FEATURE:
Every Second Counts
IN THIS PHOTO: TikTok star DAMOYEE (real name Damoyee Neroes) joined TikTok in August 2020 and, over a year later, she has grown to nearly 200,000 followers. She can play sixteen instruments and can work for up to six and a half hours just to create a one- or three-minute multi-frame singing video
The Importance of TikTok for Breaking New Artists
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I was thinking the other week…
about the ways in which music came into my life. When it came to discoveries and new releases, I relied on a combination of music journalism, music T.V. and the charts. (This would have been the 1990s). Most of the artists I bought and followed would have been signed to labels. There were very few that were unsigned or under the radar. Now, with the Internet and social media platforms, the balance has shifted so that most of the artists are outside of the mainstream. It is good in regards choice and diversity; perhaps less pleasant and easy when it comes to artists getting noticed, building a fanbase and growing a platform. It is so tough to get recognised and stand out from the bigger artists. Whilst streaming sites can give us quick and easy access to songs from artists; social media platforms are also useful if you want to follow and keep abreast of the best new acts. It is impossible to truly get to grips with the wealth and breadth of artists coming through! In the course of writing Spotlight features and highlighting artists to watch, one name keeps coming up that has been instrumental when it comes to their music reaching new audiences: TikTok. I am not active on the platform myself, though I am familiar with it. A lot of people use the site to post short clips of them dancing to well-known songs. That can introduce younger listeners to classic artists.
More usefully, artists are benefiting from posting live performances, inventive videos, songs and snippets of music on TikTok. Especially during lockdown, there has been this benefit of having an audience there interacting and bonding with the artists. I think TikTok, more than Instagram or streaming sites, is vital for artists to get their music heard and ensure they are not forgotten! There is a crop of exciting producers, D.J.s, songwriters and artists being found and promulgated on TikTok. I am going to end with a playlist from Spotify of their essential TikTok breakthrough acts. There is also a recent article that recommended fifteen upcoming TikTok acts we need to know about. To start, there are a couple of articles that highlight the influence and importance of TikTok at an especially tough time for all artists. Music Business Worldwide published a feature in July that said 75% of TikTok’s users are discovering new artists there – surely that has increased in the past four months:
“TikTok has more than double the number of active users worldwide that Spotify does.
We know this because – as reported by MBW three months ago – TikTok has confirmed that it had 732 million monthly active users (MAUs) worldwide as of October 2020.
MBW estimates the platform has comfortably over 800m MAUs today, and will surpass a billion over the next year.
The power of this scale for the music business was drilled home yet again today (July 21) via a new report from TikTok, which reveals that 75% of its US users say they discover new artists via the platform.
These stats come from a study that TikTok commissioned MRC Data to undertake in November 2020, called US TikTok Marketing Science, Music Perceptions Research.
Other key finding from the research: 63% of TikTok users say that they have heard new music (that they’ve never heard before) on TikTok.
These statistics fit with TikTok’s long-held ambition to become a leading global partner for the music business.
Speaking to MBW in February, TikTok’s Global Head of Music, Ole Obermann outlined TikTok’s vision for being a prominent music discovery and A&R platform.
“The dream is that an artist is able to find their voice and find that first community on TikTok, and then they become famous enough where they are able to get a record deal or perhaps even a publishing deal off the back of that and go on to become a superstar musical artist and creator,” he said.
The latter goal, of being an unsigned talent resource for the music industry, was highlighted in December when TikTok reported that over 70 artists who broke on the platform over the course of 2020 went on to sign major label deals.
TikTok says that MRC Data‘s new research “reveals the power of music on TikTok, shedding light on the importance and impact music has for brands and the creator community alike”.
According to the report, 67% of TikTok users say that they are more likely to seek out a song they heard on TikTok on a music streaming platform, while 72% of TikTok users agree that they associate certain songs specifically with TikTok.
“Music and sound play a big role in our lives, and brands are tapping into TikTok‘s sound on environment to connect with their community in a new and engaging way,” says TikTok.
“When brands embrace music and partner with artists on the platform, they see a far-reaching halo effect of cultural relevancy and brand love.”
Discussing the report’s publication, Ole Obermann, Global Head of Music, TikTok, said: “TikTok has become an integral part of music discovery, connecting artists to their fans and introducing brands to every corner of the community,” said
“TikTok is the home for music trends that permeate the culture, industry, and charts.
