It’s no secret that TikTok has taken the world by storm in the past few years. At its core, it is still very much music-centric and TikTok is a platform responsible for catapulting trending audios and memes into the cultural zeitgeist and everyday slang that we use in conversation with friends, and for playing a major role in launching the careers of many music artists.
I am an avid music listener, and I’ve discovered many up-and-coming artists through TikTok, and their songs have now become staples in my playlists and my go-to recommendations when I’m sharing music with my friends. I’ve watched in awe as many people’s careers have skyrocketed since sharing snippets of their music to millions of users on TikTok. In 2020, it was reported that major record labels including Interscope and Columbia signed over 70 artists who gained popularity through TikTok (David, 2021).
The sheer power of TikTok in the global social media marketing realm is unparalleled, and its ability to band together countless users across the world and turn new artists into global superstars shows the impact of this app alone. To define this concept, “global social marketing is an approach that is used to create, develop and integrate concepts on marketing that can change the way individuals and groups of people behave” (Wamicha). TikTok has certainly been a prime example of a platform that’s impacted people’s behavior—in this case, music listening behavior.
Through Tiktok, I watched the meteoric rise of Olivia Rodrigo, a singer-songwriter and actress best known for her roles on Disney shows. She released her debut single, “drivers license”, in 2021, to universal acclaim by critics and listeners. I remember the song trending on TikTok for months, with users filming videos of their own covers to the song, interpretation of the lyrics, and anything else that could possibly be related to the song. “That virality drove it to novel heights on streaming services: by Jan. 15, it had broken both Spotify and Amazon Music’s records for most streams in one week” (Hale, 2021). Rodrigo, 17 at the time, also became the youngest artist to have a #1 song on Billboard’s Global 200 chart (Hale, 2021).
While a large part of this virality has to do with the song and lyrics themselves, what’s also worth noting is that this single also went viral because of the drama behind it. It’s widely speculated that “drivers license” was written about Rodrigo’s co-star who she’d had a relationship with, and there were rumors of a bad breakup and a love triangle at the center of this song. So, when this song was released, fans rushed to interpret the lyrics and meaning and share their thoughts and theories, so this song was streamed so much because people were curious to try and piece together what happened.
While TikTok on its own is a powerful global marketing tool, a big aspect of social media marketing is also utilizing “beef” or drama to help market products, people, or songs, whether consciously or unconsciously. The drama surrounding “drivers license” was mostly spurred on by listeners and fans, and ultimately helped this single become a household name. “In the wake of success following ‘drivers license,’ Rodrigo subsequently released her debut album ‘SOUR,’ on which nearly every track generated its own viral trend” (David, 2021).
Rodrigo has since become a global phenomenon and recipient of several music awards, including a few Grammys, and has embarked on a world tour to promote her album, all accomplished in just about 2 years. While she is a major example of a success story from TikTok, there are countless other musical artists who’ve been able to chase their dreams and gain greater exposure and opportunities by marketing their music on this global platform, and it’s exciting to see what other impacts TikTok can make on the music industry.
References:
https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2021/09/for-better-or-worse-tiktok-is-driving-the-music-industry.
https://www.tubefilter.com/2021/01/21/tiktok-olivia-rodrigo-drivers-license/.
https://study.com/academy/lesson/global-social-marketing-strategies.html.