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TikTok’s use of music poses a threat to artistic diversity—an expert explains why


Another bountiful year for TikTok. The short-form video service has made US$12 billion (£10.5 billion) in advertising revenue in 2022, with many Its most popular videos showcases music—available for free use—through its sound library.

Viral TikTok videos have meaning successful for new and established artists alike. Watch any week of Official rankings and you’re sure to see some songs that started popping up on TikTok.

Therefore, it is not surprising that some industry commentators have declared TikTok “the New RadioThis statement was also made about advertising 15 years ago, when the use of music in television advertising has been credited with the breakthrough and revival of the artist’s career.

Radio has repeatedly been haunted by questions about “payola” (possibly illegal payments to play radio) and the power of oneself music company to control the market. Similar questions are being asked about TikTok.

Responding to viral moments

Because TikTok is user-oriented social mediaMusic selection can be a simple reflection of a user’s preferences.

Take American user Nathan Apodaca as an example. He was just a normal TikTok user when he posted One video about him skateboarding, drinking juice and lip-syncing to Dreams of Fleetwood Mac in 2020. But it didn’t take long for the dollar signs to appear in the eyes of brand executives and record labels.

Downloads and streaming of the Fleetwood Mac hit skyrocketed, while the maker of the juice brand featured in the video, Ocean Spray, gave Apodaca a truck loaded with bottles of cranberry juice.






Nathan Apodaca discusses the success of his Tik Tok video.

Music companies dedicated staff to promoting TikTok, and the app quickly became a central advertising strategy Because record label and artists. Although Fleetwood Mac’s revenue from external streams and downloads increased, the band did not profit directly from TikTok.

Have increase pressurethe same goes for artists putting TikTok on their lists advertising tool. Teams at the record label oversee related activity on TikTok and hold private listening parties for famous TikTok influencers.

As songs continue to go viral through the use of fans are not on the music label’s payrollTikTok has become an advertising hotspot partnership and analysts are trying try to understand how TikTok’s virality works, so that it can be exploited more systematically.

The future of TikTok and music

After Lil Nas X’s breakout single Old Town Road topped the 2019 charts on the back of “challenge” (where users create videos showing them changing into cowboy outfits as the beat of the song drops), TikTok’s role as a key player in the music economy has become clear.

Exposure to large audiences can be of great value to musicians—a belief that has strengthened MTV model 40 years ago, ushered in the era of expensive, glossy promotional videos — although in the case of TikTok video record labels and artists, respectively, did not benefit from the increased revenue.

TikTok pays the “Big Three” record labels (Sony, Warner, Universal) and Merlin, representing independent labels and distributors, a flat fee for access to their catalog. They emphasize that the platform is a Additional promotion for listening to music.

The debate over the division of royalties is likely to heat up. In March, TikTok launched turn on the sound, which allows artists to bypass labels and earn royalties by uploading music directly to the platform. Rumor has it that the company is preparing to launch a competitor’s streaming service—Music TikTok.






The New York Times interviewed the creators of Old Town Road about the song’s viral success.

With a history of controversies regarding censorship and ethical violationshowever, company based in China incapable of offering a fairer deal or more transparent process than established streaming services like Spotify or Apple Music. Tencent Music Entertainment, the leading streaming company in China, pays around US$0.000015 (£0.00012) per stream, just 3.4% of what Spotify pays.

What does this mean for artists?

Just some hits sweet spot for TikTok. Its algorithms favor videos with challenges, simple choreography, and simple messages.

When the app fits into less typical genres, such as protest music, the potential meaning is influenced by the promotional nature of the format. Users are free to pair a song with unrelated hashtags and brand partnerships, which may not match the original meaning of the song.

Commercial radio normalized the relationship of popular music to advertising. But the fall between content and advertising illustrated by TikTok reminds us how to consider making music and listening to music shaped by the advertising context.

When music is valued like Contents are interchangeablerather than artistic expression, memorable, to interpret Fleetwood Mac, what we had and what we lost. How we buy and listen Music changing—and not always for the best.

As TikTok becomes more and more important, state-supported media like BBC—usually an important space for indie bands and less popular genres—have been threatened with budget cuts.

If we want a media environment that can support a wide variety of sounds and messages, the growing power of a single commercial company like TikTok is worrying.

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