The format of short, uncomplicated videos is already familiar to those who are nostalgic about the Vine era. After experiencing a peak of popularity in 2013, Vine was shut down in 2016, unable to compete with Instagram and Snapchat. Public attention then shifted to the new, more innovative app musical.ly. The ability to shoot and edit videos, complete with a musical snippet, attracted a hundred million users. But TikTok is different.
Having absorbed all the various functions of other social networks (for example, the ability to conduct live broadcasts) and absorbed the same musical.ly, TikTok has become a real sensation. We’ll tell you how the media giant affects chart positions and artists’ careers.
TikTok
“TikTok” is a platform for recording, editing and posting clips up to 60 seconds long, in case you didn’t know it. The video editor is equipped with masks, stickers and a royalty free hip hop beats library.
The platform now boasts 800 million active users and status as one of the most downloaded apps. TikTokers unite into creative collectives – at home, they set trends and record their own music, earning a lot of money (for example, the major Russian TikToker Danya Milokhin estimated his monthly earnings in an interview with GQ at 1 million rubles). And while few people dare to invest money in advertising for goods, “TikTok” has already proven itself as a way of promoting music.
More and more artists are creating so-called TikTok Challenges: if you like my track, repeat the moves. Even Anthony Hopkins took part in the Toosie Slide-challenge from Drake. Such viral uncomplicated videos gain millions of views. And the attraction here is mutual: videos with popular tracks attract more attention, in parallel making them as such. For example, Megan Thee Stallion’s track “Savage” has been used in more than 30 million videos, making it one of the most used on the platform: many people have at least once stumbled upon a series of moves to the lines “I’m a savage/ Classy, bougie, ratchet…”
TikTok and cowboys.
One of TikTok’s first big trends back in early 2019 was a video to the American rapper Lil Nas X’s track “Old Town Road.” The young artist’s country rap song kicked off the “Yeehaw Challenge,” the essence of which involved dressing up as a cowboy. Capturing TikTok, “Old Town Road” was able to break into the Billboard Hot 100 and later climb to number one. The track also hit the Hot Country Songs and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts, but was later removed from the former under the pretext of not fitting the country genre.
On the wave of success, as early as April 2019, Lil Nas X recorded a remix of his song with country star Billy Ray Cyrus. At the 2020 Grammys, the remix version wins in two categories: Best Duo/Band Performance and Best Music Video. Later, Lil Nas X releases versions featuring Diplo and BTS member RM. “Old Town Road” ranks in the top 5 most listened to songs for 2019 on global Spotify and Apple Music.
How Timothy Chalamet helped Melanie Martinez
Another prime example of TikTok’s influence on the music market is the “resurrection” of Melanie Martinez’s career. After the rape scandal in 2017, the pop singer’s activities were not heard from at all for a long time, and later the album “K-12” (2019) was met with little enthusiasm.
But in April 2020, TikTok suddenly flooded with hundreds of clips of the song “Play Date” from the deluxe version of her debut album, “Cry Baby.” A 20-second clip of Timothy Chalamet dancing from “Call Me Your Name” started an Internet trend, and the track has now been used in more than 3 million commercials. More than 100 million listens on Spotify, the release of a lyric video, gold certification in the U.S., and the album, released five years ago, finds itself in the top 100 of the Billboard 200.
Indie-pop trend.
Another trending song on the platform was an indie composition by a young artist from New Zealand, “Supalonely.” Benee, who debuted back in 2017 with the track “Tough Guy,” was already known in her home country at the time of the future hit, but it was her TicToc dance videos to “I know I f**ked up, I’m just a loser” that made her universally recognized.
The track about loneliness came out at just the right time and became a true quarantine hit. Receiving a push into the trends from Charlie Damelio’s most influential TikToker, “Supalonely” became the music for more than 12 million music videos on the platform. Subsequent success included appearances on The Ellen Show, The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon and 17 weeks in the top 50 of the Billboard Hot 100.
