When TikTok formats music… and its formats. The video-based social network is breaking records: the application was the most downloaded in the first half of 2022, with more than a billion active users each month and cult songs. As proof: an album of the most viral titles on the platform will be released next August. Something to give ideas to the music industry.
Record labels are looking to produce “TikTok compatible” titles. Marving Darmon knows the recipe well. This influencer agent helps labels build their promotion strategy on TikTok, right from the recording studio. “The real song that is TikTok compatible is a song where you can read the text and say to yourself: it doesn’t belong to men or women, there’s neither he nor her, and it can speak to mothers, young people as well… That’s how most artists react. They’re in the studio, and in the creative process, they’re already saying to themselves: c is TikTok or it isn’t.”
The second step is to imagine suitable content for the song. What works on TikTok is the choreography. Here too, nothing is left to chance. The labels are once again calling on social network professionals like Loukaki, an influencer who has nearly 4 million subscribers on the platform. “For the promotion of a title, it is up to me to make the best content, something that may interest my community. It is also possible that the label proposes an idea and wants it to be this idea that the tiktokeur I know my job: I know what will work and what will not work”she says.
Once the song goes viral, millions of people are likely to hear a snippet of it. And the labels in all this? The success of an artist today goes through streaming, listening on platforms like Spotify, Deezer or Apple Music. After hearing a looped snippet on TikTok, fans headed to Spotify within seconds to listen to the full track, inflating listen counts. For example, Lizzo’s song, “About Damn Time”, has been in the top 20 of the most streamed titles on Spotify and Deezer for several weeks. It has been featured in over two million videos on TikTok with the choreography.
In summary, on TikTok, we gain notoriety with streaming, copyrights, physical sales of records and concert tickets. A system far from suitable for everyone. Several world famous artists such as the American singer Halsey or Florence Welsh, from Florence and the Machine, have complained about their label. All annoyed to have to promote their titles on this application.
Suzy Guinot is the digital strategy referent at Warner France. She calls it living with the times: “Today, it’s normal that we always ask more of artists. We asked them to have talent. Now, we ask them to be content creators. What you need to know is is that all this, we do it for them, for their notoriety. It’s like all jobs. My job ten years ago was not the same as today.”
“Today, content creation is part of an artist’s job. Artists are asked to be influencers of their own music.”
Suzy Guinot, in charge of digital strategy at Warnerat franceinfo
And this observation does not displease everyone. British singer Kate Bush is back at the top of the most streamed charts with a song that is not from the generation of the majority of TikTok users. “Running Up That Hill” is part of the final season soundtrack of the series Stranger Things. She was a hit and featured in more than a million and a half videos on TikTok.
This application is also a breeding ground for young talents, like Yanns. He started filming himself singing during the confinements. His titles have garnered thousands of views. He was spotted and is currently preparing his third album. He even appeared on the show “The song of the year 2022” on TF1, with its biggest title from TikTok, “Click Click Pan Pan”.