What is a way to succeed in the music industry?

Go viral.

It’s not an entirely new concept. It happened to Justin Bieber, who was discovered through his YouTube channel. It happened to Shawn Mendes, who first gained a following on Vine. Aspiring artists have been using social media to promote their music for years, but in the age of TikTok, with its myriad niches, grabbing attention is all too easy.

Most of what I write for the Michigan Daily is about the latest TikTok trends, so it should come as no surprise to anyone that I spend far too many hours scrolling through my “For You” page. But the number of songs I have in my playlists that come from the app make up for the high screen time – just about anything can get stuck in my head, regardless of genre, lyrics or style. age.

One of the easiest ways to introduce your music to new fans is to compare its sound to artists already in the industry. Rock band Seeing Double does just that, describing their sound as “Fleetwood Mac, ABBA and all the 70s vibes” and calling their debut single “Leah” a “70s rock debut”. The band’s promotional strategy is simple: every day, they post a video of band members brushing their teeth while “Leah” plays in the background. While some listeners love the song’s Fleetwood Mac-esque style, others added to the video thread by posting their own toothbrushing clips. These videos are constantly gaining thousands of views and according to one of the group members, “Leah” just hit 10,000 streams. Even the simplest videos can make a big difference.

Some songs debuting on TikTok are perfect for radio: they’re lyrically simple, have a great hook, and make you want to dance. The songs I usually hear circulating on my page, however, tend to have more complex messages. Take Maddie Zahm’s ‘Fat Funny Friend,’ Which Sparked Heartbreaking But Validating Conversations About Body Dysmorphia in the comment sections. Or that of David Kushner “Mr. Forgettable,” posted on March 4, writes from the perspective of an Alzheimer’s patient. While several users have taken to the comments to express the pain they feel at being overlooked by family members, many others associate the song with their struggles with mental illness, particularly through the line “I’m sorry, it’s just the chemicals. Songs with these kinds of vulnerable subjects are only not totally unique, but it’s rare to see them gaining positive exposure in such large numbers.

TikTok niches even have the ability to make older songs go viral. Composer Cody Fry released “I Hear a Symphony” in 2017, but in 2021 the song exploded on TikTok through trends like “I don’t have a favorite trope,” leading Fry to join the application. Now the song is part of the Olympics, attracting even more positive attention. It’s not Fry’s only song to have success on the app – his song “Underground” has over 9,000 videos, each with tens of thousands of likes, and his arrangement of The Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby” earned him a Grammy nomination. Alternative band The Walters released their song “I Love You So” in 2014 and had since split up, but following the song’s resurgence fueled by TikTok thanks to fan edits (among other things), the band broke up. met last November.

In terms of success, the sky is the limit. Sara Kays was inspired by an unexpected text from an ex-boyfriend to write “Remember That Night?”; a few months later, she performed the same song on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Lauren Spencer-Smith first appeared in 2020 as an American Idol contestant, but after teasing her single “Fingers Crossed” on TikTok, the song quickly climbed to the top of charts around the world and earned singer-songwriter a deal with Island and Republic Records. Of course, social media success isn’t limited to breakout artists — even those who are already successful in the industry have seen their popularity surge thanks to TikTok. Charlie Puth walked viewers through the process of creating his latest single “Light Switch,” and although the song wasn’t officially released for months afterward, within hours it had reached No. 5 on the Apple charts. Music and reached 100 million streams on Spotify. .[[[[ For Doja Cat, nearly half of her 32 singles (and several more) have evolved on the app in some way.

Globally, TikTok has one billion active users, making it the seventh-largest social media platform. Nearly half of those billions are under 30, meaning new artists are interacting directly with audiences close to their age. Having a strong online presence and high engagement also proves to senior music industry officials that you are marketable as an artist, which could increase your chances of landing a deal. Even though it technically has fewer active users than Facebook or Instagram, TikTok separates itself from other social media apps thanks to its many dedicated sub-communities and the speed with which those users can extract something from obscurity and give it new life.

It’s no exaggeration to say that TikTok now has a grip on the music industry – Sirius XM has an entire radio station dedicated to songs taking off on the app. While any song by any artist can explode at any time, if you’re trying to break into the industry, a simple video can change your life.

Hannah Carapellotti, daily arts writer, can be reached at [email protected]