How TikTok is rewriting the soundtrack of music discovery

Greater than six a long time after its launch, “Fairly Little Child” by the late Connie Francis discovered new life on TikTok this yr, even touchdown at No. 5 on the platform’s world Tune of the Summer season record.

The straightforward-going track, which seems like an ode to the devotion of a extremely candy pet, was by no means launched as a single. But, 63 years later, it grew to become a viral sensation, with creators utilizing it to soundtrack a minimum of 2.4 million largely healthful movies that includes infants, youngsters, pets, and their fastidiously styled outfits.

At its peak over the summer season, “Fairly Little Child” averaged greater than 600,000 day by day movies on TikTok, together with posts from Kim Kardashian and North West, Kylie Jenner, Brook Monk, Jarred Jermaine, Abbie Herbert, Ariana Greenblatt, Mistermainer, and Samara. Within the U.S., the track hit No. 1 on each TikTok’s Viral 50 and Prime 50 charts and No.  67 on Spotify’s International Prime 100, the place it has generated over 120 million Spotify streams, making it her most-streamed track so far. Earlier than her passing in July, Francis stated her newfound TikTok fame gave her a “new lease on life,” and he or she joined the platform herself on the age of 87.

TikTok has influenced music discovery since its inception as Musical.ly in 2014. However over the previous decade, its affect on the music trade has develop into indeniable. TikTok’s algorithm has a singular means to make the outdated really feel new once more, reshaping the best way artists and the music enterprise join with followers.

“For lots of youthful customers on our platform, that is the primary time they’re discovering these songs,” Clive Rozario, the worldwide music program supervisor at TikTok, advised Mashable. “You may have customers rediscovering these songs, and you’ve got these customers who it’s the primary time. And that’s superb to see, notably when older, iconic bands and artists attain a brand new fan base by way of TikTok.”

The renewed reputation of “Fairly Little Child” — each on the charts and within the cultural dialog — is only one instance of TikTok’s energy to reanimate catalog music. Related revivals have occurred with songs like “Rock That Physique” by the Black Eyed Peas, “Let Down” by Radiohead, “Breakin’ Dishes” by Rihanna, “Headlock” by Imogen Heap, “Champagne Coast” by Blood Orange, “Without end Younger” by Alphaville, “So Far So Pretend” by Pierce the Veil, “Covet” by Basement, “Protected in Your Pores and skin” by Title Combat, and “Youngest Daughter” by Superheaven. A February Luminate and TikTok Music Influence Report discovered that “84 p.c of songs that entered the Billboard International 200 in 2024 went viral on TikTok first.”

“Artists like Imogen Heap, Blood Orange, and Pierce the Veil have had a few of their greatest moments off the again of those enormous traits and virality pushed by our group,” Rozario stated. “Pierce the Veil received their highest Billboard Scorching 100 entry off the again of [one of these trends].”

As report labels attempt to adapt, playlist curators maintain new energy. Songs recorded a long time in the past are rising on the charts; musicians are testing hooks in entrance of thousands and thousands earlier than ever importing a single; and sure, that hardcore observe from 2010 is now soundtracking TikTok match checks.

When outdated songs develop into new once more

Once I was 14, I found practically each new-to-me track by way of Gray’s Anatomy. It is how I first heard “Chasing Automobiles” by Snow Patrol and “Portion for Foxes” by Rilo Kiley, and the way Tegan and Sara broke by way of with “The place Does the Good Go.” Think about that very same affect — however with the moment suggestions and attain of TikTok, the place TV, tradition, comedy, and on a regular basis life are all soundtracked in real-time.

Take into account “Working Up That Hill” by Kate Bush. Recorded in 1985, it initially peaked at No.  30 on the Billboard Scorching 100. It was then featured in Stranger Issues Season 4, practically 4 a long time later, and commenced trending on TikTok. Quickly after, it reentered the charts, reaching No. 3 on the Billboard Scorching 100 in 2022 and surpassing one billion streams on Spotify in 2023.

“If one thing’s gonna go viral on TikTok, it is often related to one thing,” Damian Keyes, a music trade educator with greater than 100,000 followers on TikTok, advised Mashable. “We noticed [that with] Stranger Issues and Kate Bush. For those who get your music [in] a movie or a Netflix sequence that hits No. 1, there is a good probability that [it] will in all probability go viral.”

That virality, Keyes notes, additionally drives worth within the catalog market. “What they’re doing is banking on extra platforms like TikTok to assist them make that cash again.”

TikTok’s rediscovery impact has even reignited the careers of touring artists. When “Youngest Daughter” went viral two years in the past, a publish appeared on the Hardcore subreddit noting how “youngsters are making remixes of ‘Youngest Daughter’ on TikTok with a bunch of memes… however on the similar time, a Lo-Fi rap remix of Superheaven kinda demolishes the entire vibe of the track.” The band had stopped touring in 2016, enjoying solely a present a yr, however the renewed consideration to the 2013 observe from Jar sparked new momentum. On Feb. 18, 2025, Superheaven introduced a 16-stop North American tour — their first in practically a decade.

Mashable Development Report

Whether or not it was made 50 years in the past or as we speak, nice music goes to chop by way of the noise of any algorithm and rise to the highest.

