how similar our music tastes are and it gives us something new to bond over.
Through TikTok, I have found artists like Faye Webster, PinkPanthress, TV Girl, The Sundays, and so many more. It has been instrumental in developing my music taste into what it is today, and without it I would still be listening to just generic radio music (sorry to those of you who like that music).
It’s time to end the stigma around finding music on TikTok. If you find a song and love it, don’t downplay it just because you found it from an app. Music is meant to be shared with others, and social media is a way to do that, so embrace it.