Viral TikTok sensations have been reshaping the music landscape for some time.
For Chloe Adams, instead of touring the country singing at weddings, she can now tap into the video-sharing platform’s new music service SoundOn.
The space offers unsigned artists a way to upload songs and metadata, get paid and find distribution.
Before the launch of SoundOn last week, Chloe had already attracted more than 1.2 million followers on TikTok.
Like so many hits, his song Dirty Thoughts quickly attracted a TikTok audience first. Since then, it has become popular on Spotify, with nearly 10 million streams.
“I realized that generating a huge following on TikTok or having my song go viral on TikTok were some of the only ways emerging artists make their way these days,” said the 24-year-old, who lives in Leicester.
“Before releasing and playing my original music it became my full time job, I was part of a wedding band and played tons of weddings all over the country.
“I was the lead singer and also played my acoustic guitar, that’s where I would be now if I had no way to release my original music online.”
Before SoundOn, the artists behind viral tracks had to leave TikTok to find distribution options.
Now they can do it all in one place, using the app to push their music to all other streaming platforms, including Resso, Apple Music, Spotify, Pandora, Deezer, and Tencent’s Joox.
David Mogendorff, director of TikTok UK artist associations, told the BBC: “It seems like any new emerging artist in the UK is using TikTok as a place to go out and start showing people what they can do. do and to grow a fan base.”
SoundOn pays 100% of royalties to music creators in the first year and 90% after that, so the idea is to empower new and unknown artists and allow their popularity to skyrocket. There are also no administrative fees.
Although artists have been releasing music on platforms like YouTube for years, some entry-level singers have struggled to make money, and only videos that attract a lot of views can profit from ads.
With SoundOn, artists have more artistic autonomy over what they release, but they also have more power when it comes to signing with a potential record label, something they might choose to do later.
“We want to do something that is really friendly to artists at that early point in their careers. Every penny counts and we wanted to give people a service that really works for them,” said Mr. Mogendorff.
The technology, owned by Chinese internet giant ByteDance, means artists can choose the model that’s right for them and choose to remain completely independent, but the bar is high.
“We have a fairly strict editorial and moderation service to ensure that people upload songs that they own and that are appropriate for our community guidelines,” he added.
SoundOn has now fully launched in the US, UK, Brazil, and Indonesia, with not only Chloe, but also Abby Roberts, Games We Play, and Muni Long all signed on.
The ability for streaming services to receive music directly from SoundOn has been very well received by the industry.
Nigel Harding, vice president of artist relations at Deezer, told the BBC: “Launching SoundOn is a completely logical move for TikTok.
“The platform has a massive reach and a very strong music community, which of course creates a huge draw for emerging artists.
“From Lil Nas X and Olivia Rodrigo to more emerging talents like PinkPantheress and Shygirl, TikTok and other social platforms are quickly becoming the default way to launch a music career.”
SoundOn will offer a range of support for artists, including audience information and development advice from a dedicated team of artists.
Beyond distribution, artists are mindful of getting their music in front of the right audience and that will always include traditional methods as well, like buying albums and merchandise or going to concerts.
Add Comment