TikTok is destroying the music industry

Music discovery has evolved far past the days of sharing homemade compact discs in the hallway in between classes. Now, with massive social media apps like TikTok, discovering new and underground music has been made easier than ever.

However, something I’ve noticed is that people aren’t becoming fans of bands or songs, they’re becoming fans of sound bites and vibes. Everyday, it seems I hear the same sound clips on repeat on campus. I hear people repeating the same few lines all day.

I can appreciate a catchy chorus, but there is a major difference between singing a catchy chorus and only knowing the chorus because you heard it on TikTok. It feels like it’s even affected how songs are made now.

Whenever I get in the car with my family, they like to tune to the closest pop stations. Every song feels almost the same, like they’re supposed to appeal to the lowest common denominator.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s many artists that are pushing forward the pop genre like Billie Eilish, Charli XCX, and Magdalena Bay. Those aren’t who I’m talking about though. One-hit wonders have always existed. Artists like Alanis Morissette and Alien Ant Farm come to mind almost immediately, but it feels like TikTok is just festering grounds for one hit wonders. Other than Lil Nas X, name one artist that blew up on Tik Tok early into their career and stayed relevant.

I’m sure a majority of this college has heard of someone like Tommy Richman, yet they couldn’t name a song other than “Million Dollar Baby”. Artists like him will fall into obscurity, such as thousands of others have. Even bands I love like Deftones have fallen victim to the TikTok wave. I can appreciate that more people than ever are listening to them, but I don’t appreciate the fact that people who claim to be “huge fans” can’t even appreciate the music outside of the aesthetic.

I don’t want to sound like a gatekeeper-y asshole, but I feel like people just don’t appreciate music anymore. They just listen to what gets them cool points on the internet. The TikTok era has bred music that has no soul anymore. Rarely do I hear passion, instruments, or even care put into popular modern music. It’s all the same formula, meant to get their 15 minutes of fame. One hit wonders have always existed. Obviously, most big artists want to make money, but why should they sacrifice any and all creativity and integrity to achieve it?

Daeton Winebrenner is a Salina sophomore studying media production. You can contact him at thehutchinsoncollegian@gmail.com.

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