Created in 2016, originally called Musically, TikTok is a social media platform focused on videos where anyone can view and create content. Many factors have led to its popularity, including its rising influence on the music scene.

1. The exponential rise in demographics: As of 2021, TikTok is the most downloaded app worldwide, rivaling Instagram’s 3.8 billion downloads since 2010 with 3 billion since its much more recent inception. In the United States, the percentage of TikTok users per age group is mainly even, from 25% for ages 10-19 and 11% for those 50+ years old. The app has been so influential that it has attracted a wide range of ages to interact with it, a feat previously unheard of. Regarding gender, the app has a slightly larger percentage of female usage (61%) compared to male usage (39%) as of March 2021.

In terms of geographic data, studies show the platform is not only popular in the United States: most of its users are in China and India (before the latter banned the app in June 2021. As a relatively new platform on the market, the rise of popularity has been noted by companies and people worldwide.

2. The viral audio boom: The plethora of video trends increases everyday; and with each idea, there needs to be one constant. On TikTok, the constant is a simple audio bite. A reason why so many people are able to get their musical content out there is because of how easy it is for trends to gain traction. In creating or just being part of an audio, an artist can find easy exposure. Trends are tailored to what is popular and what keeps the audience most engaged, causing the weight of marketing to be taken off of the music industry’s shoulders.

By contributing a snippet of a song, an artist gives the creative responsibility to the people behind a trend itself. Likewise, it is easy to launch a trend using a self created audio. Using short and engaging videos is an effective way for the algorithm to boost content at an exponential rate.

3. Artist demand (and burnout): When an artist becomes popular, a great amount of emotional and social expectations are added to their plate. As a result, many artists begin to experience artist burnout, feeling stressed and overwhelmed from the amount of responsibilities they have to juggle. The hyperfocus coming from TikTok and its users can easily become draining. Already known artists such as Halsey and Charli XCX have actively expressed their frustration with the pressure being placed on them by their labels to create TikToks for promotion.
Newcomers to the industry are not used to the musical industry obligations, let alone the popularity and spotlight from TikTok. Artist Taylor Upsahl in an interview with Insider described her experience with balancing social promotion, touring, writing and recording new music to be “really stressful.” Artists getting into the industry are often not prepared to move from their bedroom studios to stages across the country.

4. The financial fortunes; monetization and its perks: TikTok has a built-in monetization system, implemented In December 2021 due to the rising interest in the app. Users that fit the official requirements for monetization are eligible for a variety of opportunities to bring in money. The app started a TikTok Creator Fund in 2020, designed to set aside money for U.S. creators to earn. According to the Digital Marketing Institute, the app has set aside a total of $200 million dollars, which is predicted to expand into a global total of $2 billion in 2023. Another way for influencers to earn money is by receiving “gifts” from TikTok users with a Stripe account; viewers can tip up to $100 at a time to a content creator. Music streaming services all pay song rights holders a certain amount of money.

For example, Spotify has a system based on each rights holder’s “streamshare,” which is tracked monthly. The calculation is done by adding up the amount of times music controlled by a particular holder was streamed and dividing it by the net amount of streams in the market it belongs to. Each country has its own market based on the music advertising revenue. An artist that obtains one out of every 1,000 streams in the market in the United States would receive $1 out of every $1,000 that is paid to rights holders from the total American royalty pool. Essentially, the company gets money from the amount Spotify pays each country.

5. The randomness of blowing up: User generated content is a term describing any personal content an individual posts on a social media platform. Anyone can produce and market their music, but it is usually difficult to gain traction; TikTok has changed this. One Aug. 13, 2021, an American songwriter Gayle (Taylor Gayle Rutherford) released a song with Atlantic Records titled “abcdefu” about a recent break up she had gone through. The song did not gain popularity until November when it became a trend including the use of sign language. The indirect correlation between the song and sign language caused the song to “blow up” in the middle of Gayle’s tour, boosting the interest in her content.
Because of the trend using her sound months after its release, “abcdefu” became No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200 chart on Jan. 15 and remained there for 11 weeks.

6. Lending a helpful hand: Trending songs on TikTok extend in success outside of the app, helping other streaming platforms. According to a study by the music-analytics company MRC, 67% of TikTok users are more likely to actively seek out songs found on the app on other music streaming platforms.

In an interview with NPR, Tatiana Cirisano explained how TikTok users stray from the usual path of passive listening. “They’re not just listening to music in a passive way,” Cirisano said. “They’re more likely to do more lean forward activities, like creating playlists or buying marchandise.”

TikTok has added the ability to add links onto accounts and videos themselves, creating a process of moving to a music streaming app that is much easier. Just as TikTok artists are more likely to benefit by ending up on the Billboard charts, streaming platforms get more user engagement and usage.

7. The surprising importance of micro-influencers: All platforms have influencers that partner with various companies to sell their products. What sets TikTok apart from its competitors is the increasing importance of micro-influencers. With a strong user base, people are commonly able to get somewhat popular, if not extremely so. Many creators have a dedicated follower base––something companies have begun to notice and utilize.

In an interview with the Insider, Zach Friedman, co-founder of the record label Homemade Projects, explained the reasoning behind turning to micro-influencers. “The way the algorithm works, it’s hard to know what’s going to be successful,” Friedman said. “Instead of paying premium, you could pay a micro-influencer $200 and their TikTok get 10 million views.” Company marketing is able to turn to micro-influencers based on their content and what trends they follow, along with a fan base more likely to buy their product.

TikTok has established the importance of social media platforms and, most importantly, the public’s impact on the music industry. The age of technological influence has begun.

Follow Maya Palavali (@mvpalovalley) and @CHSCampusNews on Twitter.