It might appear counterintuitive {that a} youth-driven platform would spark a catalog revival, however the rationalization is straightforward. As Ari Elkins, a playlist curator with 2.2 million followers on TikTok, advised Mashable, “A very good track is an effective track.”

“Whether or not it was made 50 years in the past or as we speak, nice music goes to chop by way of the noise of any algorithm and rise to the highest.”

The DIY period of music discovery

If catalog artists are discovering renewed life, rising artists are utilizing TikTok to construct their careers from the bottom up. 

Many more recent artists use TikTok to domesticate a fan base earlier than releasing their music, together with Lil Nas X with “Previous City Street,” Erica Banks with “Buss It,” Tommy Richman with “Million Greenback Child,” Dasha with “Austin,” and Gabriella Rose with “Doublewide.” Artists like Lola Younger, Ravyn Lenae, CMAT, and Doechii made their mark on TikTok (and in Doechii’s case, additionally YouTube). Based on the Luminate and TikTok Music Influence Report from February 2025, “84 p.c of songs that entered the Billboard International 200 in 2024 went viral on TikTok first.”

That very same system of rediscovery now doubles as a instrument for creation. Whereas catalog success usually depends upon luck — a sync in successful present, as an illustration — newer artists can engineer their progress. “If you wish to construct an viewers, you are able to do it step-by-step, stage by stage. And that’s the magic of TikTok — you don’t need to depend on luck,” Keyes stated.

Clive echoed this, describing TikTok as a testing floor for brand spanking new materials. “TikTok is a spot the place plenty of artists preview their music and tease their music, and sometimes you’ll see it go viral even earlier than it comes out. It may be a never-released piece of music that goes viral…[and] on account of the traction on TikTok, an official model will get launched and turns into a world hit.” Assume: “Nervousness” by Doechii.

Not like the trade’s previous gatekeepers, TikTok permits direct artist–fan relationships. “If actual individuals genuinely care, not simply found me as a result of I did one thing loopy on a TikTok, that is the place you may home them. You’ll be able to actually home an viewers in a spot the place you may discuss to them, talk, promote to them, inform them the place you’re performing, or push them to Spotify,” Keyes stated.

Nonetheless, success on TikTok requires each artistry and digital fluency — understanding not solely who you might be, however current it inside seconds, a number of instances a day, on daily basis. “That is the place artwork and science mix… The artwork is who you might be, what you stand for… The science is the way you wrap this up in a approach that individuals will perceive context,” Keyes stated. “As an artist, your job is to do this in actually seconds.”

Even TikTok Reside has develop into a discovery engine. “I’ve received a few artists that make $10,000 a month from going stay on TikTok each evening,” Keyes stated.

The rise of each outdated and new artists on the platform isn’t a zero-sum recreation. “It’s occurring concurrently,” Elkins stated. “We’re seeing a resurgence of previous artists like No Doubt, whereas additionally the introduction of recent artists like Somber and Alex Warren.”

Rozario says this twin rise of each outdated and new artists helps democratize music. And that very properly could be true. The charts are considerably extra numerous by each artist ethnicity and age as we speak than they had been in 2003, properly earlier than TikTok existed, in keeping with an evaluation of the charts revealed within the Worldwide Journal of Humanities and Social Science.

However algorithmic listening has drawbacks. Filter bubbles can slender musical style and homogenize tradition — and, some argue, can weaken the power of our reference to music altogether.

Wanting previous the artists themselves and into the viewers, it turns into a bit simpler to know why artists would possibly need to adapt their music to suit the shape. On TikTok, it is important to seize viewers’ consideration inside the first three seconds of a video — usually, songs go viral due to a dance, a preferred lyric, or one thing else not essentially tied to musicality as an entire. That results in discovery.

“Music is integral to the entire expertise on TikTok,” Rozario stated. “Customers use music to soundtrack their creations, usually very private creations. It’s extremely artistic. We’re a creation-first platform.”

The way forward for music is algorithmic

TikTok’s ecosystem continues to evolve. Its “Add to Music App” function has already been used to save lots of greater than three billion tracks to streaming companies like Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, and SoundCloud, driving billions extra streams. TikTok presents packages like “New Music,” “On Tour,” and TikTok for Artists, which give real-time insights and knowledge to assist artists optimize their platform utilization.

It does not appear that TikTok is excited by retaining its customers passively listening on its platform — it is content material to be the invention instrument and let one other platform take the streams. “Followers uncover music on TikTok after which eat elsewhere,” Clive stated. 

However whether or not discovery occurs on TikTok, Spotify, or Apple Music, it’s nonetheless pushed by algorithms, and that reliance on know-how is right here to remain.

Elkins stays hopeful about that future. He stated he’s “discovering music in so many alternative methods: on TikTok, curated playlists on Spotify, algorithmic playlists like [Spotify’s] Uncover Weekly. Generally I discover my favourite music simply by speaking to associates and sharing tracks.”

Ultimately, TikTok has redefined discovery, blurring the strains between outdated and new, fame and fandom, algorithm and artistry. And I, for one, couldn’t be extra excited for Olivia Dean.