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Years before Myles Smith broke through with his anthemic single “Stargazing,” he followed his mother’s advice by focusing on his education — graduating from the University of Nottingham in 2019, launching his own company at 19 and making it profitable by 23.
“I [was] earning good money, but I [wasn’t] fulfilled within my heart,” Smith explains. “That, for me, was a moment of [realizing] that I can’t dedicate years of my life to doing something that I know I’m truly not completely invested in.” So he quit — and already, just two years later, the returns have trumped any apprehension.
As he speaks with Billboard from his Brighton home in late June, the 26-year-old singer-songwriter’s runaway hit “Stargazing” has reached a No. 41 high on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 7 on the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart, earning 61.2 million official on-demand U.S. streams through June 27, according to Luminate. He has also been announced as a supporting act for select dates on Imagine Dragons’ upcoming fall tour, and will jet to Australia and New Zealand in November for his own headlining trek, which has sold out shows across Europe and North America.
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Myles Smith photographed June 19, 2024 in Brighton, U.K.
Jennifer McCord
As a kid born to a Jamaican family in Luton, England, Smith consumed a wide-ranging selection of genres: Reggae was a mainstay, but between his mother’s love for Whitney Houston’s “Million Dollar Bill” and his siblings’ indoctrination of Destiny’s Child, Ne-Yo and Justin Timberlake, he listened to plenty of R&B. His vibrant working-class neighborhood also exposed him to hip-hop and grime, but it was the music of the 2010s that truly honed his songwriting skills. He credits the heartbreaking lyricism of Adele’s 21, Ed Sheeran’s +, Bryson Tiller’s Trapsoul and Mumford & Sons’ Babel as four foundational albums.
While he crafted his sound, he began uploading unfinished song snippets to TikTok, one of which caught the attention of Extended Play Group’s Eric Parker as he was scrolling through his For You page in fall 2022. “It was a very sad song [that] hit me in a place I don’t normally get hit on TikTok,” Parker says. He promptly reached out and started managing Smith that November.
The two worked to build his following by joining his originals with evocative covers of songs that mined Gen Z’s penchant for nostalgia, including The Neighbourhood’s “Sweater Weather.” “Covers [were] an opportunity to find an audience that I thought would match with the music I would eventually create,” he explains.
With a growing online fan base by 2023, Smith was independently releasing his own singles through Ditto Music, including early tracks like the thumping “My Home” and the witty wordplay fest “Solo” (his first U.K. chart hit). Once he surpassed four million monthly listeners on Spotify, Smith and Parker agreed it was time to look for a label deal. After meeting with scores of potential partners, Smith signed with RCA U.K. last January, in partnership with the U.S. label.
“[My] incredible A&R Jaryn [Valdry] made me cry my eyes out in a meeting because she saw me for who I was,” Smith says. “[RCA’s] whole philosophy being growth over a long period rather than a flash in the pan really aligned with me.”
Myles Smith photographed June 19, 2024 in Brighton, U.K.
Jennifer McCord
Two months later, Smith dropped his debut EP, You Promised a Lifetime. “Stargazing” — written in Malibu, Calif. shortly after signing his deal — wouldn’t arrive until May. Fueled by Fireball shots, nachos and tacos, he and co-writers Peter Fenn and Jesse Fink were “eight or nine songs in,” before Smith came up with a chorus melody so arresting that it sparked an immediate search for complementary chords. Most of the song was written in 15 minutes, with verse details finalized in the following weeks. And when the rest of his team heard it, they solidified his confidence in the looming hit.
“I get back to West Hollywood at two or three in the morning, and I play the day-of demo on the speakers in the [ceiling],” he recalls. “I remember my manager waking up on the sofa like, ‘What is this?’ Everyone in the house is running and jumping around. For my team — my harshest critics, after my mum — to give me that genuine reaction, I knew I was on to something.”
They soon launched a month-long rollout for the song, culminating in its release on May 10 to coincide with the start of his next touring leg. The first snippet he posted to TikTok on April 8 doubled down on the intimacy of his guitar-backed singer-songwriter style, and each subsequent teaser featured more members of his team lip-syncing and dancing along to the track.
