The copycat nature of social media may seem strange right now, but it’s happening for a good reason.
TikTok understands the value of individual experiences. Rather than treat people as part of a community based on their connection like most apps, TikTok treats people as unique individuals. No two recommendation feeds are the same, and that approach is turning heads throughout the tech world.
By offering more personalized user experiences, apps are learning more about us. That information is fueling a new era in marketing and advertising, which Music Biz host James Shotwell explains at length in this update. Click below to learn why there has never been a better time—or reason—to start making video content.
Music Biz is brought to you by Haulix, the music industry’s leading promotional distribution platform. Start your one-month free trial today and gain instant access to the same promotional tools used by BMG, Concord, Rise Records, Pure Noise Records, and hundreds more. Visit http://haulix.com/signup for details.
A new partnership with Ticketmaster pushes TikTok further into the musical space, and fans everywhere are reaping the rewards.
TikTok is where the vast majority of human beings go to discover music.
There is no typo in that sentence. TikTok is a global phenomenon, and in three short years, it has helped hundreds, maybe even thousands of acts elevate their careers.
Everyone is looking at TikTok for music, meaning everyone selling music wants a piece of the action.
Ticketmaster and TikTok are partnering to launch an in-app feature that lets users discover events through the popular short-form video app. With this new partnership, TikTok users can buy tickets for events they’re interested in directly through TikTok. Creators can now search for relevant Ticketmaster events and add destination links to their videos. Ticketmaster says the new feature will only be available to select creators at launch and will scale to more users over time.
Eligible creators can now select the “Add link” option after tapping and selecting the new Ticketmaster option before posting a video. Creators can search for any event on Ticketmaster and select “Add to video” to add the link. Once creators share their video, it will display the event link on the bottom-left, allowing viewers to click and purchase tickets via an in-app browser.
Many artists and personalities have already signed on to begin using the ticketing mini app including Demi Lovato, OneRepublic, Usher, the Backstreet Boys, WWE and more, Ticketmaster says.
News of Ticketmaster’s partnership with TikTok comes less than six months after a similar partnership was launched with Snapchat. It’s clear the ticketing giant is staying atop trends in consumer behavior, but the adoption rate remains to be seen.
Would you purchase concert tickets on TikTok? Email james@haulix.com and let me know!
A recent trend on TikTok allows users to showcase their favorite artist’s best song, and fans can’t get enough.
Let me set the scene: You’re scrolling through TikTok when suddenly, a video featuring a lone human walking through a doorway as an unfamiliar song begins to play. They pass through the room, grabbing headphones or other objects, as their friends, family, or coworkers slowly circle them. As soon as the song kicks into high gear, the room goes dark but is quickly illuminated by flashing lights as the protagonist begins performing the song, backed by everyone else in the room. It’s the kind of rowdy moment that previously would’ve happened during a sleepover or late night with friends, but in the digital age, it’s called content, and people love to see it unfold.
The #StudioChallenge, which has been blowing up on the video-sharing app, is centered around people acting as if they’re about to record a song. It is usually started by someone walking into a room, dapping people up, and grabbing the necessary equipment they need to deliver their act.
What makes the #StudioChallenge unique is its format. Unlike most TikTok trends involving dances or other act-outs, this challenge does not rely on a specific song. Users can pick a song that makes them feel the most alive. The content they create is an extension of themselves and their tastes, which makes their commitment to the bit more convincing for viewers.
Here are a few examples of the challenge in action.
No marketing rep could have developed a more perfect promotional tool than the #StudioChallenge. Labels and artists want fans to use their songs in content. This challenge presents an opportunity to do so while putting the music front and center. For every viewer, one more person is hearing what is—most likely—one of the best moments in that artist’s catalog. That’s the perfect bait to hook a new listener, and it takes virtually no effort to execute.
As TikTok continues to evolve and music marketers place greater emphasis on navigating its vast community, we will likely see more trends with room for variety emerge. The age of song-specific dances and reenactments is slowly giving way to more personalized user-generated content (UGC).
Why artists need to pay attention
Your fans are on TikTok. Maybe not all of them, but you have a community of followers, and they are likely making content. You can sit idly by, hoping they use your music, or you can encourage them to take action. There are many ways to accomplish this, starting with competitions for the best video, but the key to your success will be engagement, not from outsiders but from you. Listeners want to know you notice them, and they want to interact with you. By engaging your TikTok audience, you encourage them to include you in future creative efforts.
But encouragement alone is not enough.
Every artist with the bandwidth to experiment on a new social network owes it to themselves and their audience to explore TikTok.
