TikTok
What’s a TikTok Hit Worth? This Year’s Most Popular Track Grew Over 1,000% on Streaming
TikTok has proven its success at renewing widespread interest around old songs countless times over the past several years. 2022 was no exception, as the short-form video platform announced Swedish Sadboy rapper Yung Lean’s 2013 track “Ginseng Strip 2002” was its most popular track of the year thanks to a trend of users singing along for about 10 seconds and then kissing at the end. The nearly decade-old track was used in almost 11 million videos across the app in 2022, and while TikTok royalties are notoriously low to music rights holders, the upside proposition has been established that a viral hit there will drive streaming elsewhere. With “Ginseng Strip 2002,” that was most certainly true. Since the “Ginseng Strip 2002” TikTok trend started to take off around the turn of the new year, ...
TikTok a National Security Threat Vulnerable to Chinese Government ‘Manipulation,’ FBI Director Warns
FBI Director Chris Wray is raising national security concerns about TikTok, warning Friday that control of the popular video sharing app is in the hands of a Chinese government “that doesn’t share our values.” Wray said the FBI was concerned that the Chinese had the ability to control the app’s recommendation algorithm, “which allows them to manipulate content, and if they want to, to use it for influence operations.” He also asserted that China could use the app to collect data on its users that could be used for traditional espionage operations. “All of these things are in the hands of a government that doesn’t share our values, and that has a mission that’s very much at odds with what’s in the best interests of the United States. That should concern us,” Wray told an audience at the Uni...
This AI-Powered App Makes You the Subject of a Fred again.. Song
You can now generate an endless feed of song titles using Fred again..‘s distinct discographic nomenclature—all with the help of artificial intelligence. If you’ve ever wondered what being the subject of a Fred again.. song would look like, visit the AI-powered “You as a Fred again.. Song” site. Enter your first name and a selfie, and viola—you too can (spiritually) become a part of Fred’s Actual Life 3 universe. Built by Claire Wang, the programmatic platform applies Fred’s signature transparent blue tint to your image and generates a song title with your name, followed by a tongue-in-cheek parenthetical ad-lib. “You as a Fred again.. Song” was so true to form that even Fred himself couldn’t resist the urge to use it.&nb...
Trending Up: ‘Wakanda Forever’ Soundtrack Soars, Patty Loveless Lands a CMAs Comeback
Welcome to Billboard Pro’s Trending Up column, where we take a closer look at the songs, artists, curiosities and trends that have caught the music industry’s attention. Some have come out of nowhere, others have taken months to catch on, and all of them could become ubiquitous in the blink of a TikTok clip. This week: The much-anticipated release of blockbuster sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever leads to huge streaming gains for much of its soundtrack, while Aerosmith experiences a bizarrely 2022 revival for one of their signature hits and Patty Loveless enjoys a more old-fashioned sort of comeback. ‘Black Panther’ Box Office Mojo Is Translating Into Streaming Wins Last weekend, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever blasted into movie theaters with a box office haul of $1...
TikTok Has Gen Z Hooked — Can Its Streaming Service Get Them to Pay for Music?
Ask music business executives to characterize their relationship with TikTok and the response is typically a variation of, “It’s complicated,” as one major-label executive puts it. As the short-form video streaming platform continues to dominate pop culture — last September, it claimed 1 billion monthly active users globally, a figure that has surely ballooned in the 13 months since — it has continued to draw the ire of the music industry for its low payouts to rights holders, even as labels, managers and publishers increasingly rely on the platform to market singles and break artists. But as TikTok’s parent company ByteDance explores an expansion of its fledgling music streaming service Resso — currently only available in India, Indonesia and Brazil — into new territories, another respons...
What’s It Like Using TikTok’s Music-Streaming App?
After swiftly taking over social media in a matter of years, TikTok has its sights set on music streaming, too. In 2020, the company’s Chinese owner ByteDance, officially debuted a music-streaming app, Resso, in three countries — Brazil, India and Indonesia — with ambitions to soon expand into new territories, likely under a brand name associated with its most famous product. This past spring, the company registered the handles @TikTokMusic on both Twitter and Instagram; in May, it filed a trademark application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a service under that name. And in October, The Wall Street Journal reported, and Billboard has confirmed, that ByteDance is in conversations with all the major music rights holders to launch its music streaming service in additional coun...
