TikTok's "mute-pocalypse" is over—here's the best music that came out of it.
Like many, I watched the panic ripple across TikTok in the early days of February. UMG had pulled their catalog off TikTok after a messy licensing negotiation, and millions of videos were being methodically muted, replaced by scores of people taking to the platform to express their confusion and outrage.
While TikTok has certainly outgrown being just “a dancing app,” the platform is still defined by shareable audio, and a viral hit can make or break even an established artist’s career. (Even Halsey revealed in 2022 that her record label refused to release a song unless she could manufacture a viral moment on TikTok.)
While the initial response to Tiktok’s “mute-pocalypse” seemed dire, in the end it provided a timely opportunity for organic, independent, and underrepresented artists to get their long-overdue moment in the spotlight.
Here’s my top five favorite tracks that emerged during the 90-day UMG hiatus.
5. The Groundhog Song (Oliver Richman)
We were only 72 hours into the UMG-TikTok debacle when Oliver Richman released “Day 34 of Writing a Song Every Day.” The semi-serious broadway anthem – starring groundhog Puxatawny Phil remarking on the impermanence of life after drinking a magic elixir – simultaneously tapped our penchant for absurd humor and existential dread. Performers and musicians immediately filled out the cast list, resulting in a massive Act 1 Finale featuring Elyse Meyers and others. If you were around for “Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical” or “Bridgerton: The Musical” you know why this took off. It hearkened back to the chaotic, crowd-sourced, creative engine that defined early TikTok.
4. Dance You Outta My Head (Cat Janice)
While Cat Janice self-released “Dance You Outta My Head” before UMG pulled their catalog, the song really picked up steam on TikTok in early February. Hearing the artist had directed all proceeds to her 7-year-old son in the wake of a terminal diagnosis, creators jumped on the bandwagon in a grassroots initiative to make the song a chart-topper, even adding a dance challenge component to help the song chart on Billboard. This was activism at its finest, and a rallying cry for the positive impact that can organically happen on the platform.
3. Mando (Will Paquin)
Will Paquin teased excerpts of his song “Mando” throughout February – a plucky acoustic track that listeners described as “sunlight hitting my skin” or “what it sounds like to be a kid again.” After generating massive amounts of organic interest, he dropped the full track – and I’ve have had it on repeat ever since.
2. Check Yes, Juliet (We The Kings)
Sound familiar? In March, We The Kings took to TikTok to announce their “new song” – making it clear that it was not to be compared to their 2007 pop-punk hit of the same name. Their elder emo fanbase readily went along with the joke, and We The Kings kept up the gag throughout their Australia tour. They later collaborated with singer-songwriter Jax to reprise the pop punk classic for Gen Z audiences. If there’s one thing I can appreciate, it is a creator who is committed to the bit.
1. 6’5, Blue Eyes, by Girl on Couch.
It’s been a moment since remix culture had TikTok in its clutches, but it all came back full force when Girl on Couch challenged the platform to turn her list of dating qualifications into “an actual song plz just for funzies.” DJs of TikTok came out in full force, each putting their signature spin on the source material. It’s an undeniable bop that I find myself humming even if I am not, in fact, searching for a man in finance.
It's worth noting that this is a selective and arguably biased list, and certainly not reflective of all the incredible work that emerged from independent and non-UMG artists over the last 90 days! What topped your playlist that I missed?
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Charlotte Sheppard is a branded storyteller and the Head of Ideation at Shareability. Opinions expressed are solely her own and do not express the views or opinions of her employer.