TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat: we all use the “Big 3” social media services everyday. Youtube has brought in 2.5 billion viewers; Instagram, 2 billion; and Instagram, 1.5 billion. It’s safe to say that everyone is using at least one form of social media. Further, these streaming services all seem to have a ‘short’ version of their platform. TikTok has their main platform of short videos, Instagram, reels, Youtube, Shorts.
With these short videos come clips, memes, challenges, ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response), reaction videos, and so much more. Attached to these videos are little clips of music that match up under the short videos that go with them. Virtually every song being released nowadays is also being put on the platform.
Before I begin, I would like to note how I believe some positives do exist with the era of music in TikTok. For example, the younger generation–the clear target of the platform–is being exposed to older music that they would not really be familiar with. One song that I see all the time as a TikTok ‘sound’ is Tears of Fears Everybody Wants To Rule The World (1985). For a song that came out nearly thirty years ago, there are a lot of Gen Z that are familiar with this all-time classic. Even a song such as Eyes Without a Face by Billy Idol (1999) has been a trending song on all platforms. This puts younger people on to older artists and good music, which I believe is always a positive,
There are some songs on TikTok that I find really catchy. Rock by Stepz is, in my opinion, a good rap song; however, the platform and the idea of “trends” has turned it into a fad, not a song that can have the ability to climb the charts. I believe this is because of the popular dance that went with it (there was also a trend where soccer edits would play along with the song). Once the dance got old and everyone moved onto the next song, Rock got old all the same. Even when I tried adding it to my playlist, the short fifteen second spurt played at the beginning of the song, the part that everyone knows from TikTok, then it simply ended just as it did in the videos. I felt like I didn’t even want to listen to the rest of the song because I was so used to the shortened clip. Unfortunately for Stepz, there may just be another talented artist going down as a fad in the social media timeline. Even to me, this song is now only seen as a “TikTok song.” Even Roddy Rich’s Richh Forever, a song about how he lost one of his friends, is forever associated to Brainrot memes.
Songs are getting shorter. Artists and record labels know that they only need a few seconds to go big–even if the rest of the song isn’t all that good. Viewers’ attention spans are getting shorter, too, meaning that these short clips of music are competitive when it comes to blowing up on the Internet–meaning more bad music is being produced.
Social Media is ruining music. It’s clear now that with these shorter videos that the length of songs are getting shorter. Songs that are legitimately good are being called mere “TikTok” songs just because a dance went out of style. TikTok is supposedly getting banned, however, so maybe this will revert music back to the way it used to be.
My name is Benjamin DeMayo, and this is my take.
