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TikTok: The Music Industry’s Claim to Fame

Published on February 23, 2021, at 6:57 p.m. 
by Olivia Cooley.

I don’t know about you, but almost every time a song from the radio comes on, a dance routine that has most likely been memorized by millions of people pops in my head. We can all thank the newly popular app, TikTok, for this phenomenon.

Photo by Hello I’m Nik on Unsplash

TikTok is easily one of the most influential apps of our time. The mechanics of TikTok are simple and user-friendly, with the ultimate goal of creating content through videos with a backing-up sound clip. With a time limit of 60 seconds for each video, the opportunities for users are endless.

TikTok’s “For You Page” showcases video montages, dance clips and challenge videos to its user base. Viewers are then able to use the same backing-up sound clips to create their own videos, and the process repeats itself.

Due to COVID-19, TikTok blew up all over the world, enabling everyone in their homes to stay connected and add happiness to their day. Most people created dance videos for fun, then couldn’t stop getting on the app. Famous influencers such as Addison Rae and Charli D’Amelio kickstarted the dance trends, blowing up artists and their music — leading TikTok to be one of the main fame machines of the music industry.

Below are three TikTok milestones that have contributed to the music industry.

Doja Cat’s claim to fame
Even if you are not a TikTok user, you have most likely heard of Doja Cat’s R&B influenced track “Say So,” remixed with Nicki Minaj. The hit song became popular after it went viral on TikTok, with millions of users videoing the same dance to the song.

TikTok led to the song’s success on the Billboard Hot 100 Songs chart, ranking at no. 1 and making it the first no. 1 hit for both artists. The TikTok famous dance even made it into the “Say So” music video.

Photo by Aaron Weiss on Unsplash

The old classics are making a comeback
Yes, TikTok is responsible for showcasing new artists and bringing their desired fame to reality, but the app is also bringing back the classics from many years ago. Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” appeared on the app after Nathan Apodaca showed himself skateboarding down a road and drinking cran-raspberry juice straight from the jug. The video has over 60 million views and is responsible for resurfacing the album “Rumors” as a top 10 album — more than four decades after its release.

TikTok has become the radio’s source
It is obvious that TikTok’s impact on popular music is not something that can be ignored. Apple Music and Spotify’s top songs of the week give radio programmers a glimpse into what should be played on their stations. The songs used on TikTok dominate the charts every week, making the programmers’ song choices easy decisions. The simple fact that TikTok itself determines what is played on the radio shows how much influence the app truly has on the music industry.

TikTok has become a way for artists to promote their music and interact with their fans in fun and creative ways. It allows the artists to be themselves, stay connected with a younger crowd and expose their music to new people.

TikTok is a fairly new app used by many people, but the impact it has already provided for the music industry is jaw-dropping. It will be interesting to see what is in store for the future of TikTok.

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