TikTok Publishes the Top Songs and Music Trends on the Platform in 2021
Music plays a key role on TikTok, and today, the platform has shared a new listing of the top tracks and artists on the platform throughout the year, including regional insights, genre trends, and most popular artists by category and more.
As explained by TikTok:
“After turning heads in 2020, TikTok continued its tremendous growth to be a dominant force in music and the music industry in 2021. Approximately 430 songs surpassed 1 billion video views as TikTok sounds in 2021 – a threefold increase over 2020. The staggering view counts on TikTok do not exist in a vacuum, but directly translate to commercial success for trending songs and artists. Over 175 songs that trended on TikTok in 2021 charted on the Billboard Hot 100, twice as many as last year.”
Indeed, TikTok is now so influential that various artists and publishers are creating tracks with TikTok in mind, with some even changing the names of their songs in retrospect to better align with in-app usage. According to a recent study by MRC Data, 75% of TikTok users in the US use the app to discover new artists, while 63% say that they hear music that they’ve never heard before for the first time via TikTok clips.
And with TikTok set to reach 1.5 billion users in 2022, that influence only looks set to increase, which adds even more weight to this overview of key music trends.
First off, TikTok shares a listing of the most popular tracks in the app, both in the US and globally:
Some of these artists have emerged from TikTok, highlighting the all-encompassing creator ecosystem of the app, which provides both exposure and promotional opportunities, with direct links back to the TikTok community.
TikTok also shares the top music genres based on views:
As well as the top artists by catalog creations:
TikTok also highlights classic tracks that have made a comeback via the app:
Probably the most popular example in this case would be Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Dreams’, which was first released in 1977, but re-entered the Billboard charts last year on the back of a viral TikTok clip. That resurgence underlines the potential of TikTok for the music industry, and it’s little surprise to see publishers putting more focus on the channel as a means to maximize sales opportunities.
TikTok has also published a map display of the most popular tracks by region:
There are some interesting insights and notes in the report, which could be worth a look for those looking to get a better sense of the role that music plays in the app, and how you can align with the latest trends and shifts.
