How Bands are Turning TikTok Into a Marketing App -

By Lily Chambers

Promoted Tik Tok music that’s actually good it can’t be apparently it can be. More and more Large influencers, small bands, and musicians with good music have recently been flocking to Tik Tok to promote their music in unique ways. A few of the most interesting cases of Tik Tok music marketing involve a band called Dead On A Sunday leaning into a comparison of their lead singer to a popular character, a band called The Scamps and a band called The Johns are reinventing how concert tickets work, and a larger influencer Chrissy Chlapecka gaining an insane amount of buzz about her unreleased single.

Dead On A Sunday ,a dark wave band based out of Denver CO is really leaning into the realization many Tik Tok users have made that their lead singer Ross Ryan Edsall sounds like a darkwave Bob Belcher who for those who don’t know is the father on a popular adult cartoon called Bobs Burgers. Users realized this after their single “Dammit (After Dark)” went viral on the app and the band has really used this to gain popularity even coining the term “Bob-core” to describe their music now.

To gain traction from this the lead singer dresses up as Bob for shows and on Tik Tok as well as doing covers of others goth/darkwave and alternative songs tilting the video “what if this song was darkwave.” The singer even went as far as to get a tattoo of Bob Belcher drawn in a darkwave aesthetic.

Their success is well deserved as their music holds up to their marketing skills. It’s the perfect band for anyone looking for the alternative/goth sounds of the 80’s mixed with new wave. They currently have one album titled Strange Days which was released in 2022, one EP titled Undercover Vl1 which was also released in 2022 , and seven singles out on apple music and multiple other streaming services for anyone who wants to give darkwave Bob Belcher a listen.

On an opposite end of the spectrum, The Scamps are a smaller indie/soft rock band making big big promises to their fans with their Tik Tok videos. They’re telling fans if they save or like certain videos they will be valid tickets for when/if the band blows up and goes on a big tour. This concept is helping the band gain followers and significantly increase the amount of likes and video interaction they are receiving. The Scamps aren’t the only band doing this though there is another band called The Johns Doing the same thing. The bands that are taking part in this trend seem to be in the same genre of softer indie music. The real question is will these tickets really be honored by venues and arenas if the band takes off and plays larger shows or are these empty promises that will leave disappointed fans that tried to use the tickets?

Influencer Chrissy Chlapecka Tik Tock’s favorite certified bimbo is using her platform to launch her music career. Her single “Im So Hot” hasn’t been released yet but due to her large following it has been gaining major traction and popularity. She’s been using her platform to promote the song anyway she can and the results are working.

The videos she uses to promote her song usually feature her and two others dancing to the song while walking down the streets of New York City. Rolling Stone has already named Chrissy as one of “the brightest popstars to watch out for in 2023”.

Other than her single, Chrissy has been using her platform to redefine the word bimbo to be a positive word and promote women supporting other women her account is full of positivity and self love. For anyone looking out for the next biggest pop star I would keep an eye on Chrissy in the upcoming year because she has future star quality.

Though all of these musicians all fall into very different genres of music they have all managed to reach their target audiences on Tik Tok. Tik Tok has given artists a large platform to interact with their fans in different and unique ways. The more the preexisting fans interact with the videos bands are putting, the more they are shown to new people who then interact with the videos more creating the cycle that helps get bands the fame and outreach they hope and strive for. Not everyone can get the amount of fame these bands are getting but not all bands are using the creative strategies of these bands. It’s not just the algorithm getting them to where they are, it’s the quality of the videos as well.