Issue 2

The Impact of the TikTok Trend Cycle on Music and Identity.

By: Olivia Kelly 

It is blatantly evident that in recent years Tiktok has embedded itself deeply into the way music is marketed and released. The success of so many artists that have risen to fame in recent years can be accounted for by Tiktok to some degree, whether they began making or promoting music on the app, like PinkPanthress, or had existed for years prior, getting boosted into the limelight through their Tiktok virality, such as Doja Cat, Lil Nas X, or Sabrina Carpenter.  

 

The ‘Tiktok-ification’ of the music industry has come as a result of the overnight success artists have seen on the app and has had noticeable consequences on the formula for a large amount of mainstream music, as it is often created with virality and trends in mind. The Tiktok algorithm values short-form, repetitive sounds for users to feature in their videos, or a catchy hook or line to create adaptable lipsyncing trends. Songs are noticeably shorter and feel less original, featuring recognisable samples or clear allusions to older artists. This is obviously not true for all new music, especially by independent artists, but the Tiktok formula for viral success is clear, and in my opinion could be argued to be impacting the quality and value of music as an art. Is the political value of music being diminished as it feeds into the trend cycle? Many artists are unable to construct original identities whilst also being mainstream, as the trend cycle no longer values originality – music and fashion are recycled and repackaged for audiences' consumption.   

 

Additionally to artists' construction of their identities, the Tiktok trend cycle has had an effect on the way young women construct their ideas of self. Both identities mirror one another, as the value of labeling one's identity is a predominant feature of this consumerist cycle, having to conform to a particular aesthetic or ‘core’, and to look or act a certain way feeds into the quick trend turn over. This further how impressionable young girls see their identities as something to be dictated by others; an enforcement of patriarchal control. This is absolutely not a new phenomenon, seen since the beginning of social media on platforms like MySpace, Instagram and Tumblr. In both an artist's identity and the identities of young girls using social media comes a sense of community from this conformity, however it also creates a collective blindness to the harm constant labelling can cause, as girls aspire to unattainable narratives of what to wear, what to say and how they should live their lives. 

 

To link the idea that the trend cycle had negatively impacted the political value of music, and consequently the identities of young women, Sabrina Carpenter, and particularly the online discourse surrounding her latest album cover, poses as a good case study. Carpenter has grown to become one of the biggest female pop stars of the decade in recent years, her song ‘Espresso’ released in 2024, skyrocketing her into stardom. Part of her popularity comes from her raunchy lyricism and criticism of male behaviour in her work. It’s clear much of her work is ironic, as she pokes fun at this idealised sexy ‘perfect girlfriend’ male fantasy whilst criticising men and their treatment of her. This artistic persona has earned her praise (and a lot of money), so what went wrong with her most recent album cover? 

 

A lot of discourse took place online after the release of the cover for her new album ‘Man’s Best Friend’, an already ironic title that fits into the nature of her work, equating women to dogs, yet she often depicts herself treating men badly. The controversy over the cover comes from the arrangement of herself on all fours being held on a leash by a man. Again, Carpenter portrays an image she has perpetuated in her art before, this depiction of women as submissive yet critical of their male oppressor, a performance that has worked in the mainstream for her so far. However, many women online rightly commented that this cover feels distasteful in the current climate where women are being deported, having their autonomy ripped from them and facing excessive male violence every day across America, and across the world. Carpenter has depicted herself murdering men in a comedic fashion in the music video for her song ‘Taste’, turning their emotional violence back on them in a physical way, a sort of surface level but effective approach to feminist art, as it depicts a feminist message about female anger, but ignores the fact men actually commit that level of violence against women in an unironic fashion every day. This discourse comes down to the question: is it feminist or anti-feminist to perpetuate stereotypes of women as submissive/ objects, even if it's ironic?  

 

In Carpenter's work she’s trying to subvert the idea of a male fantasy, but isn’t actually subverting anything or causing any outrage, instead appealing to the men she’s supposed to be criticising. In my opinion, this question applies to the trend cycle too, as tiktok trends that are meant to empower women actually just highlight how consumerism acts to benefit of women's insecurity and patriarchal expectations. It's harmful as it makes her young female fans see no issues with the sexualisation of femininity, as the irony in Carpenter's message isn’t strong enough, and her image (for example the clothes she wears, her hair and makeup, even her personality and the subjects of her music)  conforms too closely to what is ‘trendy’.   

 

I believe Carpenter’s male fantasy persona and her music links to the trend cycle as many popular constructions of femininity online (i.e. the elegance and effortlessness of the clean girl and tradwife aesthetics or on the other side of that the more hypersexualized ‘hot girl’ or ‘brat summer’ aesthetics) perpetuate ideas of feminist intent, yet in actuality reflect conservative ideas about femininity and appeal to the male gaze. Linking back to the title ‘Man’s Best Friend’, the connotations of women as dogs raises the question why isn’t the album just called ‘Bitch’. This would be more powerful as the differentiation between her ironic image and the harsher, explicit title portrays her message a lot more clearly. A lot of great feminist art has on many occasions depicted the infantilised or conservative female appearance to critique the male gaze whilst contrasting that with explicit elements, for example the riot grrrls and punks of the 90s (who can be criticised extensively for their racism and white feminism), or pop stars like Madonna, who was extremely controversial in her lyricism (especially with songs like ‘Like a Virgin’ or ‘Like a Prayer’). These artists existed in a time before virality was considered in music, and whilst censorship existed it was not at the level it is online today. Art was also allowed to be sat with a lot longer to process its messaging, whereas today the turnover of what or who is popular moves so fast, that to risk missing out on viral success is detrimental. She's playing it safe to maintain her persona without making her mainstream audience too angry or feeding into her own anger, losing her younger fanbase or compromising the potential for her albums viral success.  

 

Overall although Carpenter often promotes feminist themes in her art, such as female anger or sexual liberation, she lacks subversive power and risk in her work and therefore remains  reinforcing the notions she tries to critique. The Tiktok trend cycle and musical personas like Carpenter’s creates an illusion of relatability and empowerment to hide what it really values, which is trendiness and consumerism, and subtly reinforces conservative ideas about femininity under the guise of irony.