HOW TO USE TIKTOK TO GET YOUR MUSIC DISCOVERED

It’s funny how life presents information to us all: for me personally, I research things that are enforced by conversations I have in passing with friends and strangers.

In this case, I was at an interview for a part time DJ gig around the city. I was in a group interview with two younger college freshman age guys and we got to talking about music we make and what we listen to.

One of the guys was into “hyperpop”, a subgenre morph of EDM and pop, and made TikTok content for it. He told me that he does not make songs, but (and I’m quoting here) he “started posting, the videos started doing well, and [he’s] been doing them ever since.”

Out of support, I asked him what his TikTok was so I can start following him. He obliged and told me his handle, as he went into the back room for his individual talk with the hiring manager.

I pulled out my phone, searched his name: he had 181,000 followers…

6 million likes across all of his videos…

I was befuddled. This young man who had never made a traditional song a day in his life, had the engagement that most musicians dream of!

Through my own music industry research, I have read that record labels have been pressing artists to use their songs in TikTok videos to generate buzz. Some go so far as not letting artists release music until there is buzz on TikTok about it.

I saw another video on Twitter from VeeCon, where an aspiring artist was asking Gary Vee what they should do to promote their brand — his adamant response:

“TikTok IS music!!”

It is evident that TikTok is the new platform for music discovery, and leveraging your own content to find your niche and generate buzz seems to be a necessary part of success.

TikTok is a way for artists to be a part of the music conversation through short form content, and it does not even have to be your own music!