Finding out about our favorite new artists has always been the most joyful part of the journey of being a music fan. How we get to find out about music can be as spontaneous as catching a song on the radio or at a party. Sometimes the process involves traditional outlets like blogs, magazines, and award shows. But ever since the internet became an integral part of our lives, there have been different roads to stay on top of music that's hot. Most of them consist of real people taking our hand to expose fellow fans to great music, and now they have a platform of their own to get their faces as well as their names out there.
Finding A
New Road
While TikTok has amplified the way we know about our new favorite tracks and artists, it’s not a new phenomenon, at least in essence. The internet made it easier for these curators to give us access to music that perhaps goes underappreciated. However, these efforts predate the internet.
Before home computers—and even smartphones—were widespread, fans made mixtapes and sold them at flea markets or exchanged them via traditional mail, not to mention home-taping between friends and acquaintances. Word would get out through fanzines, distributed in the same manner as mixtapes. There was nothing as exciting as taping a bunch of songs from different sources and giving it to a person you knew would dig it.
Once broadband became a thing, peer-to-peer file sharing became a cultural part of music fans. A more personalized distribution method was MP3 blogs that seamlessly fused home-taping, mixtapes, and fanzines into one neat package. Fans could make their mixtapes or post rare, hard-to-find music with accompanying write-ups. Each blog had its own flavor, that’s how they built their following. I remember bookmarking blogs, checking out daily what they posted and downloading the zip files while reading their posts. I still miss this ritual.
Then came music streaming platforms, and with them, the ability to make playlists that could be easily shared across messaging services or posted on social media, giving curators an even bigger place in the music distribution ecosystem. Now, these curators have become more important thanks to TikTok.
Learning
To Drive
No two things on the internet obey the same set of rules. TikTok is not different. Their algorithm favors people showing their faces and doing some sort of activity, while ignoring negative words or narratives. Playing the algorithm is one of the most important skills for creators and artists alike.
Likewise, creators can choose their lanes, study what’s hot on TikTok, and launch into it to become popular; and in turn, make a bonafide career out of their social media activity. It’s great for individuals who love music—creators with millions of followers often cut deals with artist’s teams and record labels to get paid to use a song—but it gets really interesting once the power of all these individuals is combined to change the music industry as we know it.
The
Speedway
TikTok creators that focus on music have become some of the most important people for getting the word out. The platform itself is a booming social media with users skewing younger, and it’s fast in what’s trendy in it, so keeping up is its own kind of sport. Also, establishing trends that will help them make original creations pretty much guarantees that songs will become huge. It’s the perfect package.
Another aspect that makes TikTok the ideal music discovery tool is that it puts creators and artists in a symbiotic relationship. Creators make their following by building a reputation as a reliable source for great music, while artists seek out these creators to get their new joints out to the public. It’s become its own business model. Also, because only a few seconds of the song are used in videos, it resembles the use of samples in early hip-hop, how sounds would get reinterpreted in a new light; except this time, the sample gets cast into different visuals by the creators, giving it a new context every time it’s used.
Music labels have gone directly with the app to help them boost the artists they like as much as artists hook up with creators with a large number of followers. The app, in turn has established #Rompiendo to highlight Latine music, recognizing that it’s one of their most important and popular features.
Having said this, everything is still homegrown to a certain extent on TikTok. I still hear about songs through creators posting dances or original content more or less organically. There’s definitely a shift between seeing something be reposted or recreated, versus playlists from the main music streaming platforms which have turned into faceless, algorithm-driven, industry-boasting conglomerates. Nothing wrong with checking out the hits or the new releases on Friday through these lists, but they always feel like getting late to the party.
TikTok is a land that thrives on fusing the expected with the unexpected. A common thing is watching a celebrity post a video on TikTok with someone else’s song, demonstrating that they’re vibing with said artist, which in turn becomes an endorsement. Oftentimes, it’s newsworthy, and a huge boost for up-and-coming artists.