“TIKTOK HAS BECOME AN INTEGRAL PART OF MUSIC DISCOVERY, CONNECTING ARTISTS TO THEIR FANS AND INTRODUCING BRANDS TO EVERY CORNER OF THE COMMUNITY.”
OLE OBERMANN, TIKTOK
“From emerging artists to small business owners, the research from MRC Data reinforces TikTok’s position at the forefront of providing opportunities to creators and artists alike”.
IN THIS PHOTO: Nina Nesbit
Taking things back to last year, the BBC reported how TikTok was providing a chance for new artists. Not only do TikTok videos rely on conveying impact and content in a small amount of time; new artists have not been able to gig and get their music out that way. Although things are starting to open up, the pandemic put pave to the ambitions of many artists who were hoping to find an audience. In a short period of time, this relatively new platform has become indispensable - not only for artists, but music fans and those looking to discover the next wave of promising artists:
“TikTok has only been part of our lives for two years, but it's already had a massive impact on the music business.
Now the app has told Radio 1 Newsbeat that agents and managers are asking it for advice on how to get their artists featured.
And it's not just about viral dances anymore.
Newsbeat's spoken to artists who say using TikTok has boosted their careers at a time when live music's more or less off the agenda.
Nina Nesbitt was set to make her third album in Sweden this year but, like many artists, it was put on hold during lockdown.
"In all honesty, my label told me to get TikTok two years ago.
"So back in March I thought 'why not?' - and my first video got nearly a million views in a few days."
PHOTO CREDIT: Brent Lewin/Bloomberg
Her arrival on the app puts her among a wave of acts changing how they release music to tap into "a new world".
The Scottish singer isn't new to finding audiences online. She started out on YouTube, launching her channel in 2009 while she was at school.
But she says interaction with fans on TikTok feels different.
"There's people who haven't heard of me from all over the place, but others saying, 'Where have you been? I used to love listening to you'.
"It's literally just me making videos in my flat so what's really exciting is the scale of people that you can get out to really fast.
"It's not necessarily always just the music being promoted by a big label that's doing well.
Producer Joshua Stylah, 17, better known as Jawsh 685, has seen the benefit of TikTok's ability to boost unknown acts.
He uploaded an instrumental track called Laxed Siren Beat Loop earlier this year from his bedroom in Manurewa, New Zealand.
Its links to his Polynesian roots inspired the culture dance challenge, which saw users celebrating their heritage by dancing to the song in traditional costumes around he world.
It quickly got millions of hits and caught the attention of Jason Derulo who sang over the track to create Savage Love, which became the UK's second-biggest selling song of the summer, according to the Official Charts Company”.
Before coming to the final article on TikTok – where I shall highlight a few name to look out for -, I saw an article from August. TikTok have launched a new music campaign to give a voice and opportunity to those who might otherwise have been overlooked or struggled for traction:
“TikTok has become the place to discover emerging and unsigned artists. From Liv Harland, busking on TikTok and scoring a record deal, to Nathan Evans, who went from doing the postal rounds in Scotland to kickstarting a global revival of centuries-old Sea Shanties, we're proud to provide a step up for new talent on and off the platform. In fact, 80% of the people who use TikTok say they discover new music on our platform and it is the number one place for music discovery – more than other digital platforms, streaming services and friends.
In celebration of TikTok being an amazing place to discover new artists, we're rolling out our first ever music outdoor advertising campaign. Throughout August, we'll be shining a light on the incredible unsigned talent that exists within the platform, all of whom are only moments away from finding their big break.
From this week, we're running billboards and fly postering across London, Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Glasgow, Sheffield, Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester, featuring QR codes which, when scanned, will take you to a special showcase of talented unsigned artists on TikTok. Our 'Find the Unsigned' page in-app will help people discover more about each artist and hear their music via a 'Listen here' tab.
The billboards and posters will be located near iconic music venues like Brixton Academy (London) & O2 Apollo (Manchester), helping music fans get first sight of the next generation of musical talent.
To reflect the eclectic and diverse artists that have gone viral on TikTok to date, the campaign features a range of musical genres - from Pop, to Indie Alt, Rap and Garage. Here are just some of the artists who will be featured in the campaign and in-app:
Flossie - @flo55ie: Flossie writes songs from her London bedroom. Her Bedroom Demos EP has just been released on 02 July, starting with the track Moon River. She is known on TikTok for butterfly prawns.
