Where did we get our music taste? Many would say from their parents, their friends, or even by listening to the radio on road trips. Recently, though, I have found myself adding to my Spotify favorites songs that I have come across through TikTok. I know for a fact that I am not the only one who does this either. However, though I believe that it is a positive thing to be introduced to other artists, some people have been criticizing that exact thing.
Overall, TikTok is one of the best apps for discovering new music to add to your playlist. Through short clips of a dance or post, a trending sound goes with it. The trending sound that is used with the clip is always the part of a song that is most upbeat and will catch the attention of those watching. I’m sure many will say they do the same thing, but whenever a sound catches my attention, I immediately try to find it on Spotify and listen to the whole song. After listening to the whole song, I’ll decide if I like it enough to place it on one of my playlists. One other way one could find where a sound comes from is by using Shazam, which is also helpful. Some recent songs that I have added to my playlist because of TikTok include “Be Like A Woman” by Chris Rainbow and “Made in Japan” by Buck Owens.
Most recently, the song “Rein Me In” by Sam Fender with Olivia Dean is what I would consider to be the top trending song this past week on TikTok. After hearing it in a couple of videos, I looked it up on Spotify and immediately added it to my music rotation. Though this is a very common experience for me and many others, let’s talk about the “controversy” where some seem to have an issue with others discovering songs from TikTok.
Many songs that have gone viral on TikTok are from indie artists. And while I believe this is good for them since they are becoming well known and gaining listeners, some of their ‘original listeners’ are set on ‘gatekeeping’ them. These listeners say that those who discovered the artist through TikTok don’t appreciate the artist or understand the song. While I disagree with this viewpoint and that artists shouldn’t be kept as a niche reference for a select few, I do understand why they have this opinion.
Some of the bigger creators just use a song because it’s trending and not because they actually enjoy or listen to that artist. This can cause what I would call a false jump in listeners. What I mean is the artists’ total listens go up for a certain song, but then nothing else happens, and everyone moves on once the trend has run its course. While I believe that it is a negative to lose listeners once the trend is deemed done, it’s also a positive because now the artists can understand what the majority of people enjoy. I also know that once hearing one of the artist’s songs on TikTok, many, not all but still many, will continue to listen and support the artist.
The overall point of this article, though, is to figure out and understand where one gets their music taste from, the influence TikTok has, and if using a trending song in your playlist is considered performative or just supportive of the artist. I personally believe that your music taste comes from your childhood, but grows with you and can be influenced by the content you absorb daily. I also have concluded that listening to a song or artist you have discovered through TikTok is not performative and is just someone enjoying art another person has created purely for their and others’ enjoyment.
Feel free to DM me on Instagram @isabel_gstudios with anything music-related you would like me to cover.