Last week I wrote a Twitter thread (you can’t make me call it X! lol) about the new TikTok and Billboard Top 50 US chart that just launched.

I’ve been thinking about the partnership since then and a range of thoughts, ideas, and questions came to mind…TikTok is arguably one of the biggest platforms impacting the music industry and as a result, any developments feel like they’re worth taking a step back and digesting.

I thought it’d be worth expanding on the thread and sharing a few things that came to mind when thinking about the new chart.

If you have any thoughts on the chart yourself (you love it, you hate it, you’re confused by it…), I’d love to know where your head is at by replying to this email!

This newsletter covers:

• 5 things that come to mind with the TikTok x Billboard Top 50 chart

Let’s dive in ⬇️ 

Here are 5 things I’ve been thinking about, in no particular order:

_{1) How does the chart define “engagement”?}

I wrote a little bit about this in the thread from last week but in a press release announcing the new chart, TikTok stated that “the chart is based on a combination of creations, video views, and user engagement by the US Tik Tok community”.

One of the first questions that came to mind for me was “what does engagement mean”?

Is that the number of comments?

The number of times a video is shared?

The number of duets made to a video?

It’ll be interesting to see how TikTok defines engagement in the weeks ahead and what specific metrics actually impact a song’s ability to chart. An understanding of those metrics will surely impact music strategy for some on the platform.

2) Artist discovery

The new chart can be used as a resource by A&Rs to discover emerging artists and talent as their visibility increases.

There are a bunch of existing platforms that analyze TikTok trends and sounds, but now there’s an official source to identify sound trajectories - as opposed to having to register for a third-party platform or try and monitor original sounds that might be harder to find.

Ranking on the chart will also be great visibility for emerging artists who may not otherwise have had that awareness. Landing on the chart not only brings attention to anyone looking at it within the app or Billboard’s site, but ancillary social media accounts that cover the chart’s rankings - for example:

3) Influencer campaigns

Can influencer campaigns potentially affect a song’s ability to chart?

As we gain a clearer understanding of what engagement metrics affect charting, it’ll be interesting to see if companies and artists start running campaigns for the purpose of trying to impact/manipulate those metrics to cause a sound to chart.

4) Organizing the chaos

In addition to highlighting emerging artists, the chart is also a move to help organize the chaos that currently exists on Tik Tok.

While Tik Tok does have their own charts, Billboard being one of the sources of truth for the music industry helps paint a more organized picture of what’s happening on the platform based on these rankings.

5) Okay cool…but so what? lol

Besides being a tool that A&Rs can use to discover new talent, a platform to increase visibility for emerging artists, and a new metric to help identify what’s happening on the platform, it’ll be interesting to see if the chart provides any additional value or benefit for artists to actually grow their fanbases.

For example, how does it affect an established artist who already has a fanbase…does ranking on the chart provide any additional value besides being another “talking point” or achievement? It’s too early to tell but it’ll be interesting to see where it goes.

Thanks for reading, until next time.