In a time where it feels like it’s getting harder and harder to cut through the noise on TikTok, due to an ever-increasing volume of music and posts being uploaded to the platform, The Ting Tings have shared an interesting experiment of their TikTok promotion.
The newly independent duo just took to socials to explain how they have put up two of their most recent releases onto TikTok’s Commercial Music Library. The CML is TikTok’s library of music that business accounts – i.e., brands – are legally allowed to use without any fees.
It’s not new, but there’s a distinct lack of case studies around how tracks that are available within the CML have benefitted from its promotional weight. Many commercial tracks are not available on the platform, as the major labels only opt-in selected tracks.
The Ting Tings saw an opportunity to upload their new single “Good People Do Bad Things” onto the CML. Within the first 6 weeks the track was used by 650k videos, accounting to 1.8bn views. The band’s song “Dreaming” equally saw a lot of success with 459.9k videos, charting on the TikTok Viral 50 and subsequently Instagram’s Viral Top 10, picking up editorial playlist placements on DSPs as a result.
The duo has mentioned that they are not yet aware of how much revenue this has generated for them so this will be an interesting story to keep an eye on. There’s likely not much revenue coming from TikTok, so it’s an open question to what extent it will translate to streams on DSPs outside of playlists.
TikTok takeaways for your artist team
Consider if your artist could do well on the CML. Artists with some name recognition like The Ting Tings – even if they have been quiet for a while – and artists with music that sounds syncable might be good fits here.
Be aware of the pros and cons. This might be a tradeoff, considering it is free reach on TikTok that would otherwise cost you, and a lot of small businesses might never pay for a sync anyway. The thing to weigh though, is it could cost you growth impact in the long run, and possible sync opportunities for the future if they come along.
