The power of TikTok can singlehandedly make a song, from reviving oldies to turning aspiring artists’ off-the-cuff samples into full-fledged songs. Over the past couple years, that power has proven particularly effective for indie artists who otherwise might struggle to get their stuff heard. Now, we’ve officially had the summer of indies on TikTok: 60% of the platform’s Top 10 hits this summer were independently distributed.
Most of these distributors make up what Music Business Worldwide refers to as “the middle class” of music-making. They’re not The Big Four (aka EMI, Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group), but they’re not artists totally DIYing, either. While labels of all sizes generally want to get their tracks on TikTok, these indie labels don’t have the same contentious history with the platform, have quicker turnaround times than the biggies, and many of them have embraced TikTok as the premiere method of advertising new artists and songs.
It’s clear that strat is paying off.
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TikTok’s indie songs of the summer include:
#1 “Gata Only” by FloyyMenor and Cris MJ (distributed by UnitedMasters)
#3 “MILLION DOLLAR BABY” by Tommy Richman (PULSE Records/ISO Supremacy)
#5 “Alibi” by Sevdaliza with Pabllo Vittar and Yseult (Twisted Elegance)
#7 “ESTE” by El Alfa and Nfasis (El Jefe Records)
#8 “Tell Ur Girlfriend” by Lay Bankz (Artist Partner Group)
#9 “Si No Quieres No” by Luis R Conriquez and Neton Vega (Kartel Music)
It’s interesting to note that a couple of these songs (“Alibi” and “ESTE”) are released by the artists’ own self-founded labels. Like we see with digital video content creators, indie musicians are launching their own companies based off their work–and with that work becoming TikTok-viral, it’s possible we’ll see those companies pick up other aspiring artists and shoot for making them chart-toppers on TikTok, too.
TikTok unfortunately does not give metrics for all of these songs, but it did say the No. 1 song, “Gata Only,” got a whopping 1.03 billion streams in the 30 days before Aug. 19. That’s huge reach for FloyyMenor and Cris MJ, and some change in their pocket, considering TikTok reportedly pays out between 2 and 4 cents per 1,000 streams.
“Once again, TikTok’s Songs of the Summer list beautifully demonstrates how the magic of TikTok helps our global community to discover and promotes a diverse range of incredibly talented artists and their music,” Ole Obermann, TikTok’s Global Head of Music Business Development, said in a statement. “The Songs of the Summer list is proof that both new and emerging artists of every genre, from anywhere in the world, can connect with over a billion music fans TikTok every day, build their careers and impact music culture.”
Non-indie Songs of the Summer included Tinashe‘s “Nasty” (Atlantic-owned Nice Life Recording Company), Billie Eilish‘s “Birds of a Feather” (Universal-owned Darkroom/Interscope Records), Sabrina Carpenter‘s “Please Please Please” (Universal-owned Island Records), and Karol G‘s “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido” (Interscope Records).