Lanes
Merging
Latine music thrives on TikTok because of its grassroots approach. Not only is the app very popular among Latines and in Latin American countries, it gives voice to people who feel might not be as represented in the popular culture. The rise of regional Mexican music in the past few months is the direct result of this, going from viral songs on TikTok to the top of the charts.
Regional Mexican is at a moment where youth culture is embracing it because of the genre’s willingness to update its rules to speak to them. Subgenres, like corridos tumbados, are prone to adopt sounds like hip-hop, trap, reggaeton, and many other modern genres.
One such example is “Botella Tras Botella,” a collaboration between popular norteño singer Christian Nodal and rapper Gera MX. The song—released in 2021—took both artists’ strengths and harnessed them into one catchy track, rapidly catching fire on TikTok which propelled it to become the first regional Mexican song to chart on Billboard’s Hot 100, making it a crossover hit.
No one has enjoyed as much success as fast as Peso Pluma. The Guadalajara-born 24-year-old gained much of his following on TikTok through his distinctive vocals and numerous collaborations, boasting a following of over 1.6 million on the app. Thanks to his popularity on TikTok, Doble P became the first Mexican artist to place a song in the Top 10 of the Hot 100 chart, the first regional Mexican artist to perform in The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon, and is currently making waves on the live circuit while releasing songs that have become the official soundtrack of 2023, including “Ella Baila Sola” with Eslabón Armado, “PRC” with Natanael Cano, and “La Bebé” with Yng Lvcas.
This article is part of The Journey to Recognition,
a program in partnership with Hyundai
to celebrate our culture and music.
Presented by
Marcos Hassan
Written by
Alternative Routes
How Artists And Fans Found Community In TikTok
Finding out about our favorite new artists has always been the most joyful part of the journey of being a music fan. How we get to find out about music can be as spontaneous as catching a song on the radio or at a party. Sometimes the process involves traditional outlets like blogs, magazines, and award shows. But ever since the internet became an integral part of our lives, there have been different roads to stay on top of music that's hot. Most of them consist of real people taking our hand to expose fellow fans to great music, and now they have a platform of their own to get their faces as well as their names out there.
Finding A
New Road
FWhile TikTok has amplified the way we know about our new favorite tracks and artists, it’s not a new phenomenon, at least in essence. The internet made it easier for these curators to give us access to music that perhaps goes underappreciated. However, these efforts predate the internet.
Before home computers—and even smartphones—were widespread, fans made mixtapes and sold them at flea markets or exchanged them via traditional mail, not to mention home-taping between friends and acquaintances. Word would get out through fanzines, distributed in the same manner as mixtapes. There was nothing as exciting as taping a bunch of songs from different sources and giving it to a person you knew would dig it.
Once broadband became a thing, peer-to-peer file sharing became a cultural part of music fans. A more personalized distribution method was MP3 blogs that seamlessly fused home-taping, mixtapes, and fanzines into one neat package. Fans could make their mixtapes or post rare, hard-to-find music with accompanying write-ups. Each blog had its own flavor, that’s how they built their following. I remember bookmarking blogs, checking out daily what they posted and downloading the zip files while reading their posts. I still miss this ritual.
Then came music streaming platforms, and with them, the ability to make playlists that could be easily shared across messaging services or posted on social media, giving curators an even bigger place in the music distribution ecosystem. Now, these curators have become more important thanks to TikTok.
Lanes
Merging
Latine music thrives on TikTok because of its grassroots approach. Not only is the app very popular among Latines and in Latin American countries, it gives voice to people who feel might not be as represented in the popular culture. The rise of regional Mexican music in the past few months is the direct result of this, going from viral songs on TikTok to the top of the charts.
Regional Mexican is at a moment where youth culture is embracing it because of the genre’s willingness to update its rules to speak to them. Subgenres, like corridos tumbados, are prone to adopt sounds like hip-hop, trap, reggaeton, and many other modern genres.