“Being able to draw people into the context of the song really works,” Smith says. “I’m Myles Smith, but I’ve got a team, and they’re my best friends. There’s a strange culture of everything revolving around the artist. You think I could do this without everyone around me? No way.”
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The song’s radio campaign began across the pond, but Parker mentions that RCA wanted to make a stateside push immediately. “They were very proactive, [which] was a good sign that they believed in the song as much as we did.” Their hunch was right: “Stargazing” continues to build at radio, debuting on the Adult Alternative Airplay chart dated July 6 and reaching new peaks at Alternative Airplay and Rock & Alternative Airplay.
Amid his breakthrough, Smith sees himself as someone known for his full bodies of work. “I want to be an album artist,” he stresses. “There’s only so much you can say in an EP or single.” But even more importantly, he’s focused on setting an example for how the music industry intersects with the world’s larger systems of oppression.
“I don’t want to be used as a means of saying, ‘We’ve done enough,’” he says of his success in the singer-songwriter space as a Black man. “If anything, I want to be used as a question for why aren’t there more Myleses breaking through.”
Myles Smith photographed June 19, 2024 in Brighton, U.K.
Jennifer McCord
A version of this story will appear in the July 20, 2024, issue of Billboard.
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If you’re into TikTok, you’ve probably seen the viral ballet flat trend featuring the Reformation Bethany Ballet Flats all over your For You page. You don’t need to be a dancer to join in on the balletcore aesthetic. In fact, the balletcore aesthetic is all about capturing the essence of a ballet dancer by incorporating it into your everyday life, from clothing choices to home decor.
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Whether you’re taking a walk at the park or enjoying a night out, these comfortable and versatile flats will keep you staying cool all season long. These Reformation Bethany Ballet Flats feature a flat heel, round toe and ankle security, making you feel comfortable and secure wherever you go. Its breathable design ensures you can go sock-free with ease. With its leather upper insole, rubber sole and buckle strap, you’ll be ready to slip your feet in and take on your day.
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You can find these trendy Bethany Ballet Flats on Reformation and Anthropologie.
Reformation
Reformation Bethany Ballet Flat
You can get these Bethany Flats in myriad colors and designs on Reformation, from Black Rhinestone Mesh to Silver. This is one you’ll want in all colors to change up your look.
If you are still a bit unsure on whether or not to hop on this trend, check out the reviews. One Anthropologie customer wrote, “I’m loving the updated take on the ballet flats! The leather is soft right out of the box and needed very little time to break in. They look like they have a thin sole, but once you try them on you’ll feel padding; I can wear if for a whole shift on the sales floor and still feel supported …they look great paired with dresses, skirts, and denim…”
Another Anthropologie customer said, “I love these! I purchased the silver… have them in black as well. The leather is really nice and they go with everything!”
For more product recommendations, check out these Dr. Scholl’s Sandals, these comfortable Mega Crush Crocs for added comfort, and these celebrity-approved Uggs to achieve a relaxed look.
Last January, Olivia King sat at her dining room table and made a beat — in five minutes.
The Rhode Island-based pop/R&B artist doesn’t play instruments or use music-production software. Instead, she created her track with Overtune, a music-making app that allows users to combine beats and samples from a wide range of instruments and other sounds, write and record vocals, and otherwise use a simple smartphone interface to make music meant to soundtrack content on platforms like TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. Overtune was developed in Iceland and launched in 2020.
Now, King’s use of the app is helping expand Overtune’s applications beyond social platforms and into more traditional releases. After using Overtune to add her own vocals to her five-minute beat, she made a video of herself performing the song snippet, then posted it to TikTok as part of a brand deal with the app. The video started racking up views; it now has more than 10 million of them.
Capitalizing on this interest, King created an entire song based on her original minute-long TikTok. A steamy ballad called “Unfinished Business,” the two-minute, 18-second song was made entirely with Overtune beat packs and released last Friday (June 21). It marks the first release through Overtune’s new label service, which is centered on a partnership with SoundOn, the music distribution model launched by TikTok in 2022 in the U.S. and U.K.
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Building SoundOn into Overtune “fits directly into the changing music industry,” says Overtune co-founder Jason Daði Guðjónsson. “Social media platforms like TikTok are at the forefront of that kind of transformation, and I think Overtune is perfectly positioned to help artists navigate the changing landscape by providing them with the tools to create and now also share and monetize their music.”
