A scout for raw talent and an infinite engine of trends, the application with one billion TikTok users is transforming the music industry in depth, forcing artists and record companies to come to terms with its ambitions.
In a few years, she took unknowns like singer Lil Nas X from shadow to light – her song “Old Town Road” becoming the best-selling song in US history – and launched careers like that of the rapper Doja Cat.
First confused by the arrival of this new player, the powerful record companies had no choice but to sign licensing agreements with TikTok, and to make it a central lever in their marketing strategy.
“When an innovative platform appears, it is easy to understand that the rights holders are uncomfortable” admits to AFP the international music director of TikTok, Ole Obermann.
Following its global explosion during the first confinement, the Chinese application of short videos – initially baptized Musical.ly – has indeed become the first engine of musical discoveries among young people.
75% of its users discovered new songs on TikTok in 2021, and 175 of them made it to the US Billboard Hot 100 ranking, the firm says.
Its secret: a powerful algorithm, capable of accurately surveying the musical tastes of subscribers, and delivering them a suitable selection of videos.
In the summer of 2021, young Americans were on fire for a slow remix of the title “Alors on danse”, by Belgian artist Stromae, reproducing millions of times a choreography imagined by influencer Usim Mango.
Ten years after its release, “the popularity of the title has exploded in streaming”, explains to AFP Jean-Charles Mariani, director of digital strategy for Universal Music France, “especially among young people with almost 30% of them. those who listened to this title for the first time”.
The success of the songs on the application, in fact, is reflected on the streaming platforms (Spotify, Deezer), where two-thirds of users re-listen to the songs discovered.
72% even directly associate titles with dance “challenges” that are going viral on the app, calling them “TikTok music.”
In recent months, she has given new life to hits like “Dreams”, by Fleetwood Mac (1977), or “Rasputin” by Boney M (1978). It has also allowed independent artists, such as the London songwriter Tom Rosenthal, to obtain a colossal audience.
His melancholy ballads “Home” and “Lights Are On” have been used in more than 1.6 million videos on the app, an “earthquake” in his career, the musician told AFP.
Some artists, however, point to a risk of musical standardization on TikTok, the algorithm favoring sometimes formatted pop or hip-hop productions, likely to capture the attention of subscribers in a handful of seconds.
After conflicting beginnings and threats of lawsuits for copyright infringements, labels and majors such as Universal, Sony and Warner have obtained the signing of licensing agreements with TikTok to monetize the use of their catalog.
“To consider a strategy of radiation without TikTok would be a mistake today”, recognizes Jean-Charles Mariani, Universal relying on this lever in order to “expand the audiences” of its artists among young people.
From then on, record companies are adapting their marketing strategies to TikTok codes and formats, by bouncing on emerging trends or by calling on influencers with common cultural affinities.
For musician Tom Rosenthal, the success of the application can on the contrary allow artists to free themselves from dependence on the majors, by forging a more direct link with fans.
“It’s a devastating development for labels, which believe they are the only ones capable of propelling an artist,” he rejoices.
However, TikTok is increasingly taking on the air of a music label, by offering a new service for promoting emerging artists called SoundOn.
“It’s still the beginning (…) but it is certain that we can play a more direct role in the discovery of new artists”, recognizes its music director, Ole Obermann.
According to him, this is not the only ambition of the Chinese application. His next project: simplifying the process for advertisers to be able to use tracks in TikTok ads, a path that could earn him “several billion” additional dollars.
Reference-www.tvanouvelles.ca