TikTok has quickly become one of, if not the fastest way platforms to ever exist. With the algorithm of the ‘for you page’, artists have been finding their big break, left right and centre, through one video going ‘viral’. Prior to TikTok, no other platform provided an opportunity as easy as this to have your music reach thousands or even millions of people overnight.
Going Viral on Other Social Media Platforms Vs TikTok
Social media sites such as Instagram, Facebook and YouTube are notoriously hard to get noticed on as a musician, even with the help of the paid promotion services they offer. These platforms can take years to build a following, and even then, creatives still struggle to reach their audience. Despite this, TikTok is now becoming the starting point for hundreds of artists to start a fanbase; with their other platforms growing after their TikTok fame.
TikTok is centered around being viral, so you are way more likely to be discovered due to the algorithm being based on the overall popularity as opposed to songs similar to ones you have listened to before.
How Do We Get Discovered on TikTok?
If your song has gone viral, it is likely because a trend was created using your ‘sound’, meaning millions of people are listening to a 15-30 second snippet of your song, which will then drive them to go and stream it. This is a pretty much guaranteed way of gaining traction – as each time a person uses your ‘sound’ and posts it, that’s a whole new shot at getting onto the TikTok for you page and reaching thousands of other users.
The other alternative is that people simply love your video and are commenting, liking, and sharing it. This can mean that your song will go viral based on how much people are engaging with it; regardless of whether it is being used in a trend or not. The videos and songs that gain enough traction are often used as a ‘sound’ in other people’s videos. This is the case even more so if high-profile users are using your sound as they already have huge audiences that your song will now reach.
The Biggest Change TikTok Has Sparked
We’ve gone from an era of needing a reasonable budget and managers, labels and promoters, to having the opportunity of becoming ‘TikTok famous’ in the space of hours, for a grand total of £0. This has hugely increased the accessibility to the music industry, you can create a huge opportunity for yourself through the app, without waiting for someone to just come along and give you a chance (which as you can imagine, doesn’t happen very often).
Not only is this helping the artists themselves, but it’s also providing a new tool to discover musicians and an opportunity to expose artists to new audiences for free. Getting a big break has never been quite this accessible. So, the big question is, if you’re not posting your music on TikTok, what are you waiting for?!