I’ve yet to see a rock or metal band participate in the #StudioChallenge, but it seems like an easy win.
Picture a band using the framework of the challenge to tease a new breakdown or highlight one of their biggest hooks. They can keep things simple and follow the blueprint or use their stage production to take the whole affair to an entirely new level. Either way, people will be hooked.
Take a chance on yourself.
It’s easy to understand why people hesitated to make video content three or four years ago. But it’s 2022, and the entire planet is spending free time scrolling through looping videos made by strangers. Everyone is doing it, and you should too!
I know, I know. This sounds like one of those” “if your friends jumped off a bridge” scenarios, but it’s not.
The cultural focus has shifted from still images and written word to video. The artists making waves of any size right now are doing so—at least in some small part—with the aid of video.
It’s no longer a question of “if” you need video content. You absolutely need it. The only question is, how creative are you?
The popularity of TikTok is leading a revolution in music release strategies that is unlike anything we’ve witnessed in decades.
Music marketing and release strategies are at the heart of every artist’s career. How and when you release music matters as much as the content itself—sometimes more—and for the better part of twenty years, virtually every album has followed a similar promotional path:
Step One: The artist or group announces the upcoming release of a new song
Step Two: The artist or group teases that release with audio clips, behind-the-scenes footage, and anything else they can develop while sharing Haulix links with journalists and tastemakers.
Step Three: The artist or group asks fans to presave and preorder the unreleased material.
Step Four: The song finally comes out.
Step Five: The artist or group continues promoting the song’s release.
Step Six: The artist or group continues teasing the song with audio clips, behind-the-scenes footage, and anything else they can develop.
Traditional industry thinking tells us that you must promote music before its release because it’s the only way to guarantee strong first-week sales, which often determines how much support a record will receive moving forward. History teaches us that if an artist fails to deliver an impressive launch week, the likelihood their label continues to pump money and attention into their career falls drastically.
That line of thinking is outdated.
As Bob Dylan said, “The times, they are a-changin'” because a new generation of musicians refuses to follow tradition. Between the boom of TikTok and the rise of the “give it to me now or I don’t want it” culture, artists are choosing a more direct path to release and promotion.
Step One: The artist or group releases a new song.
Step Two: Promotion.
That’s it.
TikTok is an amazing tool for discovery, connecting users with an endless variety of content creators algorithmically-tailored to their interests. When someone hears a song snippet they enjoy, logic dictates they will head to the creator’s profile, hoping to find their music online. If the user then visits the artist’s page and FAILS to find the song they heard on TikTok, the chances they save the artist and return later are virtually non-existent. In other words, you have one chance to grab someone’s attention, and if you blow it, they [most likely] won’t return.
To avoid this problem, artists are now choosing to skip promoting new material until it’s available worldwide. The risk of losing potential fans because you went viral before the release date is too high for most to gamble, but that’s not the only reason.
The so-called “TikTok Approach” is also a cost-effective promotional solution for cash-strapped independent artists whose marketing budgets often equate to whatever they can spare after paying for living expenses. Rather than waste your money teasing a song or record people cannot yet enjoy, spend your pre-release time creating content you can share immediately following the song’s premiere. Any engagement will lead to immediate streams (AKA money).
And it’s not just independent artists shifting their thinking around releases. Everywhere you look, the time between a song or album announcement and the release date is shrinking. Even Post Malone, arguably one of the world’s biggest musicians, announced his recent 2022 album only six weeks before its initial release. The first single? A surprise release.
What about preorders?
We live in a new world where the pipeline delays of recent years have drastically changed consumer expectations. Delays between digital and physical releases are to be expected. Most fans don’t mind because they view your vinyl, CD, or cassette as memorabilia. Its primary purpose is to be a physical manifestation of their fandom, which they can hold, showcase, and enjoy. Using it for consuming music is, for better or worse, becoming secondary.
Launch preorders on release day. Launch everything on release day. The same people who would preorder the vinyl three months before release day will still place an order because they want the product regardless.
Making this one adjustment to your next release strategy will ultimately save time and money. More importantly, it will give anyone interested in your music instant access to it. You want as few barriers between strangers and hearing your music as possible, and in our quickly evolving world, that requires making changes as culture dictates it necessary.
Remember the phrase, “Don’t bore us, get to the chorus”? The same applies to release strategies. Stop fooling around and deliver. Your fans will be thrilled to see new music, and anyone new won’t have to wait around to see if you’re as good as your teasers claim. Everybody wins.