One such example is “Botella Tras Botella,” a collaboration between popular norteño singer Christian Nodal and rapper Gera MX. The song—released in 2021—took both artists’ strengths and harnessed them into one catchy track, rapidly catching fire on TikTok which propelled it to become the first regional Mexican song to chart on Billboard’s Hot 100, making it a crossover hit.
No one has enjoyed as much success as fast as Peso Pluma. The Guadalajara-born 24-year-old gained much of his following on TikTok through his distinctive vocals and numerous collaborations, boasting a following of over 1.6 million on the app. Thanks to his popularity on TikTok, Doble P became the first Mexican artist to place a song in the Top 10 of the Hot 100 chart, the first regional Mexican artist to perform in The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon, and is currently making waves on the live circuit while releasing songs that have become the official soundtrack of 2023, including “Ella Baila Sola” with Eslabón Armado, “PRC” with Natanael Cano, and “La Bebé” with Yng Lvcas.
Learning
To Drive
No two things on the internet obey the same set of rules. TikTok is not different. Their algorithm favors people showing their faces and doing some sort of activity, while ignoring negative words or narratives. Playing the algorithm is one of the most important skills for creators and artists alike.
Likewise, creators can choose their lanes, study what’s hot on TikTok, and launch into it to become popular; and in turn, make a bonafide career out of their social media activity. It’s great for individuals who love music—creators with millions of followers often cut deals with artist’s teams and record labels to get paid to use a song—but it gets really interesting once the power of all these individuals is combined to change the music industry as we know it.
The
Driver
One of the most positive aspects of TikTok is that there is not one person who is driving the narrative in terms of curation. While there’s plenty of individuals with millions of followers that lead the effort of popularizing songs, it has become clear that it’s more of a community.
Yahritza y Su Esencia hadn’t posted their music to any platform when they used a snippet of their track “Soy El Único” on a TikTok creation, which propelled thousands of other creations. The song, written by Yahritza Martinez when she was 13, became a massive hit once it hit DSPs, debuting at number 20 on the Hot 100. All without the initial support of record labels or any kind of professional artist team.
Canadian rapper Tiago García Arenas, better known as Tiagz, made it his mission to climb the TikTok ladder by making songs that addressed popular trends and memes on the app, making meta commentary on TikTok while amassing an impressive 4.2 million followers on the app.
In a survey, 45% of users of the social media site say they listen to music in order to share it with their friends and family, while 42% say they do it to support their favorite artists. While becoming popular and even earning money for their music taste is definitely a factor, it seems like most TikTokers share their music to connect with their followers and make it a better experience.
TikTok levels the playing field by giving as much influence to artists as creators when it comes for songs to become viral. One needs the other. It has brought people together to realize that the way forward is to do it together.
And that’s how the ride comes full circle. While TikTok and its Latine creators are changing the shape of popular music, their efforts are as personal and simple as in the olden days of exchanging mixtapes or sending a playlist to your friends. It’s always been about sharing the joy of music together and building stronger bonds, becoming a stronger, more resilient, and happier community in the process.
TikTok users can feel they are behind the wheel and each video is another sign for another town. Stopping to look around every once in a while will yield a unique experience, like visiting an unknown town on our way to our destination. We could ignore all the signs to get from point A to point B, but it’s much more enjoyable to take in the scenery and learn who we are from our surroundings. Music is the same way, and every time we discover a new artist, we discover a part of ourselves, becoming integral to our journey.
This article is part of The Journey to Recognition,
a program in partnership with Hyundai
to celebrate our culture and music.
Presented by
Marcos Hassan
Written by
Alternative Routes
How Artists And Fans
Found Community In TikTok
Finding out about our favorite new artists has always been the most joyful part of the journey of being a music fan. How we get to find out about music can be as spontaneous as catching a song on the radio or at a party. Sometimes the process involves traditional outlets like blogs, magazines, and award shows. But ever since the internet became an integral part of our lives, there have been different roads to stay on top of music that's hot. Most of them consist of real people taking our hand to expose fellow fans to great music, and now they have a platform of their own to get their faces as well as their names out there.
