I WAS BUSY THINKIN' BOUT The various ways TikTok has changed the music
words by Kyle Henderson
industry: for better or for worse.
& Libby Cultra
PRO: Tell Us You Love TikTok Without Telling Us You Love TikTok Like it or not, TikTok and social media as a whole have changed the ways in which we consume music, and I think the impact has been far more positive than negative. TikTok specifically gives aspiring artists a platform to showcase their work and find an audience that may not normally hear it, while simultaneously allowing artists to find a community in which they can grow and thrive within. For Tessa Pulgar, a sophomore in the Bandier Program at Syracuse University and an aspiring artist, TikTok has played a major role in growing her audience. She believes that the app “almost forces you to be more creative,” she said. “It's definitely taught me to be confident in my own work because no matter how good anyone is, everyone's super different. So you just have to focus on what makes you different.” When she was locked down with the rest of the world last spring, Pulgar used singing and songwriting as a creative outlet and posted her work to TikTok. A few viral videos later, she now has over 54,000 followers and has accumulated over 1.8 million likes. Outside of an expanded audience, Pulgar has also connected with other creators on the app. The community is her favorite part of the platform. “TikTok’s allowed me to meet people that I wouldn't have otherwise met,” she said. “And those people are pretty inspiring. Just knowing that they see my content pushes me to try harder.” Plenty of other new artists have seen even more success. Indie pop/rock artist Blu DeTiger started posting on TikTok when the pandemic shut down live concerts, and her songs began gaining traction. She found a hit in her song “Figure It Out”, which became a popular sound on the app and has racked up over 25 million streams on Spotify — mine included. Eric German, an adjunct professor and practicing entertainment attorney, views TikTok as an
empowering tool for aspiring artists to create their own path. “Everything is in the palm of our hands, literally and figuratively,” he said. “When I was in Syracuse, it was more of a gatekeeper mentality where you had to kind of appeal to certain people that were going to choose the people, places and things that we're going to have the opportunity to be heard right. Now, it could come from anywhere.” “TikTok has made a measurable impact very quickly, particularly with breaking new artists,” said Michelle Santosuosso, a professor in the Bandier program. “Several have already launched off the platform to mainstream success, with 24kGoldn now signed to major label Columbia Records and Fousheé now signed to RCA Records, being two big examples.” New artists aren’t the only ones benefiting; Songs released years ago are being brought back into the mainstream thanks to fun TikTok challenges and viral videos. Chances are you heard “Dreams'' by Fleetwood Mac in a TikTok recently, which went viral after Nathan Apodaca, known as @420doggface208 on the app, posted a video skateboarding and lip syncing to the song while drinking Ocean Spray. Now, the video has over 80 million views and 12.7 million likes, and plenty have created their own take on the video — Stevie Nicks even joined in on the trend at the peak of its popularity. Other older hits like “Little Dark Age” by MGMT, “Potential Breakup Song” by Aly & AJ, and “Electric Love” by BØRNS have all seen resurgence in popularity thanks to TikTok. According to German, TikTok is a great way for older artists to “freshen up your fan base and kind of introduce yourself to a different audience by appealing sort of to the younger audience.” Overall, the app is completely changing the music industry and the way we find and share music. It’s
