So it seems we are just 17 days away from a US TikTok ban.
If TikTok actually disappears from the US then the music industry is going to have to do a serious pivot on its marketing strategies. My money is on YouTube filling the void. Maybe it’ll be Snapchat. Maybe something totally new. I guess we’ll see.
And at least for another 17 days, TikTok is still king. Whether we like it or not, it’s been the dominant discovery and marketing force of music for the past 5 years.
Artists, managers and music marketers have worked with utmost frustration, confusion and exhaustion attempting to understand why some posts work and others don’t.
Why one live video of one song resonates and gets organically boosted by the algorithm, but not the live video of that same song 10 seconds later in the video. Or why the same song flops without a “hook” (the words on the screen at the start) and then works only by adding the hook. Or why a different song from the same concert, same angle, similar hook, flops, but the lip sync video connects? Or why people like making their own videos to only the bridge of the song, but not the chorus. Why, why why?!
Of course no one actually knows. Plenty of talking heads on YouTube, Instagram and, yes, TikTok say they know. Expensive marketing agencies charge tons of money claiming they know (boy have I wasted a lot on them!).
But no one actually knows. Not even employees of TikTok know. I’ve asked them. I’ve worked with them directly. Those in charge of music at TikTok literally are just guessing. Just like me and you. Sure, they can spot trends quickly. Because it’s their job to. And they can relay those trends to their artist and label partners. But by that point, the trend is over. And most have moved on. And then musicians feel icky about having done it. And get burnt out. So was it actually worth it in the end?
This past month, I found Drone Tok.
Boy is this a rabbit hole. If you haven’t delved into Drone Tok – or Dior Bag Tok I guess as it’s now being referred to (thank you Bethenny Frankel!). Well, I’ll sum it up. The aliens are here. They’ve always been here. But now they’re here helping to save humanity. It’s a fun ride to be on.
Some people think the aliens are here to warn us. Some believe the drones are searching for a nuke that snuck in. Some believe that the drones are “ours” attempting to monitor the orbs. Some believe the orbs are plasmoids that escaped from the lab. Others believe we’re all in a simulation and the aliens are our “daddys.” I’ll stop there.
I watched the 3-hour Congressional hearing on UAPs last year where those hardened military men admitted to our elected representatives that there are plenty of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena in our skies leaving, er, “non-human” remains behind. It gets weird.
Now I’m not prone to conspiracies. But hell if it’s all not a bit convincing. It is pretty fascinating that with all of this evidence, the public isn’t losing its collective minds.
But then I head over to Instagram. Not one peep of any of this.
I even popped by X and Threads. There’s a hint more on X (with a lot more chaos of all varieties). But it’s tamer than TikTok.
But then I remember, it’s just my TikTok. My feed. My algorithm. I ended up watching a few too many Drone Tok vids and now the algorithm just feeds me what I want. And boy do I want it!
By now, we are all well aware that the algorithm on every platform feeds us an individualized feed of what we want to see. For better or worse.
I got damn entertained (and curious?) about these orbs and drones, so by god it sent me more orb and drone videos. Pretty much any theory will be confirmed if you want it to be. On any platform.
We live in our own isolated, individualized bubbles. This was on full display this election season. And it’s on full display in the music industry.
Spotify, TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube all have incredible algorithms to find the exact right audience for each piece of content.
+How To (Officially) Report Shady Spotify Playlists
Even Apple Music has recently jumped into the personalization game. And it’s getting better every day. And by better, I mean for both fans and artists. Fans get the music designed to their tastes. And artists can more easily find their audience. Theoretically.
There is no silver bullet. There’s no magic tactic that will rocket you to stardom. There are marketing tactics. Some of them work. Some of them don’t. Some of them worked last year and won’t next year.
But, like anything, there’s no one thing you can do that will launch your career.
I just saw the Bob Dylan movie, A Complete Unknown. Man, it was great.
Loved it. It reminded me that one of the reasons Dylan has stood the test of time, and developed a die hard fanbase, is because he didn’t follow trends. He started them. As soon as someone tried to put him in a box, he demolished that box. Or reshaped the box into an orb (had to) and threw it back at them.
Dylan didn’t play the songs to please his audience. He intentionally upset much of his audience. To innovate. But those that got it stuck with him. And stayed for life.
Focus on your artistry. Write more songs. Challenge yourself to write better songs and innovate in the studio. Don’t just follow trends. Create trends. Take in more art that inspires you so you can make better art. And then get it out. Write more music. Record it. Get it out. Don’t be precious. You have to believe your best work is yet to come.
Dylan could have stopped at Freewheelin’. Or he could have just kept making acoustic records. Because that worked. But then he definitely wouldn’t be the generational artist he became. He didn’t play it safe. You shouldn’t either.
Dylan released 81 songs in his first 4 years of releasing music. And that was in the 60s.
Neoni, who I had on the podcast, got 2 billion views and streams by releasing nearly 200 songs in the past 7 years. They now have nearly 7 million monthly listeners. Andy Grammer told me that he writes 100 songs for each album before he decides what to record. Ricky Montgomery released an album that didn’t find its audience until 4 years after it was released.
+Ricky Montgomery from Viral on TikTok to Major Label Bidding War
Most of the artists I’ve had on the podcast, I bring on to highlight their unique path of how they’re making it work.
Nearly all have one thing in common: it didn’t happen overnight. It didn’t happen after a few releases or even an album or two. But they kept going.
Yes, it’s tempting to follow trends. And if you’re showing up “for work,” to do a job, for hire, writing for sync or other artists. Sure, you need to jump on the trend train. But understand what you’re doing. And what you’re not doing.
And don’t give up.
Paving your own way, going against the grain, is uncomfortable. And it will most definitely take a bit longer. And yes there’s a lot of luck at the speed in which it all takes. You will make it. If you stick with it. Failure only comes if you give up.
Sure, you could make the music that everyone else makes and maybe get included in some fleeting playlists. Maybe even get a record deal for a couple years. Be a flash in the pan. Have a quick moment. But at the end of the day you have to look yourself in the mirror. And stand by your work. Your work will be with you for the rest of your life.
What kind of legacy do you want to leave?
