Isabella Nova discusses the video-sharing and social-networking app Tik Tok and its impact on music
Tik Tok has 500 million active users since it first started in 2016. Since then it has made such a big impact on the way we connect with people through videos, comedy and dance. Tik Tok has also made a huge influence on music and what we are listening to. The popular users who post content regularly and appeal to the thousands who watch their videos have the power to take songs unheard of and make them familiar to people everywhere worldwide who use the app. There are many ways this happens; it becomes interesting looking at the types of music and songs that become viral and how this can be utilized.
The music that becomes familiar on Tik Tok is put into the spotlight in a number of ways. One is the popular dance routines. Users like Charli D’Amelio dance along to a number of songs and many users copy and try out the different dance routines to that one particular song. Within this, a trend is set, and as more and more people dance to this song, the more the song is heard and spread throughout social media. As the majority of people who use this are teenagers and young adults, trends are easily created and shared through many others of the same age. Another way is through comedy. The memes created through the music and video set a craze for more users to try and copy and react to these memes and comical videos. People who watch and enjoy the song will want to find out the song and stream it, and so it becomes popularized. It has been a great platform for artists to make their song a hit. Songs like ‘No idea’ by Don Toliver has reached 95,890,359 streams on Spotify. It also lets small upcoming artist get their songs circulating throughout the app and popularized on social media. This can include artists like Ant Saunders, whose third single ‘Yellow Hearts’ which was released in 2019, has reached 92,590,306 streams on Spotify. The videos produced on Tik Tok can also allow the legacy of popular artists who have died to live on through the shared videos, such as Juice WRLD and XXXTENTACION.
It has the power to take songs unheard of and make them familiar to people everywhere worldwide who use the app
Although this can all seem very positive, it can mean that the power Tik Tok has on what we listen to and what we stream can be utilized for the advantage of creating a number one single. For example, Justin Bieber. His song ‘Yummy’, which has not received the best approval critically, has been widely promoted on Tik Tok. But the message isn’t great. His huge enforcement of everyone to stream the song leaves users feeling uncomfortable. There is nothing creative being made and the Tik Tok videos made just become forced propaganda to the youth for the benefit of Justin Bieber’s career. A number-one single is an amazing achievement that should be made by the genuine interest and appraisement of the music, not something that should be forced and dishonest.
Music is a big part of Tik Tok and is an amazing platform to create amazing videos and content, as well as discovering exciting new music in addition to enjoying the ones we already love. This power can be exploited for personal gain, especially as the target group is young people who are easily influenced and persuaded. However, as its popularity increasing quickly, the app has a great influence on people who use social media and will continue to shape the way we all listen to music.