Finding A
New Road
While TikTok has amplified the way we know about our new favorite tracks and artists, it’s not a new phenomenon, at least in essence. The internet made it easier for these curators to give us access to music that perhaps goes underappreciated. However, these efforts predate the internet.
Before home computers—and even smartphones—were widespread, fans made mixtapes and sold them at flea markets or exchanged them via traditional mail, not to mention home-taping between friends and acquaintances. Word would get out through fanzines, distributed in the same manner as mixtapes. There was nothing as exciting as taping a bunch of songs from different sources and giving it to a person you knew would dig it.
Once broadband became a thing, peer-to-peer file sharing became a cultural part of music fans. A more personalized distribution method was MP3 blogs that seamlessly fused home-taping, mixtapes, and fanzines into one neat package. Fans could make their mixtapes or post rare, hard-to-find music with accompanying write-ups. Each blog had its own flavor, that’s how they built their following. I remember bookmarking blogs, checking out daily what they posted and downloading the zip files while reading their posts. I still miss this ritual.
Then came music streaming platforms, and with them, the ability to make playlists that could be easily shared across messaging services or posted on social media, giving curators an even bigger place in the music distribution ecosystem. Now, these curators have become more important thanks to TikTok.
Learning
To Drive
No two things on the internet obey the same set of rules. TikTok is not different. Their algorithm favors people showing their faces and doing some sort of activity, while ignoring negative words or narratives. Playing the algorithm is one of the most important skills for creators and artists alike.
Likewise, creators can choose their lanes, study what’s hot on TikTok, and launch into it to become popular; and in turn, make a bonafide career out of their social media activity. It’s great for individuals who love music—creators with millions of followers often cut deals with artist’s teams and record labels to get paid to use a song—but it gets really interesting once the power of all these individuals is combined to change the music industry as we know it.
The
Speedway
TikTok creators that focus on music have become some of the most important people for getting the word out. The platform itself is a booming social media with users skewing younger, and it’s fast in what’s trendy in it, so keeping up is its own kind of sport. Also, establishing trends that will help them make original creations pretty much guarantees that songs will become huge. It’s the perfect package.
Another aspect that makes TikTok the ideal music discovery tool is that it puts creators and artists in a symbiotic relationship. Creators make their following by building a reputation as a reliable source for great music, while artists seek out these creators to get their new joints out to the public. It’s become its own business model. Also, because only a few seconds of the song are used in videos, it resembles the use of samples in early hip-hop, how sounds would get reinterpreted in a new light; except this time, the sample gets cast into different visuals by the creators, giving it a new context every time it’s used.
Music labels have gone directly with the app to help them boost the artists they like as much as artists hook up with creators with a large number of followers. The app, in turn has established #Rompiendo to highlight Latine music, recognizing that it’s one of their most important and popular features.
Having said this, everything is still homegrown to a certain extent on TikTok. I still hear about songs through creators posting dances or original content more or less organically. There’s definitely a shift between seeing something be reposted or recreated, versus playlists from the main music streaming platforms which have turned into faceless, algorithm-driven, industry-boasting conglomerates. Nothing wrong with checking out the hits or the new releases on Friday through these lists, but they always feel like getting late to the party.
TikTok is a land that thrives on fusing the expected with the unexpected. A common thing is watching a celebrity post a video on TikTok with someone else’s song, demonstrating that they’re vibing with said artist, which in turn becomes an endorsement. Oftentimes, it’s newsworthy, and a huge boost for up-and-coming artists.
