Name: Viral TikTok songs are changing the music industry
Uploaded: 2025-11-14T09:21:22.377Z
Duration: 4 min 46 s
Description: From obscure music, to forgotten hits, and new artists, is the music industry more diverse than ever?

From obscure music, to forgotten hits, and new artists, is the music industry more diverse than ever?

TikTok has become a major force in the music industry, propelling both decades-old songs and new releases to global popularity. Examples like Connie Francis' 'Pretty Little Baby' and Superheaven's 'Youngest Daughter' show how songs can go viral years after their initial release, leading to chart success and renewed artist activity.

Emerging artists are also using TikTok to build audiences before releasing music, with many viral tracks entering the Billboard Global 200. While this democratizes music discovery and increases diversity on the charts, it also raises concerns about algorithm-driven listening and pressures on artists to create content tailored for social media platforms.

Viral TikTok songs are changing the music industry

If you're watching this video, the chances are you probably know this song. ♪ Pretty little baby, you say that baby ♪ Connie Francis' Pretty Little Baby is more than 60 years old. And though it was never even released as a single, the 1962 song became a global sensation in 2025, coming in at number five on TikTok's global songs of the summer list. Other catalog tracks have reemerged lately, becoming trending hits decades after their release. But it's not just music from the archives. New and emerging artists now have a new way to reach global audiences and become stars overnight. All of this because someone heard their song and got a TikTok video idea. But is TikTok changing the way we listen to music? And more importantly, does it now have influence on how music is made? At its peak, Pretty Little Baby averaged more than 600,000 daily videos on TikTok, including posts from Kim Kardashian and North West, Kylie Jenner, Brooke Monk, Jared Jermaine, and many, many more popular creators. In the U.S., the song hit number one on both TikTok's Viral 50 and Top 50 charts and has generated over 120 million Spotify streams. Because of its previous obscurity, Pretty Little Baby is an extreme example. But similar phenomena have happened for many so-called catalog songs. Rock That Body by Black Eyed Peas, Let Down by Radiohead, or Breaking Dishes by Rihanna are all climbing the charts decades after their initial release. A lot of younger users on our platform, this is the first time they're discovering these songs. But of course, we have many, many users who are very familiar with these artists and very familiar with these songs. And an artist like Blood Orange, and more recently an artist like Pierce the Veil, with So Far So Fake, these are artists who've just had off the back of these huge trends and plurality. I believe Pierce the Veil got the highest entry in the Billboard Hot 100. The rediscovery of catalog songs is not exactly new, nor is it a TikTok trademark. When I was 14, I discovered nearly every new-to-me song through Grey's Anatomy. It's how I first heard Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol and Portion for Foxes by Riley Kiley, and how Tegan and Sarah broke through with Where Does the Good Go? Imagine that same influence, but with the instant feedback and reach of TikTok, where TV, culture, comedy, and everyday life are soundtracked in real time. When Superheaven's youngest daughter, a shoegaze song that, like Pretty Little Baby, was never released as a single, went viral two years ago, this band had stopped touring in 2016. Played about a show a year, but the renewed attention to the 2013 track from Jar sparked new momentum. On February 18, 2025, Superheaven announced a 16-stop North American tour, their first in nearly a decade. So if catalog artists are finding renewed life, emerging artists are using TikTok to build their careers from scratch, and that includes cultivating a TikTok fan base before even releasing music. According to the Luminate and TikTok Music Impact Report from February 2025, 84% of songs that entered the Billboard Global 200 in 2024 went viral on TikTok first. While catalog success often depends on luck, a sink that hit a show, for instance, newer artists can engineer their growth. And though this has allowed emerging artists without a label to have their music heard, those who already have labels can find TikTok content creation as one of their contractual obligations. So musicians like Florence Welsh and FKA Twigs have been protesting their label's insurance that these artists should create content for social media to promote their music. In our conversation, Clive Rosario said the dual rise of both old artists and new artists helps democratize music. And that very well might be true. The charts are significantly more diverse by both artists' ethnicity and age today than they were in 2003, well before TikTok existed. But algorithmic listening has drawbacks, right? Filter bubbles can narrow musical taste and homogenize culture and, some argue, can weaken the strength of our connection with music altogether. And catering to TikTok audiences means that artists are incentivized to tailor their music to the platform's algorithm, creating catchy music that retains users' attention and can be easily danced to or lip-synced. And who wants to make music for the algorithm? Sure, once TikTok users find a song, they keep listening to it outside of the video-first platform. So whether discovery happens on TikTok, Spotify, or Apple Music, it's still driven by algorithms and that reliance on technology is here to stay. So what do you think? Is TikTok good news for artists or bad news for music? Or is it both? Let us know in the comments. And follow Mashable for more digests of digital culture.

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