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SoundOn is designed to help independent, emerging artists navigate TikTok, upload music, get paid for its use, market and promote themselves on the platform, and distribute their music to outside DSPs. Through its integration into Overtune, paid users can release Overtune-produced songs via SoundOn directly in the app, which has a free tier along with a subscription service priced at $9.99 a month. (This paid option also offers other features like exclusive beat packs.)
“I’ve worked with probably every distributor under the sun, but never before with SoundOn,” says King. “I’m excited for it, because TikTok has changed the music industry.”
Overtune’s ability to produce music tailor-made for TikTok has attracted serious interest, with the company receiving $2 million in seed funding from Whynow media (founded by Mick Jagger’s son, Gabriel Jagger), along with investments from a group that includes Guitar Hero founder Charles Huang. Its advisory board includes former Sony Music UK head Nick Gatfield. And while the use of the app to make full-length songs is relatively new, along with King’s song, Overtune was used in the creation of “Framtíðin er hérna” (“The Future is Here”), a song made for the National Broadcasting Station of Iceland’s 2023 New Year’s Eve show.
Overtune’s founders want to make music creation ultra-simple by providing thousands of different sounds that are organized by tempo and pitch for easy matching. (Some commenters were suspicious about whether King had actually made her beat in five minutes, so she made another video in which she recreated the process to prove it.) The app currently offers assistive AI that answers user questions and is developing other AI functions that are being trained on Overtune’s proprietary beat packs. Later this year, the company will also launch a function that lets users generate loops using written prompts.
Overtune recently added an AI function with which users can apply vocals filters that mimic the voices of artists from Snoop Dogg to Elvis, along with celebs like Morgan Freeman and fictional characters like Marge Simpson. (This function will soon be replaced by AI voices developed in-house and designed to modify individual voices, rather than replicate those of celebrities.)
“The beautiful thing about it,” Guðjónsson says of the app as it currently stands, “is that you don’t have to know anything about tech or music to be able to create songs.”
Overtune sounds aren’t copyrighted, so users can earn royalties from the music made on the app when it’s uploaded to TikTok and DSPs like Spotify and Apple Music. But Guðjónsson says Overtune users “gravitate toward TikTok” especially, making SoundOn “a natural addition to our offerings.”
The app also allows users to make music at TikTok’s unique pace. Artists can experiment with song snippets, then use SoundOn to put them on TikTok and test them with audiences before completing the song and releasing it on more traditional DSPs.
Making distribution easier is also just an extension of the company’s broader mission. “Becoming a musician is not supposed to be that difficult,” Guðjónsson says. “As it is today, you have to own a lot of expensive equipment and have a big presence to be noticed by the labels, but anyone can go through our services.”
For King, this ease is a major part of the app’s appeal.
“As an independent artist you have to be consistent, and the best way to be consistent is to be efficient,” she says. “With Overtune I can do a full demo on the app, then distribute through SoundOn, which makes life easier as an independent artist.”
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes. “Bama Rush” TikTok captivated the Internet as thousands of girls shared their “get ready with me” videos, featuring elaborate recruitment dresses […]
TikTok disclosed a letter Thursday that accused the Biden administration of engaging in “political demagoguery” during high-stakes negotiations between the government and the company as it sought to relieve concerns about its presence in the U.S.
The letter — sent to David Newman, a top official in the Justice Department’s national security division, before President Biden signed the potential TikTok ban into law — was submitted in federal court along with a legal brief supporting the company’s lawsuit against measure. TikTok’s Beijing-based parent company ByteDance is also a plaintiff in the lawsuit, which is expected to be one of the biggest legal battles in tech and internet history.
The internal documents provide details about negotiations between TikTok and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, a secretive inter-agency panel that investigates corporate deals over national security concerns, between January 2021 and August 2022.
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TikTok has said those talks ultimately resulted in a 90-page draft security agreement that would have required the company to implement more robust safeguards around U.S. user data. It would have also required TikTok to put in a “kill switch” that would have allowed CFIUS to suspend the platform if it was found to be non-compliant with the agreement.
CFIUS did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Justice Department said it is looking forward to defending the recently enacted legislation, which it says addresses “critical national security concerns in a manner that is consistent with the First Amendment and other constitutional limitations.”
