While TikTok has skyrocketed many previously unknown musicians into stardom overnight, it has also created a desire for instant gratification amongst consumers.
Before the rise of TikTok, it wasn’t always easy for musicians to find fame on the internet. Sure, they could use platforms like YouTube or Instagram to try to build a following, but overnight fame was a one-in-a-million opportunity.
With the growing popularity of TikTok, up-and-coming musicians are becoming famous quicker than ever before. The app has given people with a musical dream the opportunity to post their short-form content for billions to see, allowing those who previously wouldn’t have had a realistic shot at making music their full-time job the opportunity to gain a massive audience.
A few of my favourite examples are people like Peter McPoland, Eliza Mclamb and Gigi Perez. They all would admit that TikTok gave them a platform to make music their livelihood, something they likely wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise.
While I am incredibly wary of TikTok, its short form content impacting attention spans, spreading misinformation and greatly impacting societal narratives, I won’t deny that this is one of the great things about the app. Still, overnight success isn’t always a good thing.
An ongoing problem for those who have had their unfinished work blow up on TikTok is that newfound fans want access to it on audio streaming services right away. An example of this is Gigi Perez and her track, “Sailor Song.”
Perez posted a clip of an unfinished song, which would later become “Sailor Song,” and it blew up overnight. Immediately, the singer’s comment section was filled with users demanding Perez post the finished track on Spotify or Apple Music because they wanted to be able to add it to their playlists. Perez, likely wanting to ride out the success of the snippet for as long as possible, released the final version of “Sailor Song” rather quickly.
But I couldn’t have predicted what came next.
The version of “Sailor Song” released on streaming services sounded nothing like the first snippet Perez had released, much to the disappointment of her newfound audience. While it seemed clear that the reasoning for the difference was a result of further production and understanding of the track that didn’t exist when the first clip was posted, others didn’t see it that way. People who had initially been fans of the song posted incredibly negative comments under Perez’s posts, voicing anger that the finished product sounded nothing like the rough draft.
Although the love for “Sailor Song” ended up outweighing the hate, it is a perfect example of one of the cons of blowing up overnight.
Another drawback is that, in an effort to remain relevant, musicians who blow up often rush to finish their partly completed work, producing it hastily and posting it as soon as possible in an effort to ride the wave of virality. This results in work that feels half done.
While many people love an acoustic version, they don’t enjoy it when a song is poorly produced and sounds rushed. Often, they won’t hesitate to tell the musician how they feel either. This can be incredibly discouraging for new artists who are finding their footing in the music world.
When it comes to big musicians, we never hear their early drafts; instead, we only get the final product. This makes fans appreciate the music as it was supposed to be. Furthermore, because we don’t hear these drafts, fans, while excited for new music, don’t know what to expect and can wait longer periods of time in order to receive the work. This is the traditional way that the music industry has operated. TikTok has turned this system on its head, and it has resulted in many unhappy listeners and several songs that were clearly rushed through production.
So even though TikTok has been a great help to the music industry in many ways, it has also created the consumer who craves instant gratification and a lack of appreciation for artistry, hurting up-and-coming musicians and their future.