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Jazz Beecham

Mr. Carlyle

English 4

3/24/23

Hypothetically, Would Mozart Use TikTok?

TikTok is not only the fastest-growing social media platform, but one of the most

powerful marketing tools for musicians and entrepreneurs alike. TikTok has been rooted in the

music industry since day one, its former predecessor being Musical.ly, a similar short-form video

content feed centered around the lip-syncing of music. Having amassed over one billion active

monthly users with its highly interactive short-form video content, its scope of influence is

undeniable, growing bigger every day. Videos typically range in length from 15 seconds to a

minute or longer, and are easily accessible with a simple upward scroll, giving way to virtually

unlimited entertainment. The vast majority of content is accompanied by a popular soundbite,

often a song or pop-culture reference, but users have the freedom to upload their own audio as

well. This allows for independent musicians to not only showcase their own music but for fans to

engage more than ever before by creating their own remixes on the app. Because of TikTok’s

dominant influence as a social media marketing tool, it affects every aspect of the music industry,

from not only who rises to fame, but the length, accessibility, content, and output of music,

which potentially puts artistry in jeopardy.

Why is TikTok so important to the music industry? Social media’s value in marketing is

hard not to emphasize. For years now, social media has taken a firm grip on society and manages

to impact the vast majority of people’s everyday lives. The technology industry is growing at an

exponential rate, and more and more people have access to the internet every year. Social media

flipped the music industry on its head with the introduction of streaming services, becoming
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drastically different in just two decades. Although physical music isn’t yet obsolete, in 2021

figures published by the RIAA indicated that “83% of music industry revenues,” were from

digital streaming (Richter). TikTok, although younger than many of its competitors, has taken

over as the fastest-growing social media app. Not only that, but TikTok garners the most user

engagement per day of its competitors, an impressive although scary statistic. TikTok’s value to

the music industry comes from its audience, as “75% of TikTok visitors discover [musical] artists

there,” and “63% say it’s a source for [the] music [they haven’t] heard before.” In fact, TikTok is

widely known to be intertwined with the music industry, as “72% [indicate] they associate

certain songs with TikTok.” Their engagement doesn’t stop within the TikTok application, with

“67% of TikTokers [being] more likely to seek out songs on music-streaming services”

(Mayfield). This user translation rate can prove extremely useful and profitable for the music

industry and indicates TikTok’s demographic is one worth targeting. ByteDance, the parent

company of TikTok, acquired Musical.ly on November 10th of 2017, merging the lip-syncing

predecessor with TikTok. At the time, Musical.ly had just 60 million monthly active users, and

the deal was estimated to be worth between 800 million to 1 billion dollars. Almost 6 years later,

TikTok’s valuation is estimated to be worth around 65 billion dollars, being the fourth most

valuable media brand worldwide (Thomala). TikTok’s enormous growth and overwhelmingly

positive user statistics show not only its current influence, but its potential future influence, and

its importance to the music industry.

So how does a song gain traction on TikTok? Creating virality from scratch is near

impossible- and a formula that all marketing agencies strive towards finding. However, there are

obvious similarities between the majority of TikTok success stories. Oftentimes, a small creator

on the app uses a song and choreographs a dance or trend to it. It then spreads to other smaller
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creators, where eventually it gets picked up by a creator with a big audience. TikTok’s duet

feature allows creators to add on or create their TikTok with another creator, allowing exposure

for both. From there, it spreads like wildfire. Creators also have the ability to add their own

sound to the app, allowing them to use their own music or upload unreleased music, like in the

case of SZA’s “I Hate U” single. Originally a SoundCloud exclusive, released on August 22,

2021, it gained so much traction on TikTok that SZA decided to release it through her label on

December 3, 2021. It was a smash hit, debuting at #1 on both Apple Music and Spotify, and

broke the record for the most streamed R&B song by a female artist in the first week on Apple

Music. However, despite the impressive feat, SZA was an already established artist, with

multiple grammy nominations. TikTok has propelled virtually unknown artists to stardom, the

most exemplary and undeniable example being Lil Nas X with his song “Old Town Road”. The

song was first released independently in December of 2018 on the platform SoundCloud, taking

on a strange genre fusion- country and rap. Amid its release, the internet was already “crawling

with cowboy memes,” and Lil Nas X even originally promoted the song with his own memes

(Leight). It started to gain traction in late December, and became the soundtrack to TikTok’s

newest and biggest trend, the ‘yeehaw challenge’. It exploded in popularity overnight, with “over

6 million” users in the United States creating videos to the soundbite according to Rolling Stone