Potential US ban is a reminder that influencers should dump TikTok
With a recent proposal by a member of the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to ban TikTok, influencers are scrambling. If the FCC makes good on the ban, TikTok creators could lose their fanbases and revenue streams overnight. People are often skeptical about Web3, many of them influencers and digital content creators. Notably, many of those most reluctant to embrace Web3 are very successful on Web2. Since they’ve mastered monetization on popular Web2 platforms such as TikTok, Twitch and others, why bother learning the rules of a new game? The current regulatory debate around restricting TikTok in the U.S. provides a salient example of the risks associated with Web2 platforms, and why embracing Web3 can both benefit and protect influencers and their fans. The value add o...
Kid’s Impressive Street Performance of “Master of Puppets” Earns Props from Metallica: Watch
Ever since Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” was highlighted in season four of Stranger Things, the 1986 thrash gem has been all the rage. Metallica even saluted Stranger Things character Eddie Munson at Lollapalooza this year with an epic “Master of Puppets” performance that featured clips from the Netflix series. Now, a young kid in the UK is making waves with an impressive guitar rendition of the iconic metal tune that even earned props from Metallica themselves. TikTok user “fixer17d” recently shared a video of a youngster shredding “Master of Puppets” on a street in Cardiff, Wales. The kid appears to be a pre-teen or young teenager, and performs the thrash classic like an absolute champ. “Out in Cardiff and saw a kid plug in his #paulgilbert signature and thought I’d stick around,”...
TikTok to Launch Songwriting Platform for Creators With Simon Cowell, UMG & Samsung
TikTok creators will soon be handed a fresh set of tools to soundtrack their videos and potentially make hit songs when a new in-app platform created by Simon Cowell’s Syco Entertainment company, in partnership with Universal Music Group and Samsung, launches on the platform later this month. Called StemDrop, the initiative will provide TikTok’s more than 1 billion monthly users with access to music “stems” (the isolated components of a song, such as drum tracks or individual vocal parts) from an exclusive new track composed by hit songwriters Max Martin, Savan Kotecha and Ali Payami entitled “Red Lights,” which creators can then use to record and share their own versions. The project was conceived by British music mogul Cowell and entertainment executive Tim Van Rongen in pa...
Daft Punk Have Joined TikTok: “Let’s Rewind Time”
Daft Punk have joined TikTok because, well, 2022. Only a year as upside-down as this one could see Daft Punk—the legendary electronic music pioneers, visionary directors and avant-garde composers—adding “content creator” to their illustrious résumé. The irony of the robots joining a digital dystopia wherein the majority of its young users haven’t even heard of them isn’t lost on us. But we digress. “Let’s rewind time, on TikTok,” reads Daft Punk’s first TikTok post. It’s worth noting that Daft Punk’s arrival on TikTok finds them in uncharted waters. TikTok’s business model is predicated on deals made with record companies prior to the formation of the duo’s account, so they reportedly required a direct deal to lic...
TikTok Sets Sights On Spotify, Makes Moves On Native Music Streaming Service
It looks like a new streaming platform is moving into town. It’s called TikTok Music and it will be a place for users to buy, play, share and download music, as well as livestream audio and video just like they do on the TikTok app, according to Music Business Worldwide. Sources say TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, has big plans for TikTok Music, which is said to directly compete with Spotify, Apple Music and other major streaming platforms. Earlier this month, MBW uncovered a patent filing and job listings posted by ByteDance for A&R positions across North America, suggesting the company might actually be structuring TikTok Music more like a bona fide record label. Back in February, TikTok Music also began tweeting the phrase, “Welcome to a new...
Dressing Like a 2000s Frazzled English Woman Is Autumn’s Latest Trend – Yes, Really
Feeling rushed, like you never have time to properly style your outfits, and keep throwing on layers to run your errands as the weather cools? Well, you’re actually the height of fashion thanks to the latest viral TikTok trend for autumn: the 2000s Frazzled English Woman aesthetic. Sure, it’s not the snappiest name, but it’s the only real way to explain it. Y2K fashion in the form of butterfly tops, tie-front shirts, and pleated miniskirts has dominated wardrobes for the last few months. Inspiration has come from classic films like “Clueless” and “Mean Girls”, with the latest iteration getting a fuchsia makeover with “Barbiecore” turning the trend pink. But the look has very much been a summer staple, so transitioning it to autumn has p...
