Most people know what Spotify Music and Apple Music are. They are the two apps that bring harmonious sounds to our ears during whatever we are going through.
However, over the years, I have seen a wave of people getting new songs from a different source.
Tik Tok.
I can no longer count how many times I, myself have gone back and forth between Spotify and Tik Tok trying to find new songs I heard and liked. I am finding tons of new artists and even songs from my favorite artists that I didn’t know were out there!
Taking it back to the era when Tik Tok first became trendy, “Boys Will Be Bugs” by Cavetown not only played on the app, but it seemed to be everywhere. The song traveled across social media platforms and even made its way to the radio. At the time, a lot of people I knew also had added the song to their playlist. The famous icon making her way, Olivia Rodrigo, blew up on the app with her song “Driver’s License” that had billions followers and eventually led her to nominations and awards.
Even more well known artists are getting more attention and free publicity than they had before because of Tik Tok. “Cry Baby” by Megan Thee Stallion featuring DaBaby soared on the app and now a lot of college students know it almost word for word. Also, I am not sure if I’m on Megan Tok or not but the use of her songs in dancing videos are incredibly popular on the app. Tik Tok users are helping promote songs just by using the sounds of their favorite artists or even if it’s a random one they found and liked. A video doesn’t need a certain hashtag and target markets have become more easily accessible. If someone were to see just one video with “Cry Baby” as its background, they could click on it and see every other video using just that version of “Cry Baby”.
But the best part of this new found capability people have using technology, is the benefits for small artists. A whole generation worth of people are coming out with their musical talents on Tik Tok. Though we have been able to share things with others on platforms like Instagram or Snapchat, Tik Tok has connected millions of people to many new artists and then they become found. They don’t need lots of money to get known, now with just one video, an entire fanbase could come from it. David Kushner, someone who was not known for music before this app, now has over three million monthly listeners on Spotify (me being one of them).
I also think Tik Tok has changed the genres and scope of music. Looking at my own playlist, the types of songs I have don’t fit the basic genres that have always covered music. Some new artists are known for rapping and their pop beats. Lil Nas X is a perfect example, he has been nominated for Best Melodic Rap Performance, Best Pop Duo Performance, and multiple hip-hop awards. His music is also a great representation of a new mix of genres. And now different styles of music are reaching places all over the world. Latin music has become increasingly popular in the United States and I know plenty of songs have gotten their fame from Tik Tok.
I’m not saying Tik Tok is taking over music streaming, I still use my Spotify and I’m sure others still use their Apple Music. Tik Tok is just the source of finding many new songs and our other music streaming apps is how they get listened to. There is a flood of new music coming into the world and it’s reaching farther than it has before through this fun, content creating, video app.