Music Biz is brought to you by Haulix, the music industry’s leading promotional distribution platform. Start your one-month free trial today and gain instant access to the same promotional tools used by BMG, Concord, Pure Noise Records, and more. Visit http://haulix.com/signup for details.
President Trump's executive order against Bytedance-owned TikTok goes into effect this Sunday, September 20.
In an incredible new documentary short, VOX and The Pudding deliver an in-depth look at the wild and miraculous ways TikTok is upending the music business.
Big Machine Label Group’s Scott Borchetta sharply criticized the rush to ink TikTokers to lucrative label deals earlier this year by pointing to the lackluster results. “Not any of those [Tiktok stars] that got signed to big deals have worked,” Borchetta bluntly assessed while urging others to consider the difference between “a moment” and longer-term success potential.
But many in the industry believe Borchetta’s comments may miss the bigger picture. While many artists who experience past viral success on TikTok do not have the talent or community-building skills to leverage that moment into bigger opportunities, others do, and an increasing number of musicians are choosing to forgo the allure of major label deals in preference of the DIY lifestyle.
After all, what can a label offer someone whose already garnered more success and attention than artists on that label’s roster?
The answer, it seems, depends on your understanding of business. As a new documentary short from VOX and The Pudding explores, TikTok has forced labels and artists to reconsider how they interact with one another. As one talking head puts it, “It turns out the app is completely revolutionizing the way record labels work and giving artists more leverage than ever.”
VOX and The Pudding spent months pouring over datasets related to TikTok success, industry signings, and revenue to uncover the truth. They also spoke to a dozen or so experts on the topic, including former TikTok executives and music industry experts.
TikTok has revolutionized the way artists promote themselves and engage with fans, but not every change has made marketing easier.
With over one billion downloads worldwide and an average monthly use time of well over an hour, TikTok is a remarkable global cultural force. Every day, millions of people upload countless videos covering all areas of creativity imaginable, and hundreds of millions more log on to see what has been made. It’s the greatest marketplace for ideas since Twitter, and anyone discussing music marketing in 2022 has not gone a day without thinking about TikTok for longer than they can remember.
Over the last several weeks a number of high-profile artists have begun publicly complaining about demands from their labels to create TikTok content. The controversy reached a boiling point when Halsey shared a clip of an as-of-yet untitled new track with a message alleging her label was essentially holding her music hostage until she could create a viral moment on the platform. The pop musician then doubled down on her allegations by sharing a second video where a man can be heard explaining that the best way to begin teasing the single would be to share it on TikTok. Both clips remain online as of this posting.
TikTok’s influence on music is undeniable. Since Lil Nas X and “Old Town Road” took off in the early months of the app’s stateside debut virtually every label on the planet has held meetings on help embracing the video-sharing platform may help their roster. In 2021, more than 75 musicians who charted on Billboard for the first time got their start by being discovered on TikTok, and many more artists credit the platform for helping them achieve their first song with over one-million streams.
But there is a dark side to TikTok and its influence on the industry. Namely, the platform has made it easier than ever to play with objective reality. Viewers no longer know whether the artist complaining about their label is doing so organically or because someone in a marketing department thinks people love artists that hate their labels. Is the girl you see performing a demo in her bedroom actually an unknown talent, or is she already signed to a manager and publisher? Does authenticity even matter, and if so, how do you convey it?
These are just a few questions marketers and artists alike are now asking themselves. In the latest Music Biz update, host James Shotwell examines how we reached this point and what actions artists should take in response. Through numerous examples, James explains how misdirection and deception have fueled an age of discovery where every success story has another, often far less surprising, truth behind it.
Music Biz is brought to you by Haulix, the music industry’s leading promotional distribution platform. Start your one-month free trial today and gain instant access to the same promotional tools used by BMG, Concord, Rise Records, Pure Noise Records, and hundreds more. Visit http://haulix.com/signup for details.
TikTok continues to be a leading source of new music discovery, but standing out from the competition can be difficult. We can help.
You should know all about TikTok by now. The insanely popular video-sharing social media platform has over 1 billion downloads worldwide and hundreds of millions of active monthly users. One in three US citizens is on TikTok, and most spend more than an hour on the app each month. That is particularly surprising when you consider that the average view time for a TikTok clip is roughly seven seconds.
What sets TikTok apart is its advanced algorithm. More than any of its competitors, TikTok knows its users. It understands how to take the raw data of their behaviors on the phone and transform it into an endless scroll of semi-relevant videos. The algorithm grows smarter still with each like and swipe, quietly learning everything it needs to keep you glued to your screen a bit longer. In other words, it’s a well-built app.
