TikTok, A Potential Game-Changer That Can Revive Electronic Music

The tendency of the short-form video platform to be widely and rapidly circulated online is a welcomed development in music. It came at a time when artists were finding it difficult to engage a TikTok audience. Consequently, the platform has inspired how music is packaged, listened to, and shared.
TikTok’s Impact On Music Industry
TikTok helps the development of niche content and encourages experimentation. No platform is equal in managing raw creativity to produce exceptional results like TikTok. It has become an essential tool for modern artists, as Nia Archives and PinkPanthress names echo in all major A&R departments.
Their fame and virality at the young age of 21 is a reminder of the SoundCloud rappers’ success. The platform launched the career of new young artists. TikTok is about to overtake SoundCloud as a discovery platform. The former is also a powerful marketing tool for promoting new releases by labels.Many artists, including Megan Thee Stallion, FKA Twigs, Caroline Polachek, and Tiesto, exploited the timely social trends to upload broken singles on TikTok.
The app was created for music, unlike other social networks. It is the second replication of the dance app, Musical.ly, which was acquired for $1 billion in 2017 by Chinese company Bytedance. TikTok’s algorithm links artists to fan communities more than other social platforms. Consequently, it is transforming the weak competition among music markets on social media.
TikTok Saving Electronic Music from A Dead End On Social Networks
The virality of the app affected electronic music at a suitable time. For the first time in 2022, the UK and Germany experienced a boost in the electronic music and dance market. However, the 2022 IMS report showed a dramatic decline in engagement with electronic music. Based on the findings, Instagram and Twitter had a 34 and 32 percent decrease, respectively, while Facebook had a 15 percent drop.
Despite these figures, video content remains electronic music’s strong point as the engagement on YouTube rose by 7 percent. The increase may be due to lockdown and live-streaming. The assumption may be partially true as many DJs on the platform use live-streaming as entertainment. However, the IMS lead researcher, David Boyle, revealed that live-streaming didn’t thrive in 2021 as it did in 2020.
Boyle doubts that live-streaming is responsible for the recent uptick in YouTube as the new followers’ rates drop below the previous figures. Boyle confirmed electronic music’s growth globally in 2021. According to IMS recent report, electronic artists find it difficult to engage their audiences and directly promote their music on social platforms.
Boyle explained that the small culture around the music might be responsible for the challenge. As a result, electronic music has less social engagement across platforms than other genres. The Director of Global Strategy, Electronic Music at Warner, Anton Partridge, explained why electronic music has more followers on YouTube. The artists in the genre can be “counted on a couple of hands.”
Fortunately, TikTok can revitalize electronic music from the social slump as the genre has an advantage on a video platform. The app will allow creators to promote their music and restructure the content on YouTube.