“Alongside others in our intelligence community and in Congress, the Justice Department has consistently warned about the threat of autocratic nations that can weaponize technology — such as the apps and software that run on our phones – to use against us,” the statement said. “This threat is compounded when those autocratic nations require companies under their control to turn over sensitive data to the government in secret.”
The letter sent to Newman details additional meetings between TikTok and government officials since then, including a March 2023 call the company said was arranged by Paul Rosen, the U.S. Treasury’s undersecretary for investment security.
According to TikTok, Rosen told the company that “senior government officials” deemed the draft agreement to be insufficient to address the government’s national security concerns. Rosen also said a solution would have to involve a divestment by ByteDance and the migration of the social platform’s source code, or its fundamental programming, out of China.
TikTok’s lawsuit has painted divestment as a technological impossibility since the law requires all of TikTok’s millions of lines of code to be wrested from ByteDance so that there would be no “operational relationship” between the Chinese company and the new U.S. app.
After the Wall Street Journal reported in March 2023 that CFIUS had threatened ByteDance to divest TikTok or face a ban, TikTok’s attorneys held another call with senior staff from the Justice and Treasury departments where they said leaks to the media by government officials were “problematic and damaging.”
That call was followed by an in-person meeting in May 2023 between TikTok’s attorneys, technical experts and senior staff at the Treasury Department focused on data safety measures and TikTok’s source code, the company’s attorneys said. The last meeting with CFIUS occurred in September 2023.
In the letter to Newman, TikTok’s attorneys say CFIUS provides a constructive way to address the government’s concern. However, they added, the agency can only serve this purpose when the law – which imposes confidentiality – and regulations “are followed and both sides are engaged in good-faith discussions, as opposed to political subterfuge, where CFIUS negotiations are misappropriated for legislative purposes.”
The legal brief also shared details of, but does not include, a one-page document the Justice Department allegedly provided to members of Congress in March, a month before they passed the federal bill that would require the platform to be sold to an approved buyer or face a ban.
TikTok’s attorneys said the document asserted TikTok collects sensitive data without alleging the Chinese government has ever obtained such data. According to the company, the document also alleged that TikTok’s algorithm creates the potential for China to influence content on the platform without alleging the country has ever done so.
As if your feed wasn’t already filled with enough Taylor Swift Eras Tour content, TikTok has launched a new in-app experience featuring a series of challenges for Swifties over the next 11 weeks. That, of course, is the number of studio albums Swift has released, with each LP getting its own themed profile frames and […]
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TikTok has become more than just a destination for watching funny videos and discovering the latest fashion trends — the social media platform also knows how to spot beauty products that deliver luxury results for a wallet-friendly price. The latest makeup tool to capture TikTokers’ attention is Milani’s Color Fetish Lip Stain, which has been deemed a “holy grail” for long-lasting color and hydration.
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Some of the standout qualities that go beyond its $10 price tag include its wide range of colors and its use of plant-derived squalene and hyaluronic acid, which help deliver moisture and nourishment naturally. TikToker Vianney Strick has also gained more than 55,000 views for a review on the Color Fetish Lip Stain in the shade Mauve Mentality, describing its uses and benefits.
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“It’s so glossy, looks stunning on its own or as a lip combo,” Strick says in the video. “Also, something super important: it looks wearable. It’s not bright pink or purple, it’s a beautiful shade.”
@vianneystrick ✨NEW DRUGSTORE LIP STAIN✨ this is the new Milani Cosmetics Color Fetish Hydrating Lip Stain! I have the shade “Mauve Mentality.” I love a lip stain but I hate when it’s drying. I was super excited to try a drugstore lip stain and it did not disappoint! (For the lip liner I used the Tower 28 lip liner in “work of art”) 💓description & claims: Lip color goes low maintenance with Milani’s Color Fetish Hydrating Lip Stain. Buildable, glossy color transforms into a semi-matte stain. Lightweight formula cushions lips with Hyaluronic Acid & Squalane for up to 8HRS of hydration, comfort & wear.* $13.99 USD 💓my opinion: I love everything about it! The color range is beautiful! I love the precise applicator for lining the lips. It’s super pretty and glossy and not goopy. Leaves a pretty stain behind and it doesn’t dry my lips out. Definitely a new drugstore favorite! @Milani @Ulta Beauty #milanilipstain #drugstorelipstain #lipstain #lipcombo #newdrugstoremakeup #makeupreview #milanicolourfestish ♬ original sound – Vianney Strick
To help further prove its longevity, one TikTok influencer wore the lip stain on an 11-mile run while training for a half marathon and gave a first-hand review. Target has also labeled the lip product one of its most viral products seconding the “luxury results for less” point that reviewers have been talking up.