TikTok is not for everyone, but you won’t know if it works for your music career until you try. However, when presented with limitless possibilities for creativity, most have no idea what to make. Do you share clips or your music, or should you post a cute video of your pet? Will sharing your trip to Target win new listeners? If so, how?
The best thing about getting started with TikTok is that it’s pretty hard to make a mistake. As long as you capture something on video, you can make a post.
Mastering TikTok is a game of trial and error. You will most likely need to make a bunch of different content ideas to find one or two that you can use consistently. That may seem intimidating now, but trust us—it’s easy.
In this Music Biz update, host James Shotwell reflects on TikTok’s quick ascent to the top of the discovery world. He then shares basic advice for musicians starting out on the platform, including video ideas and tips to boost the reach of your content. James also discusses three recent trends on music TikTok that are helping artists get noticed. Check it out:
Music Biz is brought to you by Haulix, the music industry’s leading promotional distribution platform. Start your one-month free trial today and gain instant access to the same promotional tools used by BMG, Concord, Rise Records, Pure Noise Records, and hundreds more. Visit http://haulix.com/signup for details.
Basic tips for TikTok videos:
Autobiographical clips help people know your story in your words
Behind-the-scenes footage takes people into the world of a working musicians
Use trending sounds (even on mute) and relevant hashtags whenever possible
Respond to every comment, and engage with posts you enjoy
Share riveting clips from music videos or live performances
Teach us something only you know, even if it makes no sense
Share your pets
Gives us a tour of your gear
Walk us through your songwriting process
Three surprisingly effective recent TikTok trends for musicians
Ask your fans for inspiration (even if it’s a lie)
Recent pop star Gayle kickstarted her ascent through the music world by posting a clip on TikTok in 2021 asking fans for song ideas. One comment suggesting Gayle write a breakup song using the alphabet caught her attention. A few weeks later, Gayle’s breakout single, “ABCDEFU,” took TikTok by storm. Radio airplay soon followed, and now Gayle—who is only 17—is preparing for her first headlining tour this Spring.
Best of all? The comment was a plant! The commenter who suggested Gayle write a song using the alphabet works in the marketing department of Gayle’s (major) record label. “ABCDEFU” was already in the works when she made the video, but the reality of the situation doesn’t change the excitement her approach to sharing music created.
Mashups are all the rage!
Mashups are created when two existing sounds are combined to create something new and—in many cases—surprisingly good. The latest evolution of this is found on TikTok, where working musicians are infusing their songs (and the songs of other artists) with funny or quotable sounds found in popular TikTok videos.
EXAMPLE: In November and December 2021, a video of people on Coney Island in New York yelling various phrases went viral on TikTok. The most quotable moment of this video came when a man yelled, “Bing Bong!” Since then, artists from all corners of the planet have inserted “Bing Bong” into their songs. Above, you can stream an example made using Kanye’s “Runaway.”
Honesty never goes out of style
You have a story to tell, and people will listen if you tell it well. You don’t need to have endured unfathomable horrors or overcome life-changing trauma to be someone whose journey matters. Your life and your vision are good enough. Be who you are meant to be, and as long as you are honest about your intentions, the world will accept you.
Recently, we fell in love with the video above. It features a young man fawning over his supportive girlfriend as he details her faith in his music. He then shares a new song, which he and his girlfriend dance to as the video ends. The cute clip resonated with viewers, who took the track to number one on the viral Spotify Top 50 chart in less than forty-eight hours.
TikTok is breaking new artists every week from every corner of music, and it’s all thanks to the platform’s incredible ‘For You’ page.
With more than one billion monthly active users, TikTok is the hottest social media platform on the planet. Artists worldwide use the video-sharing app to find new fans and engage their audience, often without leaving their homes, and thousands more join each week hoping to do the same.
But how do you stand out? When everyone is making content, what is the point of adding to the noise if nobody can see what you’re making?
TikTok’s For You Page is the answer. Unlike any other explore page, TikTok’s For You section delivers unique content to users based on their individual preferences. As users continue interacting with the app, TikTok uses that engagement to predict what content will keep people on the platform longer. It’s an incredible feat of programming, and it’s the one place in social media where it seems, at least for now, that everyone has an equal chance of going viral.
In this Music Biz update, host James Shotwell shares a series of tips that will increase the likelihood of going viral on TikTok. He explains how the company’s algorithm feeds content to users and what steps creators can take to position themselves for success on the platform.
Music Biz is brought to you by Haulix, the music industry’s leading promotional distribution platform. Start your one-month free trial today and gain instant access to the same promotional tools used by BMG, Concord, Rise Records, Pure Noise Records, and hundreds more. Visit http://haulix.com/signup for details.