Lanes
Merging
Latine music thrives on TikTok because of its grassroots approach. Not only is the app very popular among Latines and in Latin American countries, it gives voice to people who feel might not be as represented in the popular culture. The rise of regional Mexican music in the past few months is the direct result of this, going from viral songs on TikTok to the top of the charts.
Regional Mexican is at a moment where youth culture is embracing it because of the genre’s willingness to update its rules to speak to them. Subgenres, like corridos tumbados, are prone to adopt sounds like hip-hop, trap, reggaeton, and many other modern genres.
One such example is “Botella Tras Botella,” a collaboration between popular norteño singer Christian Nodal and rapper Gera MX. The song—released in 2021—took both artists’ strengths and harnessed them into one catchy track, rapidly catching fire on TikTok which propelled it to become the first regional Mexican song to chart on Billboard’s Hot 100, making it a crossover hit.
No one has enjoyed as much success as fast as Peso Pluma. The Guadalajara-born 24-year-old gained much of his following on TikTok through his distinctive vocals and numerous collaborations, boasting a following of over 1.6 million on the app. Thanks to his popularity on TikTok, Doble P became the first Mexican artist to place a song in the Top 10 of the Hot 100 chart, the first regional Mexican artist to perform in The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon, and is currently making waves on the live circuit while releasing songs that have become the official soundtrack of 2023, including “Ella Baila Sola” with Eslabón Armado, “PRC” with Natanael Cano, and “La Bebé” with Yng Lvcas.
Presented by
Marcos Hassan
Written by
Alternative Routes
How Artists And Fans Found Community In TikTok
This article is part of The Journey to Recognition,
a program in partnership with Hyundai
to celebrate our culture and music.
The
Driver
One of the most positive aspects of TikTok is that there is not one person who is driving the narrative in terms of curation. While there’s plenty of individuals with millions of followers that lead the effort of popularizing songs, it has become clear that it’s more of a community.
Yahritza y Su Esencia hadn’t posted their music to any platform when they used a snippet of their track “Soy El Único” on a TikTok creation, which propelled thousands of other creations. The song, written by Yahritza Martinez when she was 13, became a massive hit once it hit DSPs, debuting at number 20 on the Hot 100. All without the initial support of record labels or any kind of professional artist team.
Canadian rapper Tiago García Arenas, better known as Tiagz, made it his mission to climb the TikTok ladder by making songs that addressed popular trends and memes on the app, making meta commentary on TikTok while amassing an impressive 4.2 million followers on the app.
In a survey, 45% of users of the social media site say they listen to music in order to share it with their friends and family, while 42% say they do it to support their favorite artists. While becoming popular and even earning money for their music taste is definitely a factor, it seems like most TikTokers share their music to connect with their followers and make it a better experience.
TikTok levels the playing field by giving as much influence to artists as creators when it comes for songs to become viral. One needs the other. It has brought people together to realize that the way forward is to do it together.
And that’s how the ride comes full circle. While TikTok and its Latine creators are changing the shape of popular music, their efforts are as personal and simple as in the olden days of exchanging mixtapes or sending a playlist to your friends. It’s always been about sharing the joy of music together and building stronger bonds, becoming a stronger, more resilient, and happier community in the process.
TikTok users can feel they are behind the wheel and each video is another sign for another town. Stopping to look around every once in a while will yield a unique experience, like visiting an unknown town on our way to our destination. We could ignore all the signs to get from point A to point B, but it’s much more enjoyable to take in the scenery and learn who we are from our surroundings. Music is the same way, and every time we discover a new artist, we discover a part of ourselves, becoming integral to our journey.
The
Speedway
Because one of the most integral parts of hip-hop is its collaborative nature, its integration to other styles make it possible for them to fuse together. Regional Mexican music has never been stranger to duets yet it's only recently that we feel that these collaborations hit differently. There’s a real sense of camaraderie, how listening to a track by one artist will introduce you to another one and so on. Looking at big hits by Junior H or Natanael Cano feels like a family affair, bringing more voices into the party than before.
