H ow do you get heard? So, right? Spotify numbers, Instagram followers and Tiktok views are now the central metrics in the music industry. You have to do Tiktok if you want to make music, they say. Otherwise no one will take you seriously.
I want to make music. That’s why I’m trying Tiktok. And I notice that that does something to me. When things are going well, I get a dopamine rush. But as quickly as the video goes viral on Tiktok, the streaming numbers go down again. And my high too.
I notice how this affects my life. How it controls my mood. Sometimes I spend hours calculating metrics on these platforms and drawing conclusions. I’m constantly reloading statistics so that in the end I can actually do what? Nothing.
That’s why I don’t make more or better music. When things go well, you get asked for concerts and all sorts of nonsense like advertising deals. If not, you are alone with your expectations and self-criticism. Is what I do relevant? Does anyone want to see this? Sometimes I’m afraid to share something because it might be poorly received. I often post something and then delete the app.
If you want to become a musician, you actually have to become an influencer
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And then I see others who seem to find it easier. There’s Yu. Not only does he make great music, but he also posts multiple times a day. And that, viewed from the outside, with ease, out of affect. I, on the other hand, have to force myself and question my posts. Do I not have enough commitment? Don’t I deserve to be heard?
Tiktok is changing the way I make music. When I write a song, I think: Can I translate this part into content? Music is optimized for possible engagement in the Tiktok algorithm as soon as it is created. I’m thinking about what the videos I make about it might look like. I wonder if the song will become interesting quickly enough to keep it from being clicked away. Actually, I don’t design a song that stands on its own, but rather a media concept with a song.
I don’t even know if I think that’s bad. I don’t want to make a point about “everything used to be better”. Producing and promoting music has never been easier. In some ways, today’s music industry is more independent than ever before. You can be very successful without a major label, without a lot of money. At the same time, musicians today are even more dependent on large companies. If you want to become a musician, you actually have to become an influencer.
It is the paradox of internet capitalism, which on the one hand decentralizes everything and supposedly democratizes power, but at the same time creates new monopolies and dependencies that are often more opaque than what existed before. What if Tiktok suddenly blocks your account? Or suddenly it no longer works as expected? Or what if what you’re doing is brilliant but doesn’t follow the logic of engagement and interaction in the feed?
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I’m currently reaching more people with my music than ever before. From the outside, everything probably looks rosy. But there’s a roller coaster going on inside me. On the other hand, I now walk for an hour or two a day.
What must it be like for people who are really just artists whose lives depend even more on algorithms? You can’t just walk around all day, can you?