Keep reading to shop Milani’s Color Fetish Lip Stain below.
Milani Color Fetish Lip Stain
The $10 lip stain comes in a range of six shades including soft pinks and deep reds that’ll help complete your makeup looks whether it’s for date night or brunch with friends. Each application remains on for up to eight hours a day and it uses a vegan formula that will leave behind a semi-matte texture after drying.
How Long Does Lip Tint Stain Last?
This will depend on your wants and needs, as different brands’ lip stains won’t last the same amount of time. Milani’s Color Fetch Lip Stain starts off glossy, but with a lifespan of eight hours (according to the official description) the formula will eventually turn into a semi-matte stain.
Does Lip Stain Rub Off?
The goal of a quality lip stain is to eventually dry into a semi-permanent stain that’ll provide your lips with some color for a period of time. Milani’s version starts off glossy, which you can easily wipe off, but as it dries, it’ll leave behind a colored stain on your lips that’ll last all night.
For more product recommendations, check out ShopBillboard‘s roundups of the best makeup dupes, setting spray and freckle pens.
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
Free People has become a destination for elevated boho staples that celebrities such as Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez have worn. Plus, it’s not uncommon for the brand’s styles to go viral on TikTok, like the famous Hot Shot Onesie. Now, a new look has garnered attention on social media, and it has the fashion world divided.
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We the Free Barrel Jeans have become a controversial denim style for its exaggerated horseshoe-like legs that have some people claiming it’s the shape of the summer, while others find the look practically impossible to style. Thankfully, TikTok has some ideas on the best way to wear the viral barrel jeans.
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More than 27 million TikTok videos have been made about the We the Free Barrel Jeans, with users showing off how to style the look in the most fashion-forward way. TikToker Julia Huynh has earned around 1.1 million views on the platform, where the user claims the reason the style works isn’t a result of “my body — I think it’s the way I wear them.” She then proceeds to theorize that long and low-rise fits will look more flattering than a cropped style.
While the Free People denim and barrel jeans in general have fashion lovers questioning its stylishness, that hasn’t stopped people from stocking up on the look. Free People’s version is not just under $100, it also comes in 15 washes to choose from — and it’s already selling out fast.
To make sure you get your hands on a pair to test the look out for yourself, you can shop the exact barrel jeans below.
We the Free Good Luck Mid-Rise Barrel Jeans
The We the Free barrel jeans not only come in a variety of shades, but feature three lengths: short, regular and long. The brand recommends staying true to your size or sizing up, depending on how loose and baggy you want the denim to feel. It’s also designed using Free People’s most rigid denim, which means there won’t be a lot of stretch.
The barrel jeans have even been curvy-approved, with TikToker Brieana Banks claiming, “I’m convinced that a thick girl invented barrel jeans.”
If you’re already obsessed with the denim style or just want to add a few more to your rotation, we also rounded up similar styles from popular brands below.
Which Are the Best Barrel Jeans?
To help you build out your trendy jeans collection, keep reading to find some of the top-rated and bestselling barrel jeans online now.
AE77 Premium Barrel Jean
American Eagle’s barrel jean comes in two washes — dark and light — so you can show off the look year-round. The denim features a mid-rise fit made using a more rigid denim that comes from the brand’s sustainable fashion line. The rinse was also created to look vintage-like for a more retro appearance.
ELOQUII Plus Size The Barrel Jean
Target’s plus-size barrel jeans give off a more ’90s look with the classic medium blue wash that’s slightly faded in the center of the legs. There is a high-rise fit that sits above your waist, and features a mid-stretch material that will loosen slightly with more wear to give off a more worn-in feel.
