Sometimes those fans work in unexpected ways. It has to come from fans or the artist because you're talking to Gen Z. 'I mean, there's a million examples of a lot of very expensive campaigns that had no return,' she said. Webb says she's certainly tried different strategies, but most times when a song takes off on TikTok, it seems to happen organically. With 1 billion monthly active users now on TikTok after a surge in downloads over the pandemic, it's not hard to see why. These days, there's a cottage industry dedicated to marketing a song or artist on TikTok - paying influencers to promote a song, posting short clips to see what people respond to, trying to get a dance challenge going.

Gayle felt the impact of TikTok midway through her tour last year when 'ABCDEFU' became a viral hit.

Note: This TikTok post includes profanity in lyrics and sign language that some might find objectionable. They promoted the song on TikTok a lot, but it didn't really take off until months later when the sign language sub-community of TikTok got a hold of it in the middle of Gayle's tour. Last August, an Atlantic Records artist named Gayle released a song called 'ABCDEFU.' Webb knows exactly what she's talking about. And now I feel like it's the 1,000 piece gray sky where TikTok is the only piece that will individually move the dial the way it does.' 'And you just needed money and leverage and influence as a label. 'It used to be a puzzle for a 3-year-old. Nina Webb is the head of marketing at Atlantic Records and said when she first started out in the industry, it was a bit simpler. UGC - short for 'user-generated content' - is one of the buzzwords currently going around in the music industry. 'I mean, I don't think that any other social media app has done that to this degree. 'It's changed music listening from being a one-way relationship where a song comes out and you listen to it on your own, to something that you participate in,' Cirisano said. WE’RE BACK BABYYY dc ♬ Freakumdresschallenge - b.beyonce

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