The TikTok Effect

As of November 2022, TikTok is one of the most widely-used social media sites worldwide. Users on the app post short videos, often with music playing in the background. While a song going ‘viral’ on the platform can boost an artist’s career quickly, there may be a downside. Several artists have seen what’s often called the ‘TikTok effect’ – one that limits their legacy to one viral hit. 

    Back in October of this year, Youtube channel Relex Shorts uploaded footage of artist Steve Lacy performing his most streamed hit ‘Bad Habit’. The video, titled When Your Fans Don’t Know the Lyrics, shows Lacy’s crowd seemingly forgetting lyrics of his song apart from the hook – the clip that went viral on TikTok during summer of 2022. As of now, the video has gained 1.8 million views and over 2,000 comments. “Why would you go to a concert when you only know 6 seconds of the song?” one user wrote. Another commented, “How did this song manage to be #1 on Billboard and Apple Music for weeks and the people actually going out of their way to go to his show NOT know the second verse? How does that happen.” The incident has sparked discussion around TikTok’s effect on musical artists, with a Youtuber by the name of mintco uploading a video titled How TikTok ruined Steve Lacy – A video that has garnered nearly a million views over the last month.

    Some artists, however, believe that TikTok can be highly beneficial to one’s career. Zo Rothschild, better known by their stage name Quannnic, stated, “One of my songs is very big on TikTok and it definitely gave me thousands of new listeners that are here to stay. ” Rothschild continued to add, “When music comes and goes on TikTok, it’s usually because the music doesn’t age well, and the artist tries to really force you to listen by promoting it.” When questioned about their most streamed song, ‘life imitates life’, Rothschild claimed that though the song accounts for a large portion of total streams, “All of the other songs still get a good number of plays, which I think is partially made up of TikTok users who discovered me through one song.” 

    As TikTok’s popularity increases, the dynamic between artists and listeners will continue to transform – for better or worse