Pilcro Heritage Curve Mid-Rise Barrel Jeans
Anthropologie wasn’t messing around with its version of the famous barrel jean. The company provide four different fits to choose from — petite, regular, tall and plus — to help you get the most comfortable look. Plus, it has a lower rise and two vintage-inspired washes to choose from.
Loose Barrel Baggy Jeans
Walmart’s barrel jeans embrace a laid-back look with a baggy style and low-rise waist. If you’re looking outside of the classic denim blue look, these jeans come in a range of washes, including this versatile khaki shade you can dress up or down.
Barrel Jeans
Garage offers a slightly less exaggerated barrel jean look, which still has the famous horseshoe shape — just not as wide — to give off more of a skater appearance. You can also take advantage of the five-pocket styling and cotton material that’ll get softer with every wash.
GREAIDEA Mid Rise Barrel Jeans
Amazon is keeping things crisp with these white barrel jeans you can wear to brunch or drinks with friends. The shade makes it easy to dress down with a crop top or pair it with a blouse for a dressier feel. Since it features a low-rise waist, it creates a more relaxed vibe, while the pockets in the front and back allow you to store small essentials such as your phone and cash.
What Are Barrel Jeans?
While TikTok has been labeling the jeans “barrel,” the style is known by a couple other names, including “balloon” and “horseshoe” jeans. What sets it apart from the classic wide-leg jean is the fact that the design flares out at the thighs and tapers off by the ankles. This gives it that rounded shape similar to a barrel.
Are Barrel Jeans in for 2024?
Barrel jeans have been going viral all over social media for months now, making it clear that the look isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Though it has the fashion community theorizing the best way to style the denim look, that hasn’t stopped people from clamoring to stock up on as many styles as possible.
For more product recommendations, check out ShopBillboard‘s roundups of the best denim jumpsuits, slip dresses and jean shorts.
When The Weeknd’s “Die for You” came out in 2016, it was just a modest hit, failing to crack the top 40 on the Hot 100. But the track was rejuvenated during the pandemic, thanks in part to the community of TikTok users who love sped-up and slowed-down remixes. Interest in “Die for You” eventually spiked enough that it was promoted to radio as if it were a new record, and after Ariana Grande hopped on a remix, the ballad lumbered to No. 1 on the Hot 100 in March 2023, more than six years after its release.
In recent years, starting especially during the pandemic, major hits following a similar trajectory have become a regular feature of the pop landscape. Two months after “Die for You” peaked, Miguel’s early 2010s R&B hit “Sure Thing” climbed to No. 1 on the Pop Airplay chart — No. 11 on the Hot 100 — more than a dozen years after its original release. And in October, Taylor Swift‘s “Cruel Summer” topped the Hot 100, four years after it came out as a deep cut on 2019’s Lover.
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“There’s a huge trend for music that’s chronologically old to have a second life,” Amazon Music global head of music programming Mike Tierney told Billboard in 2022. “The lines are getting incredibly blurry.”
It felt reasonable to assume that this blurring process would continue. In a surprising turnaround, however, those lines look more solid this year: So far, no catalog tracks — defined as more than 18 months old — have made it to the upper reaches of the Hot 100.
The closest thing would be Djo’s neo-glam hit “End of Beginning,” which peaked at No. 11 at the end of March, just around 18 months after its original release. Early in the year, Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s 2002 nu disco cut “Murder on the Dancefloor” looked like it might become ubiquitous after its revival via the hit film Saltburn, but in the end, it topped out at No. 51 — pretty good for a song released more than two decades ago, but not at the same level as the reincarnated hits of 2023.
Executives believe this change is partly due to the deluge of superstars and breakout artists vaccuming up attention with new releases, preventing listeners from wandering aimlessly towards oldies. In addition, they say, disruptions to the pipeline of film and TV last year, and the music ecosystem on TikTok this year, closed off some avenues for old songs to transform into new hits.
While it’s not even halfway through 2024, the new-release calendar has already been packed with high-flying albums — a pair from Future & Metro Boomin, double-LP-sized releases from Beyonce and Taylor Swift, plus full-lengths from Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, J. Cole, and more A-listers. Kendrick Lamar and Drake didn’t put out albums, yet they still commanded everyone’s attention for weeks with diss records. “The quality of new music that’s come out this year is so high that there hasn’t been the need to bring back old records to use on TikTok,” says Mike Weiss, vp of music and head of A&R at the distribution company UnitedMasters.