A new report finds Bytedance-owned TikTok is quickly overtaking YouTube as the world’s leading video platform.
TikTok’s users now spend more time each month watching content than YouTube users, according to a report from app analytics firm App Annie. In the US, ByteDance’s app first overtook YouTube in August last year, and as of June 2021, its users watched over 24 hours of content per month, compared with 22 hours and 40 minutes on YouTube.
The difference is even more apparent in the UK: TikTok overtook YouTube in May last year, and users there now reportedly watch almost 26 hours of content a month, compared to less than 16 on YouTube.
App Annie’s report’s reliance on Android user data may not accurately represent mobile users as a whole, but then again, it easily could. TikTok has witnessed a meteoric rise in recent years, and its influence as a music discovery platform has grown with it. Virtually every story about a new viral music sensation begins with a TikTok video in 2021. YouTube only enters the conversation later, after budgets and executives get involved.
In this Music Biz update, host James Shotwell shares insights from App Annie’s report to explain why artists hoping to maximize the value of their time should focus on TikTok instead of YouTube. Such a suggestion goes against over a decade of conventional music marketing thinking, but it’s a necessary change to meet the evolving demands of audiences. Video is dead! Long live video.
Music Biz is brought to you by Haulix, the music industry’s leading promotional distribution platform. Start your one-month free trial today and gain instant access to the same promotional tools used by BMG, Concord, Rise Records, Pure Noise Records, and hundreds more. Visit http://haulix.com/signup for details.
Do people really listen to the music that goes viral on TikTok? A new report finds the answer is an ecstatic “Yes!”
Ever since “Old Town Road” first went viral, music professionals and artists hoping to get attention have looked to TikTok to help break new talent. The popular video-sharing platform welcomes hundreds of millions of users every month. To date, more than 100 songs that initially rose to popularity on the app have found their way onto the Billboard charts. The working theory in music is that no other platform can make an artist or song known faster than TikTok, and the data from a pair of new industry reports seem to agree.
A music perceptions study was conducted in November 2020 by MRC Data, while a study about TikTok’s impact on culture was handled in March 2021 by London-based Flamingo Group. Both surveys were conducted online, polling nearly 1,500 TikTok users. Highlights from both studies were revealed Wednesday morning in a TikTok blog post.
With music discovery being one of the platform’s most talked-about attributes, it won’t surprise most music marketers to learn that 75% of TikTok visitors discover artists there, while 63% say it’s a source for music they’ve not heard before and 72% indicating they associate certain songs with TikTok.
A few examples of TikTok’s growing influence:
Lil Nas X first rose to popularity following TikTok’s embrace of “Old Town Road.” That song now holds the title for the most consecutive weeks at number one—ever.
Blanco Brown, rising country superstar, found a deal after his track “The Git Up” and its accompanying dance challenge spawned thousands of videos.
Fleetwood Mac’s hit “Dreams” experienced its biggest success in decades after a video of a man listening to the song while riding a skateboard drinking Ocean Spray cranberry juice went viral. Ocean Spray later bought the man a truck.
Claire Rosinkranz, Dixie D’Amelio, Powfu, Priscilla Block, Bella Porch, and Tai Verdes are some of the more than 70 musicians who have signed label deals following TikTok success.
In a study conducted in May by MusicWatch for trade group Digital Media Assn. (DiMA), in which respondents could choose more than one source, the leading driver cited for music discovery was audio streaming services at 47%, followed closely by video streaming services at 45% and AM/FM radio at 41%. In that study, posts from video or dance sites like TikTok, Instagram’s Reels, and Triller were cited by 29% of respondents, right behind “posts or alerts” on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat at 30%. Other factors, like music placed in film, TV, or video games ranked higher, with music in movies polling at 35%, while recommendations from family or friends ranked even higher at 39%.
The one factor that is hard to study is how TikTok’s influence compares to that of other platforms.
“Since 100% of the music fan base doesn’t all stream, or play video games, or watch dance videos, etc., it’s good to see how these user segments react differently when it comes to discovery or anything else for that matter,” says MusicWatch managing partner Russ Crupnick.
Still, it’s clear TikTok is a platform where artists from all corners of life are finding success. If you have yet to open an account, or if you need help getting started, we’ve got the clip for you:
Music Biz is brought to you by Haulix, the music industry’s leading promotional distribution platform. Start your one-month free trial today and gain instant access to the same promotional tools used by BMG, Concord, Rise Records, Pure Noise Records, and hundreds more. Visit http://haulix.com/signup for details.