It also allows artists in Regional Mexicano to play in similar fields like trap and reggaeton in an effortless way. When Natanael Cano dropped his “Soy El Diablo” remix with Bad Bunny, it felt like something bigger culturally, but the track itself sounded like it always had Benito there, his style seamlessly blending with his musical surroundings. Similarly, Iván Cornejo’s “Está Dañada” made a bigger impact when Jhayco jumped on the track, making for some exciting music. Now, even a more traditional regional singer like Christian Nodal can collaborate with a rapper like Gera MX and give us a banger like “Botella Tras Botella” that sounds amazing.
Nowadays, there’s no turning back. Bad Bunny—after recently scoring a hit with Grupo Frontera—is collaborating on a new Travis Scott track along with The Weeknd and no one bats an eye; Peso Pluma—who’s whole deal makes him prime to link ups with artists from different genres—is working on music with A$AP Rocky, and while it will probably get ears from both sides of their camps to check out one another—it sounds like music made for the same crowd. Bizarrap’s YouTube channel is arguably massively successful because of the collaborations between the titular producer and other artists ranging from Eladio Carrion to Villano Antillano to even Shakira.
Thanks in large part to social media, the spotlight is now shining even on those behind the scenes. The artists might still get their names in big bold letters but we now know the names and faces of the team that make albums and tours possible. Producers have been getting their due for a while but they’re now getting their own fandoms, and songwriters are now becoming well-known. Dancers, choreographers, stage designers, and touring musicians are also getting their names out there; and even business types like managers and creative directors have gotten their due in the public eye. Video directors, graphic designers, photographers, and others who work closely with artists are now enjoying the ride with the recognition they have always deserved.
Artists know that the road to success is better reached together and there’s no going back. We’re reaching the top together and the quality of music will only get better along the road.
The
Driver
One of the most positive aspects of TikTok is that there is not one person who is driving the narrative in terms of curation. While there’s plenty of individuals with millions of followers that lead the effort of popularizing songs, it has become clear that it’s more of a community.
Yahritza y Su Esencia hadn’t posted their music to any platform when they used a snippet of their track “Soy El Único” on a TikTok creation, which propelled thousands of other creations. The song, written by Yahritza Martinez when she was 13, became a massive hit once it hit DSPs, debuting at number 20 on the Hot 100. All without the initial support of record labels or any kind of professional artist team.
Canadian rapper Tiago García Arenas, better known as Tiagz, made it his mission to climb the TikTok ladder by making songs that addressed popular trends and memes on the app, making meta commentary on TikTok while amassing an impressive 4.2 million followers on the app.
In a survey, 45% of users of the social media site say they listen to music in order to share it with their friends and family, while 42% say they do it to support their favorite artists. While becoming popular and even earning money for their music taste is definitely a factor, it seems like most TikTokers share their music to connect with their followers and make it a better experience.
TikTok levels the playing field by giving as much influence to artists as creators when it comes for songs to become viral. One needs the other. It has brought people together to realize that the way forward is to do it together.
And that’s how the ride comes full circle. While TikTok and its Latine creators are changing the shape of popular music, their efforts are as personal and simple as in the olden days of exchanging mixtapes or sending a playlist to your friends. It’s always been about sharing the joy of music together and building stronger bonds, becoming a stronger, more resilient, and happier community in the process.
TikTok users can feel they are behind the wheel and each video is another sign for another town. Stopping to look around every once in a while will yield a unique experience, like visiting an unknown town on our way to our destination. We could ignore all the signs to get from point A to point B, but it’s much more enjoyable to take in the scenery and learn who we are from our surroundings. Music is the same way, and every time we discover a new artist, we discover a part of ourselves, becoming integral to our journey.
different
lanes
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Latine
carpool
alternative
routes
different
lanes
Latine
carpool
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different
lanes
Latine
carpool
READ MORE
alternative
routes
Alternative
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