This sentiment was echoed by R Dub, director of programming at Z90, a top 40 station in San Diego: Playing rejuvenated oldies “is a little easier to justify,” he says, “when there just isn’t enough top-tier current product coming out.”
This matters because when catalog hits are on the verge of being massive, radio functions as a closer. After these songs have gone bananas on short-form video platforms and seen a similar bump on streaming services, then it becomes radio’s turn to blanket the rest of the population. Not only did “Die for You” and “Sure Thing” top Pop Airplay, “Cruel Summer” spent longer at No. 1 on that chart than any of Swift’s many other hits.
But a track doesn’t typically make it big at radio without a big label push, and right now, with so much current-release firepower, labels don’t feel the need to dust off old records and present them to program directors as if they’re fresh. “It’s exciting to be at top 40 again, because of all these great new singles,” says Jay Michaels, brand manager for Y101, a pop station in Mississippi. “They’re different styles, from pop to country to hip-hop to alternative; they’re big, and they’re legit.”
Importantly, these songs aren’t just coming from the usual suspects among the pop elite: First-time acts also appear to be breaking through at a steady clip, after several years of stagnation.
In 2022, executives described the landscape for important new artists as “abysmal” and “dry as f–k.” In recent months, however, Shaboozey, Sabrina Carpenter, Sexyy Red, Chappell Roan, Benson Boone, Tommy Richman, and other newbies have all been vying for chart real estate simultaneously. Their approaches vary widely: Richman’s “Million Dollar Baby” is a falsetto-smeared homage to underground Memphis hip-hop; Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” is a country club-wrecker; Boone prefers heaving pop power ballads.
The emergence of all these artists in close succession over the course of a few months is a welcome sign in the music industry. Artist development suffered “because of the pandemic,” according to Weiss. Now, he says, “it feels like we’re over that hump, there’s been enough time to really make great records, develop artists and put the work in” – building the type of foundations that can lead to sustained breakthroughs.
This means that new music has enjoyed a surge of top reinforcements as it battles with legions of oldies for eyes and ears. At the same time, catalog has been fighting with one hand tied behind its back for many months.
First, retrenchment and belt-tightening in Hollywood – combined with dual strikes in 2023 – slowed the flow of new TV shows and movies. Netflix plans to reduce the amount of original movies it makes by nearly half, according to Variety. And Deadline noted in December that while 2023 “counted 124 wide theatrical releases (opening in 1,000-plus theaters), the dual WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes forced a bulk of tentpole delays that are leaving 2024 with only 107 wide titles.” That leaves fewer opportunities for the synch soundtrack moments that often jolt catalog records to life.
At the start of this year, catalog was hobbled further when licensing negotiations between Universal Music Group and TikTok crumbled. “Many of the titles that ‘come back’ do so via TikTok — they just explode out of nowhere,” R Dub notes. That process was impeded when UMG and TikTok failed to reach an agreement at the end of January.
Most of the labels’ official recordings were then yanked from the platform. After a month, most recordings featuring contributions from Universal Music Publishing Group’s songwriters were pulled as well.
As a result, a large swath of popular music was much harder to stumble across on the app that plays an outsized role in music discovery — especially for younger listeners. And those listeners are more likely to hear a catalog track and experience it as new, simply because they’re younger and have heard less music. An 18-year-old TikToker was around four or five when “Sure Thing” first came out.
Despite this turbulence, several executives believe that catalog hits are just experiencing a temporary downturn. Mike Biggane, a former UMG and Spotify executive, predicts that “older music will continue to be rediscovered outside of the release moment.”
The star-packed release schedule can’t continue at this pace forever, leaving more room for rediscovery. And UMG and TikTok reached a deal in May.
“As long as people have a platform like TikTok where they have a viral mechanism for sharing their own interpretation of their favorite songs, you’ll continue to see these moments [where old tracks] pop up,” says Benjamin Klein, a manager who also runs Hundred Days Digital, a TikTok marketing agency.
The question is: Now that the pandemic is in the rear-view mirror, when these throwback singles re-emerge, will they look more like “Die for You” or “Murder on the Dancefloor”?