Is Social Media Ruining Music?

Photo by Dan Kitwood

Is social media ruining music? If you are tired of discovering that the only good portion of a song was the catchy fifteen-second chorus going viral on TikTok, then you likely think it is. Artists chasing virality are accused of writing songs specifically for the algorithm, without any artistic sincerity or skill behind them. “TikTok music” is mocked as seemingly full of insipid songs that appeal only to the most basic themes and hooks. 

In my opinion, though, TikTok (or social media in general) isn’t ruining music any more than any other innovation in technology has. It simply provides a new way for people to access and advertise music. This comes with pros and cons, but it is more about how one lets the technology influence their creation than the technology directly causing the erosion of artistic integrity.

If we go back even less than two hundred years, we see that how we create and consume music has undergone significant changes. From the beginning of civilization to just recently, music was regional and deeply rooted in community and tradition. The invention of recording technologies, as well as the radio, gave rise to the popular music we have today that is made for mass cultural appeal. Furthermore, when video took over radio, as sung about in the ‘80s hit “Video Killed the Radio Star,” musicians had to learn to perform not only for the audience’s ear but also their eyes. While it can be argued that this took away from the “purity” of the music, it was just another way for artists to reach their audience, and it created a new artistic medium–the music video.

Music videos are still popular, although not in the same broad way as they were when MTV dominated. Now, social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram have come into play. The greatest innovation these apps have brought to the music scene is that it has completely removed the barrier to entry. Anyone could potentially sing a song in their bedroom and go viral. While it still requires patience, skill, determination, planning, and a dose of luck to see success, everyone has a better chance than they did before.

Everyone, of course, wants to go viral. To do so requires not only delivering high-quality content, but also playing into the app’s algorithm. While it can be argued that the algorithm rewards low-value content, it simply rewards what engages the most people. What a mass of people want is always going to be more general and simplistic than a smaller niche. However, popular musicians have always played into what their audiences want. To do so as an artist does not necessarily betray integrity. It is simply a requirement to survive in the industry, and banal music has always, and will always, exist. More of it might exist because of people playing into the simplistic demands of a dumbed-down algorithm, but much more thought-provoking and niche content also exists that wouldn’t have found an audience otherwise. I personally have found some amazing indie and local artists I wouldn’t have otherwise because of social media.

The problem arises when the means of communication muddy what is being communicated. Every communication method–radio, television, or social media–has its benefits and drawbacks. Not only what is communicated–in this case, a song–but also how, its medium, affects the message. But social media is so ubiquitous now that it is a very legitimate form of communication. Music that is popularized via social media is no less inherently valuable than music that isn’t. 

Artists have always been scrutinized for desiring and achieving success with their artistic pursuits. But if you look back at history, most art has never been made out of pure artistic intentions. Paintings, sculptures, poems, novels, and even classical music have always been made on commission. They have been made by talented people who worked their hardest, but they were made for money in the end. And that doesn’t reduce their artistic merit.

We can talk about how the TikTok algorithm rewards short memeable content, which influences musicians to manufacture an infectious chorus that can become a trending sound. I also think of a comment I saw on a video that used the song “Nobody’s Soldier” by Hozier, fearing that if it became a trending song, people would only focus on how catchy it sounded and not actually care about the message behind its politically-charged lyrics. We can talk about that. Those are all problems with social media. However, there is a way to play to the audience, be successful, and keep your integrity. None of those are mutually exclusive.

Social media is not ruining music. It has only created a new audience with new demands and preferences. At the end of the day, it should serve the musician and their music, not the other way around. The musician’s vision for their music must go beyond simply satisfying a social media trend. That is what will separate fad from true creative innovation.