V.I.C - @hellovicco: The 22-year-old rapper, who freestyles from his university bedroom, has over 320K followers on TikTok. V.I.C went viral with his covers of Dave’s Funky Friday and Location, Dixie D’Amelio’s Be Happy as well as his own Dear Mr. Prime Minister series.
Here At Last - @hereatlastofficial: With 2.5M followers on TikTok, Here At Last is a boyband that has risen to fame with no record label or reality TV show. They're the One Direction of the TikTok generation.
Cody Frost - @codyfrostmusic: Cody Frost has experienced a lot on the road to her new EP IT’S NOT REAL; from heady highs and crashing lows, despair and disillusionment, to self-care and catharsis.
AIDÁN - @bonjouraidan: AIDÁN, a South London singer-songwriter, who was born to an Irish mum and Nigerian dad, writes and co-produces all of his songs which are soon to be released. He hopes to showcase his various influences within these tracks.
Paul Hourican, Head of Music Operations UK at TikTok said: "Music is a central part of TikTok and every day our global community are discovering new sounds and genres, and helping artists build fanbases and achieve success.
TikTok is a platform that's made for discovery, which makes it easy for people to hear artists for the first time. Our community are constantly championing new artists and we've seen some incredible examples of that in the past year - from Liv Harland and Emelie Hallett busking from their home towns and the global community on TikTok, to Nathan Evans and A1 x J1 going from bedroom to billboard. TikTok is a platform that's made for discovery, and this campaign is all about giving even more unsigned artists a voice and audience, both on and off TikTok”.
@whatswithorchid butterfly sticker is subversive when I do it 🦋✨#doeeyes #fypシ #ukg #pop #xyzbca ♬ Doe Eyes - Orchid
To finish off, I will source from Entertainment Weekly’s August-published article, where they highlighted fourteen artists on TikTok that are worthy of greater acclaim and consideration. I will do another feature in the coming weeks that looks at the wider impact of TikTok (and how things have changed regarding music discovery platforms and how we find new artists). I have hand-picked a few of Entertainment Weekly’s nominees for deeper focus:
https://www.tiktok.com/@damoyee
“DAMOYEE (real name Damoyee Neroes) joined TikTok in August 2020 and a year later, has grown to nearly 180,000 followers. The artist can play 16 instruments and can work for up to 6.5 hours just to create a one- or three-minute multi-frame singing video. But sometimes that work can feel out of balance with the attention smaller creators get. "The app itself can be very discouraging for independent artists and even signed artists that don't have a huge marketing budget," Neroes says. "The reality is that some creators and artists may have to come to terms with TikTok for not being the ideal platform to grow and thrive. And we'll see what happens."
@ldrethegiant We have fun on twitch lol ##streamer ##twitch ##funnymusic ##summerrecap
♬ original sound - L.Dre
https://www.tiktok.com/@ldrethegiant
The producer's lo-fi take on everything from the Steven Universe theme song to Frank Ocean's "Chanel," shared on TikTok and other platforms, has helped him reach more than 1.3 million monthly listeners on . L.Dre, who's been hustling for years, says TikTok has taught him to adapt to its tricky algorithm (a.k.a. "the overlord") and constantly shifting trends. "You have to switch things up, because things that worked when I first started don't work as well now," he observes. "At first TikTok, the best thing about it was, you just use your phone. And now people are using full cameras, HD cameras, the quality is getting better and better."
After losing her gigs due to COVID-19 and feeling depressed, cover band singer Sabrina Seidman found an online music production course and hasn't looked back since. She began sharing what she learned on TikTok and her life has "changed astronomically," with established producers like even commenting on her videos. "But the most rewarding thing is sometimes I get messages from 13- and 14-year-old girls thanking me," she says, "or just telling me that I've inspired them or asking me questions and that really means a lot to me".
There are generations and people who are averse to the likes of TikTok who prefer to rely on radio and the media to find artists worth listening to. I think that, even if you are not posting to TikTok yourself, it is a worthy and ripe platform that is giving hope and community to many artists – those who might have otherwise escaped our reach. As I say, I have written features about some amazing new artists who have found fresh attention and connection through TikTok. From buskers, D.J.s, artists from around the globe and musical innovators, TikTok is giving home and amplification to…
@seids This went viral on IG 🤷🏼♀️ ##femaleproducer ##musicproduction ##independentartist ##musicproductiontips ##musicproductiontutorial
♬ original sound - Seids
THE next generation of names to watch.