(Leight). In March, the song, which may have seemed like a fad at first, showcased its true

longevity. Lil Nas X signed with Columbia Records, who re-released the song and released a

remix of the track featuring country star Billy Ray Cyrus in early April. Despite the controversy

around Billboard’s determination that Old Town Road wasn’t a country song, and couldn’t be on

the country charts, Lil Nas X still broke the record for the longest #1 charting song on the

Billboard Hot 100, with 19 consecutive weeks. In October 2019, the song broke another record,
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being the fastest platinum certification by RIAA ever, indicating 10 million units sold. Today, Lil

Nas X is a critically acclaimed artist with multiple chart-topping songs and was even nominated

for ‘Album of the Year’ at the Grammys for his debut album. Besides Lil Nas X, there are plenty

of other success stories, from well-established artists like Doja Cat, Megan Thee Stallion, Dua

Lipa, and more. TikTok’s powerful algorithm combined with its demographics and engagement

makes it an undeniable key player in the modern music industry for artists wishing to establish

and further their careers.

Attention spans are getting drastically shorter- and songs are too. Mainstream song length

has been decreasing since the popularity of the radio, which prioritized a selection of shorter

songs to cater to the most people during their listening. The average person’s attention span has

decreased in the social media age, where the brain is often overstimulated with loads of

information and choices. According to Dr. Gloria Mark, an informatics professor at U.C. Irvine,

“in 2004, we measured [a person's] average attention on a screen to be 2½ minutes,” prior to the

invention of the iPhone. Years later, they found the attention span to have dropped to just “75

seconds,” and today, it is as low as “47 seconds” (LaMotte). This trend is especially apparent on

the Billboard Hot 100, a widely accepted ranking of the 100 most popular songs compiled

weekly by physical and digital sales, streaming, and radio play. A 2018 study found that since

the year 2000, the average song duration has dropped from about 4 minutes to 3½ minutes on the

Billboard Hot 100 chart. Interestingly, the same study also found that in recent years, song titles

of Billboard hits are more likely to be two words rather than three (Tauberg). Given the new

climate of streaming, where services like Spotify only pay royalties on songs streamed for more

than 30 seconds, it is in artists' best interest monetarily to focus on shorter songs with more

replayability. David Grubbs is a Professor of Music at Brooklyn College and the CUNY
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Graduate Center in New York City, and a founding member of the bands’ Squirrel Bait, Bastro,

and Gastr Del Sol. When asked about the progressive shortening of popular music, he said that

“when MTV started in the 1980s [he] had a theory that mainstream pop songs were about to get a

lot shorter,” as people “were hungry for bite-sized songs.” Although Grubbs admits it didn't

happen then, he believes it’s likely that “TikTok has finally made it happen.” However, it’s not so

black and white. Drew Daniel is a Professor of English at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland

and is also a part of the electronic music duo Matmos. Whilst Daniel pointed out that the

statistics may show popular music getting shorter, it’s important to be skeptical and not

generalize all music. He said that “the question of how short or long a song is [often] a matter of

genre,” citing grindcore, an extreme form of heavy metal that is often short in length, as an

example. It’s worth noting that the majority of the Billboard Hot 100 chart is made up of

mainstream genres such as rap, pop, and country music. Even if not all music is getting shorter,

the masses are driving shorter songs to the top of the charts, likely at the fault of social media

like TikTok.

TikTok isn’t just changing the mainstream music scene. Social media, such as TikTok,

has played a large role in the accessibility of music and has in turn allowed non-mainstream, or

‘underground’ music to thrive. In the past, music labels were an essential part of the formula for

an artist’s career to thrive, providing marketing on a scale that was otherwise unattainable.

However, today, many independent musicians are harnessing the free marketing put forth by

social media algorithms to gain a larger audience. Grubbs, who’s been in the music scene since

the 80s, feels his “sphere [of music] has definitely benefited from social media, especially as a

way to promote shows, book tours, [and more].” He also pointed out that “as a professor, [he]

noticed that people have a broader knowledge of musical history [now],” although it can be
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“fairly shallow”. In fact, there are indie artists that are able to make a living on TikTok without

achieving full virality. Showcasing new songs, recording sessions, and song ideas, independent

artists are able to market themselves to new audiences easily. Some artists host online concerts

that allow their fans to watch from anywhere in the world, which avoids the heavy cost of

touring that costs too much for the average musician. Louis Chude-Sokei is an author and

professor at Boston University, who has collaborated with the German electronic duo Mouse on

