TikTok is disrupting the music industry. It’s done good for the industry, but the good also has a downside.
Users on TikTok are all about the song, not the artist. The song goes viral, not the artist. Sure, the artist is attached to the song, but remembering the name of the artist is like remembering the 9 digit phone number. No doubt, TikTok is an explosive marketing tool for song exposure. Warner Music, Sony, and Universal Music Group struck licensing deals with the platform, artist have signed deals with labels, and a few TikTok viral tracks even bubbled into the mainstream sphere. With all that, it has created some long term problems.
Right now, TikTok is the dominant algorithmic machine that’s being fed daily with tracks. I’m not sure artists have another go to place outside of TikTok. It’s certainly not Instagram, Facebook or Twitter.
Also, the 30 to 60 song clips are furthering hijacking attention spans which is not necessarily healthy for the creative business. TikTok has changed the way music sounds. As far getting paid for your work, that’s another issue and I’ll delve into that next time.
Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino predicted in February that large-scale 2021 concerts could return in the United States by this summer. Since then, he’s been very quiet. We all thought we’d be further along ahead with the covid virus. Unfortunately, the CDC predicted a tough rough ahead before getting back to normalcy.
Also, Live Nation has invested more into virtual events, acquiring the streaming platform Veeps.
Live Nation and Ticketmaster are focusing on selling tickets for 2022 events, including The Weeknd’s After Hours World Tour. The Weeknd is scheduled at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh on Jan. 29, 2022 and the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on April 3rd.
“On the artist side, there is a broad desire to get back on stage – to connect with their fans and to provide economic support to their bands, crew, and the hundreds of others employed each night putting on the show. Given the limited touring activity in 2020 and 2021, the pipeline for 2022 is much stronger than usual, with almost twice as many major touring artists on cycle in 2022 than a typical year – about 45 artists versus the usual 25. And there remains plenty of scheduling availability at arenas, amphitheaters, and stadiums to accommodate these additional tours, with over two-thirds of these venues’ nights unused by sporting events or major concerts in a typical year.”
The Orange County artist and producer Llusion has teamed with singer-songwriter Salem Ilese for their new song “Yoga” via Republic Records.
The track follows the success of a viral TikTok song. Ilese shares
“I came up with the concept for ‘Yoga’ during the first month of quarantine, after attempting the inevitable ‘morning yoga and meditation’ phase. Working with LLusion provided me more zen than any downward dog stretch could’ve.”
Llusion has garnered 50 million+ streams and nearly 100 million TikTok views. He gained traction on TikTok after his remix of No Idea by Don Toliver was featured in a video by Charli D’Amelio.
Mick Jagger has dropped a surprise track Eazy Sleazy along with a video that features David Grohl. The lyrics are about COVID, masks, and the vaccine.
Mick writes:
“I wanted to share this song that I wrote about eventually coming out of lockdown, with some much needed optimism – thank you to Dave Grohl for jumping on drums, bass and guitar, it was a lot of fun working with you on this – hope you all enjoy Eazy Sleazy !”
Some lines in the song..
THATS A PRETTY MASK
BUT NEVER TAKE A CHANCE TIK TOK STUPID DANCE
TOOK A SAMBA CLASS I LANDED ON MY ASS
SHOOTING THE VACCINE BILL GATES IS IN MY BLOODSTREAM
ITS MIND CONTROL
Check out Woman from up & coming Maddy Hartson. The Michigan based singer-songwriter mixes alt pop with midwestern grit, a unique combo that is.
“In the studio, I was able to tap into a more bold side of songwriting, one that simultaneously demands attention while still feeling evasive. I spent about an hour alone without anyone else in the room, left with a melody and a blank sheet of paper. I thought about things I’d wished to write about but never did. The feeling of feminine power, confidence, and bravery were all key emotions that played into the creation of this song. That’s when ‘Woman’ was born.” shares Maddy Hartson.
Give it a stream on KOAR’s Indie Invaders Playlist.
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