The playbook for artists to go viral on TikTok has changed a lot since 2019. Sean Taylor aka “BrandMan Sean” has wrote and executed that playbook for his clients since the early days of TikTok. He’s the co-founder of the ContraBrand Agency, which specializes in TikTok marketing for music talent. The agency has helped artists like Macy Gray, 24kGoldn, and Trap Beckham, among others.

Sean and his team just released a global report on How Artists are Going Viral on TikTok. The report is packed with insights on artist virality on the platform. According to the report, artist-generated content (AGC) is the key to going viral today. It’s more impactful than not user-generated content (UGC) from fans and other users. AGC not only works, but it’s also a cost-effective way for independent artists to break through.

However, Sean points out that virality isn’t as easy as before. TikTok has matured, and overnight success is harder to achieve. Still, with the right strategy, Sean believes TikTok is still a second-to-none top-of-funnel marketing play.

We broke down this tested TikTok system in our discussion. Here’s everything we covered about the platform:

1:10 TikTok entering its maturation stage
4:52 Second wave TikTok music artists vs. first wave
9:35 Biggest shift on TikTok for artists
16:25 No, artists don’t have to post dance content
23:38 YouTube shorts lack of culture
26:44 YouTube’s advantage over TikTok
31:15 The problem with IG Reels
32:44 TikTok pushing Google for search dominance
37:09 TikTok as a marketing funnel
41:23 The rise of TikTok live
45:41 Predicting where TikTok will be in three years

How Artists are Going Viral on TikTok in 2022 report:
https://www.contrabrand.agency/tiktokglobalreport2022

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