Can any Joe Schmoe go viral on TikTok? Yes and no.

The folks at TikTok determine what goes viral. It makes sense. A system left by itself will collapse. It needs guiding hands.

Which songs, trends, and videos go viral? TikTok execs help determine that.

Just like Spotify throws their muscle behind an artist, so does Tiktok. Bloomberg revealed that TikTok was behind the clever marketing campaign of the song Savage by Megan Thee Stallion.

TikTok worked with Megan’s label 300 Entertainment and tested a few of her songs on the platform looking at which song got the most reaction. Savage it was. Then TikTok gave the song top shelf space placing it on recommended songs and advertisements.

It goes even deeper. According to Bloomberg, TikTok assigned managers to thousands of ‘app’ stars to help them navigate trends, tags and features, while the connecting app stars with brands and musicians.

What’s the bottom line? Any platform needs a guiding hand, and TikTok is no exception. While anyone can go viral, it’s the users that constantly deliver high quality that have the most chance of reaping financial awards and maybe free college tuition paid by TikTok.

The Grammys Awards are trying to fix things up after a year of controversy, a ratings crash, and accusations of a rigged system. The Grammys are dumping the secret committees that had the ultimate say who would be nominated. The Weeknd among other artists became a thorn in their flesh. The Grammy Awards were forced to change after an onslaught of bad press.

Former Recording Academy Boss Deborah Dugan has called the secret committees corrupt with insider dealing.

Dugan claimed the committees promoted the artists with whom they have relationships and rigged the process that catapulted certain songs and albums to nominations.

Even though Grammys are trying to clean house, the Weeknd still won’t submit his music despite the ending of the secret review committees.

“Even though I won’t be submitting my music, the Grammys’ recent admission of corruption will hopefully be a positive move for the future of this plagued award and give the artist community the respect it deserves with a transparent voting process,” the Weeknd said. 

 

I really like Bitch Can’t Spell February by Nolä. Fresh on the scene, the indie pop songwriter hails from North Carolina and is wrapping up her time at Berklee College of Music. She’s influenced by Bon Iver, The Japanese House, Imogen Heap, Remi Wolf, Banks, and Rina Sawayama.

Nola shares “The story behind the title is the girl that was dating one of my close friends would say really weird things to sound quirky such as “I don’t think the months should have names” or “I probably couldn’t even say the whole alphabet if I tried” – so a friend of mine said “I bet a bitch can’t spell february!” and instantly I was like that is a song that needs to be written NOW.” Give it a stream on KOAR’s Indie Invaders playlist.

Billie Eilish released a folk ballad Your Power along with a video that will come off her new album.

Eilish writes of the song: “this is one of my favorite songs i’ve ever written. i feel very vulnerable putting this one out because i hold it so close to my heart. this is about many different situations that we’ve all either witnessed or experienced. i hope this can inspire change. try not to abuse your power.”

Downtown Music the independent rights-management and music-services companies has left the copyright business.

Downtown sold a library of owned copyrights of hit songs recorded by artists including Adele, Aretha Franklin, and Lady Gaga for $400 million. The company is redirecting their efforts to artist services (distributing, marketing, licensing, royalty collection)

Independent artists make up the fastest growing sector of the music biz. Why? Because the digital streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple made signing with a major label nearly obsolete. While the major label system still rolls out the occasional radio hit, the artists who distribute music without any major music label has morphed into a billion-dollar market.

Artists want nearly full control of their music and rarely want to give up their rights. That’s problematic for the major labels that generally demand artists sell their rights in return for distribution and promotion.

“The motivation to sell your rights at the onset of your career is falling out of fashion,” said Downtown founder and Chief Executive Justin Kalifowitz. “While it is true the top of the pyramid, the top 1% of creators, are selling their copyrights, the general theme of the music business today is ‘how do I own and control my music?'”