Olivia Dunlea
Loomis Chaffee '24
Pitchfork.
Although it comes from humble beginnings of a dancing, lip-syncing app, TikTok’s influence on the music industry has grown far and wide. I mean, we had to see this coming, right? It was a dance and lip-sync app; the whole idea is pretty much dependent on popular music. But no one expected to see TikTok make it this far in the world of marketing. Now, every other video you come upon is an ad, and if it’s not an outright, obvious ad, it’s an influencer disguising an ad as a “Get ready with me” video.
Businesses and companies have increasingly been utilizing this marketing opportunity, but we’ve been seeing artists and bands create TikTok accounts since the app’s launch. Most of the time, these accounts belong to up and coming, radio-pop artists. These artists create videos recreating popular trends with their songs in the background to promote their new albums, songs, etc— a simple method that has worked in the past with various artists, either on purpose or by accident.
One example of an artist catching their big break on TikTok is Lizzo. Lizzo’s song “Truth Hurts” became a viral hit over two years after its release in 2019, thanks to TikTok. The line "I just took a DNA test, turns out I'm 100% that b***h”—now familiar to most—inspired a trend of TikTok users swabbing their mouths to “collect DNA,” then profess the “results” in sync with the line. Lizzo has since risen to be one of the biggest names in today’s entertainment industry, with countless hits like “Cuz I Love You,” “Good as Hell,” and “About Damn Time”—the 2023 Grammy Awards Record of the Year.
We’re also beginning to see older, established artists creating accounts to maintain their presence in the modern entertainment industry. My personal favorite of these accounts is the one run by Pink Floyd. Pink Floyd regularly reposts fan renditions of their songs, once again with many nods to popular trends. Recently, Pink Floyd's increased presence on TikTok effectively brought their song “The Great Gig in the Sky” back to mainstream media.
TikTok has led to the birth and rebirth of countless artists, bands, and songs. The app made huge profits from the entertainment industry since its launch; now the entertainment industry profits vastly from TikTok. What else will TikTok become? Only time will tell...
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