TikTok Music Taste Explained
TikTok music taste is the phenomenon of having a narrow music taste based on popular songs on TikTok. If someone has this taste, they mainly listen to the tunes that are popular on the app but might not know much about the music industry in general or off-platform artists.
According to the Independent, “Increasingly, TikTok influencers are being paid by PR agencies and music labels to post videos using a particular song in the hopes of making it go viral.” So, behind-the-scenes manipulations by labels and industry giants play a significant role in driving the growing number of people to follow the music trends on the app.
Regardless, the term “TikTok music taste” is often used in a negative way to make fun of someone’s music choices. But it’s important to remember that enjoying popular songs on social media or preferring mainstream music doesn’t mean you have bad taste in music.
In the past, when people discovered new songs on the radio, nobody criticized them for being normie listeners. Those who keep up with music trends on TikTok may not have a wide variety of options, but the app still introduces them to musicians, much like radios did before the internet.
Signs You Have TikTok Music Taste
Despite the subjectivity of this concept, having a TikTok music taste has five undeniable symptoms:
- Your playlist changes with trends. If you update your playlist with new songs every time a sound goes viral on TikTok, you may have an influenced taste.
- Rhythm is mostly what you’re all about. Language, lyrics, and other stuff come second; if a tune is catchy, you’ll add it to your playlist.
- You’re okay with short music. TikTok has accustomed us to short-form content. But if you’re OK with listening to only snippets of trendy tunes, you have a TikTok music taste.
- Your favorite artists are big on the platform. Not all TikToker musicians are successful outside the app. So, if people who don’t use TikTok don’t recognize your favorite singers, you probably have a narrow taste in music.
- You’re a heavy TikTok user. If you’re chronically online, your preferences have already been influenced by the trends.
In case you didn’t know, there’s a term for people who like music from different genres: Cross-Genre Music Taste. So, no, if your playlist is full of random songs, it doesn’t necessarily mean you have TikTok music taste.
This Music Taste Quiz Reveals if TikTok Has Influenced Your Playlists
Okay, I can see the tension building up: You now wonder if vibing with or dancing to all those catchy songs on TikTok has changed your music taste. Well, we can diagnose you with TikTok music taste via a brutally honest—and objective—quiz.