Mars on many projects, most recently their album AAI. When asked if he noticed a change in

music that could be attributed to social media, Chude-Sokei stated that “social media has

definitely become more central to the consuming and publicizing of music,” and that “as with so

many other things now, you need a social media presence to be heard and seen.” As Chude-Sokei

alluded to, getting signed to a music label without a social media presence or following as an

artist can oftentimes be near impossible. Chude-Sokei stressed that “what [he] think[s] is more

important is the fact that due to social media, the ‘mainstream’ seems less dominant because

there are so many other zones for music.” As Chude-Sokei said, the mainstream seems less

important than ever, as opportunities have been created for both musicians and consumers to

explore new paths. TikTok has proven itself to be a breeding ground and tool for niche subgenres

and communities and allowed more accessibility into the industry for both independent artists

and for those listening.

More recently, certain song trends on TikTok have directly affected the music output of

artists and labels. Deluxe versions of albums have always existed in some form or another, but

they have gotten more and more popular in the digital age where streaming is key. It’s becoming

more common to see sped-up versions of songs included on these deluxe albums, sometimes

passing the original in streams. This trend originated in viral fan-made edits of songs, often
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remixed by various DJs showcasing the process behind their production. Unofficial versions of

songs were being hosted on sites like SoundCloud or YouTube, some racking up millions of

views. Once music labels noticed they were missing out on streaming revenue, sped-up songs

took over the industry. Monetarily, there is really no downside, as the music is already recorded,

and just needs to be sped up from “30% to 50%”. For reference, there is currently an insane level

of demand for sped-up music, as “the TikTok hashtag ‘spedupsounds’ has 11.1 billion views,”

the hashtag being an identifier creators can add to describe their videos. Spotify even has an

official ‘Sped Up Songs’ playlist that has “over a million likes and comprises four hours of

songs” (Mullen). While TikTok isn’t necessarily killing artistry, its effect on the music industry's

output is clear, and will likely shed influence on the creation of songs in the future.

There is also seemingly an uptick in songs written around a gimmicky component, at

least on TikTok. Whilst popular music has always received some degree of criticism, often for

being watered down to appeal to the masses, TikTok seemingly embraces it. The song ‘abcdefu’

by Gayle is a prime example of a pop song that embodies a gimmick, in which the alphabet is

turned vulgar in a catchy chorus. The song not only peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 but

was later nominated for ‘Song of the Year’ at the 65th Grammy awards. Artist Salem Ilese is no

stranger to these gimmicks either, often writing songs around a pop culture reference and

repeatedly achieving TikTok virality. Her song “Mad at Disney” pulls apart the happily ever after

story Disney capitalizes off of, and although simply written, went viral within a month of its

release. More recently, Ilese released “PS5” whose chorus poses a relationship ultimatum- to

choose between her or the PS5, a popular gaming console by PlayStation. Although it didn’t

surpass “Mad At Disney” in success, it still performed considerably well and became her second

most successful song to date. In cases like these, it may seem like music is getting simpler as a
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whole, but it’s important to keep in mind that simple, gimmicky songs thrive on TikTok due to

the ease of creating a trend for them. Most likely what TikTok has changed is what’s popular, and

not what’s actually being made. Drew Daniel agreed, stating that “popular music has always had

a gimmicky component,” as “records are products sold under capitalism,” which “has always

been true”. This has most definitely bled into the established mainstream as well, with artists

such as Drake putting out tracks such as “Toosie Slide” which oozes of a song made for TikTok.

The song is essentially a modern-day “Cha Cha Slide”, describing the easy but entertaining

dance in the lyrics. If it was meant for TikTok, it worked perfectly, achieving virality and

debuting at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, making history for Drake as the first male artist to

have three #1 hits. With that being said, it’s apparent that TikTok has a chokehold on the music

industry from the bottom up, and is affecting the actual writing of content in songs.

As one would expect, music labels and marketing teams are eager to get a piece of the

TikTok virality pie, which can seemingly be detrimental to the artists they represent. Although

there’s minimal proof, it’s speculated that many, if not all music labels are attempting to

manufacture virality through trends. Dance trends may be the easiest to manufacture, which

would involve choreographing a dance to a song, in the hopes the dance sparks a trend, causing

the song to go viral. In some cases, the choreography will originate naturally from a fan, and then

be picked up by the artist themselves on the app. Or, as previously mentioned, in the case of

Drake’s “Toosie Slide” the instructions for the dance were in the content of the song itself. In

fact, many artists have spoken out against their labels for contractual or forced TikTok content,

including the likes of Halsey, Charli XCX, Ed Sheeran, and more. Halsey’s now ironically viral

