WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT TIKTOK
Without a doubt, the most sensational social media in over a decade, TikTok, has grown to be the app to be on. It has created a new wave of influencers, which rivals that of Instagram, and the app has a crazy
upward growth of active users. Since the official takeover by ByteDance, the monthly users of TikTok have grown from 100 million to 130 million in the first three months. The app currently has over 1.1
billion active users.
A unique trend the app has set is its synergy with music. TikTok has unearthed stars previously unknown and shot them to stardom. The app has also displayed its resurrection power in bringing songs from obscurity to popularity. Through the app, a previously unknown song, no matter the year of release, can suddenly surge and become a top 100 hit.
This sort of thing is not new in the music industry. Social media apps and music have always had some kind of synergy. YouTube, for example, saw the rise of numerous stars, including then teenage sensation Justin Bieber. Instagram has also played a major role in music, as it has been used as a promotional and marketing tool. The
latest social media app on the block, however, is TikTok. TikTok has grown so much and gained a lot of relevance in such short notice that it is impossible to ignore the app, except, of course, you are an established artist. That said, independent and upcoming artists have no business ignoring the app.
This is moreso as the app has shown its potential at different times, as having the ability to make an artist rise to stardom. Any artist looking for global awareness should look at
TikTok, as it is an extremely useful tool.
TikTok allows artists to deliver their tracks onto its database for users to use the tracks in their videos. The artists are allowed to upload a chosen portion of their song, which is about 30 seconds long. Once the portion has been uploaded, users of the app can include the uploaded track in their videos. There is no limit to what the users can use the track to do. For example, they could dance to it, make a duet, act out the lyrics, etc., depending on their creativity and if the artist can curate a challenge from the song.
TikTok does not only create a platform for your song to go viral. Artists can also make money from the app whenever their track is used. Most distributors have deals with TikTok to ensure that the artist is paid whenever their music is used on TikTok. The app has a different model for paying artists to use their music. Unlike DSPs and some social media apps like YouTube, the number of streams or views does not matter.
Instead, TikTok pays royalties based on the number of videos created using your music.
This means that the more creators use your music in their videos, you earn money, regardless of how many views the videos generate. As at 2019, TikTok pays $0.030 per video created using your music. Where
you can get over 1 million users to use the uploaded track in their videos, your music will earn about $30,000.
There are many other things about the app that musicians need to know. These are but a few things that are important. Understanding the app is crucial to any musician’s career. Even the big labels are
encouraging their artistes, both established and upcoming, to focus on the app, showing its relevance and importance.
Lastly, stay up to date with all you need to know about African music at S.O.A., right here.