TikTok had “the effect of a hostage video,” in which they wrote, “‘basically i have a song that i

love that i wanna release ASAP but my record label won’t let me. ive been in this industry for 8
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years and ive sold over 165 million records and my record company is saying that i can’t release

it unless they can fake a viral moment on tiktok.’” (Rao). Unfortunately for artists, labels

withholding the release of music isn’t uncommon and is often done to build up anticipation for

its release. In the case of Charli XCX, she posted that her label asked her “‘to make [her] 8th

tiktok of the week,” and Ed Sheeran even posted a TikTok of himself eating chips, writing that

he was supposed to be promoting his song but that he really just wanted to eat instead (Rao). It’s

been shown that music labels have regularly required artists to be directly involved in the

marketing process via TikTok, just because of how powerful a tool it is. Truth be told, while

TikTok has its definite upsides in the music industry, its strong monetary benefit may be

jeopardizing artists' mental health, passion, and desire to create art in the future.

By and large, it’s undeniable that TikTok is crucial to the modern music industry. It’s

more than likely its influence will continue to grow worldwide, as more and more aspects of life

rely on social media. The music industry as a whole has greatly benefited from the potential

TikTok brings, but there is definite potential for misuse that could harm artistry as a whole.

Whether it be the algorithm that has the ability to propel the unknown into stardom, or the

pressure music labels put on their artists in the race for greed, TikTok’s influence is hard to

fathom. It has changed music as a whole, as a listening experience, from altering the length of

songs, the writing in them, to what actually gets released and heard by listeners. The truth is,

social media as a whole is in its baby phase, and the true long term consequences are yet to be

reckoned with. Whether one is an artist, consumer, critic, or music label executive, the best path

is to tread lightly, let the art speak for itself and to always be open minded to the future.
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Works Cited

Chude-Sokei, Louis, Mr. Personal interview with the author. Mar. 2023.

Daniel, Drew, Mr. Personal interview with the author. Mar. 2023.

Grubbs, David, Mr. Personal interview with the author. Mar. 2023.

LaMotte, Sandee. "Your attention span is shrinking, studies say. Here's how to stay focused."

CNN, 11 Jan. 2023,

www.cnn.com/2023/01/11/health/short-attention-span-wellness/index.html. Accessed 24

Mar. 2023.

Leight, Elias. "Here's Why Shorter Songs Are Surging (And Why Some Welcome It)." Billboard,

18 Nov. 2022, www.billboard.com/pro/songs-getting-shorter-tiktok-streaming/.

Leight, Elias. "Lil Nas X's 'Old Town Road' Was a Country Hit. Then Country Changed Its

Mind." Rolling Stone, 26 Mar. 2019,

www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/lil-nas-x-old-town-road-810844/. Accessed

24 Mar. 2023.

Mayfield, Geoff. "Studies Show TikTok's Music Clout: Two-Thirds of Users Go to Streaming

Services to Play Songs They've Found." Variety, 21 July 2021,

variety.com/2021/music/news/tiktok-study-music-clout-1235024620/. Accessed 24 Mar.

2023.

Mullen, Matt. "Why are artists releasing sped-up versions of their songs?" Music Radar, 25 Jan.

2023, www.musicradar.com/news/sped-up-songs. Accessed 24 Mar. 2023.

Rao, Sonia. "Record labels want viral TikToks. Artists are pushing back." The Washington Post,

25 May 2022,
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www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2022/05/25/record-labels-want-viral-tiktoks

-artists-are-pushing-back/. Accessed 24 Mar. 2023.

Richter, Felix. "From Tape to Tidal: 4 Decades of U.S. Music Sales." Statista, 24 June 2022,

www.statista.com/chart/17244/us-music-revenue-by-format/. Accessed 24 Mar. 2023.

Tauberg, Michael. "Music is Getting Shorter." Medium, 27 Apr. 2018,

michaeltauberg.medium.com/music-and-our-attention-spans-are-getting-shorter-8be37b5

c2d67. Accessed 24 Mar. 2023.

Thomala, Lai Lin. "Brand value of TikTok/Douyin worldwide from 2021 to 2023." Statista, 8

Mar. 2023, www.statista.com/statistics/1324424/tiktok-brand-value/. Accessed 24 Mar.

2023.

Tran, Kevin. "Social video app Musical.ly acquired for up to $1 billion." Business Insider, 13

Nov. 2017,

www.businessinsider.com/social-video-app-musically-acquired-for-up-to-1-billion-2017-

11. Accessed 24 Mar. 2023.