Random Thoughts on: TikTok

I've been on TikTok recently. Well, I've been watching for a while now, but I thought I'd try my hand at it. I started out with a few singing videos and a few production videos. I noticed that some of my videos were doing better than others. So, I decided to try and "beat the algorithm." which was mainly me only doing singing videos. That's as far as I got.

I've read different articles and seen videos on how to do this but, to be honest, they didn't get me very far. I uploaded a singing video last week that got zero views. How does that happen? I wasn't on the for you page, and none of my 7 followers saw the video. I'm not upset at it, but I am confused. It seems as if, at least when you're starting out on TikTok, views and engagement can have a lot to do with luck. It can be like a gamble of whether or not TikTok decides to show people your videos. If they do well with everyone that sees them, they get in front of more and more people. This leads to more engagement and then more views.

To me, TikTok feels very casual. It's short-form, so it's easy for me to film and upload them. I figured out how to use sounds, effects, and filters. It can be pretty fun. Most of my cover videos have been acapella, but I'm going to add music to them. I realized I can do this with their "add sound" feature. So instead of me just playing the instrumental in the background, it will sound more like a proper recording. I can also try to get more creative with the video aspect of it. Maybe this will bring in more engagement. It will also be exciting.

Interesting enough, the videos that got the lowest views were duets. These are videos where I'm singing along with someone else's videos. I thought, "TikTok encourages the use of their features like duets and stitches." So, when it comes to "beating the algorithm," sometimes it seems like there isn't one. Like it's all just random. I know it's not but, I have more questions than answers right now. Oh well. I like making these videos. So I'm going to keep doing it. Maybe they get somewhere, maybe they don't. Either way, I think this app is pretty cool. See my TikTok here :)

Random Thoughts on: Being a Content Creator

There is so much media content to consume today. With Instagram, Tiktok, YouTube, and plenty of other platforms, anyone can be a content creator. To be a content creator, you need to figure out what content you want to create. What calls out to you? What makes you happy? What's something you're willing to work hard on consistently and still enjoy it? You also want to know what makes you different. Similar to finding your brand, you need something that makes you stand out.

For me, my main online content is blogging. I've always liked to write. So, taking some time every week (I know I've missed a few weeks) is something I enjoy doing. It's not just something I do to get people watching; it's a job that I like. So I keep doing it. It lets me be creative and gives me the space to express myself where I can talk directly to people or just rant. And I hope that people can relate to them. Sometimes a bunch of people read it, sometimes only a few. Either way, it's fun. And getting more readers comes second to telling my story from my honest perspective.

I'm also on Tiktok, but it took me a while to figure out what type of content I wanted to make there. I don't do comedy, and I'm not interested in following dance trends. I don't shop enough to make videos about fashion, I don't do makeup, and I don't draw. A good thing to think about is what form of expression makes you the most comfortable. Other than when I'm singing, I'm not 100% at ease on video. I think it's because I was trying to do what was already being done instead of just being me. I also have a YouTube show I'll be uploading soon. This went through a few trials because I had to find a rhythm that was natural to me. It's not going to work if it's not authentic.

So, if you want to be a content creator, know there are many forms of content, and you just need to find something you enjoy that feels natural for you. It can be dancing TikTok videos, a blog, a podcast, YouTube short films, animations, photographs, or anything else! And whether two people are watching or two million, the most important thing is to be authentic to you. Getting your views up by using different tactics can come later.

Random Thoughts on: Staying Relevant

I always wondered, what exactly makes an artist relevant? Is it their music or their presence in the media? I used to think it was more about the music. Artists needed to have music that was new and fresh to be relevant. But the more I pay attention to the media, the more I realize that's not all that's important. Relevance is in this case, is just top of mind awareness.

An artist can have a great song. But, if it's not promoted correctly, it'll be harder for them to stay in listeners' minds. This can be the promotion of the project, or it can be completely unrelated. Some people react to posts and stories about what artists are doing outside of music negatively. They'll say, "so what?" or "who cares?" If it's not about their music or latest project, why is it being talked about? That's because artists don't have enough music to only talk about that all the time. Even if they did, most people don't want to hear it after a while.

Listeners often want to know more about the artist as a person. Listeners want to know how artists grew up, what they like to do for fun, who they're dating, and what they love. They want to get to know them. It makes perfect sense. Without all of this, some artists can get boring. Think about a movie, for example. It's like having an action movie with only fighting scenes. There's nothing about the character's development, no heartfelt story about how they got there, very little dialogue and emotion. It's cool to watch for a bit but gets old fast.

All this comes into an artist's brand, who they are, and how they are unique. Everyone wants to see character development, even in real life. Sometimes though media takes this too far. The artists and the record companies can't control what people say. It can be a magazine or a site like TMZ. Or it can be just someone on the internet. When all of those people speak about celebrities, it's not about the promotion of the artist. Some labels may not mind if the story isn't that bad. It's free promotion and keeps them top of mind. But, some of it can be really damaging.

The point is you need to keep people talking about different things. Because they can only talk about your song for so long.

Random Thoughts on: Mainstream World Music

Music can be a uniter of people in the world. Music of different cultures and countries spread throughout the world is a beautiful thing. In the US, that's gotten more and more popular in recent years. Groups like Blackpink and BTS have become mainstream here. K-pop has been a popular genre for a while, but you didn't typically see K-pop artists performing at the VMAs and Grammys.

That is huge! This is also sort of true for Latin music. There have been mainstream Latin music artists for a while, like J-Lo, Marc Anthony, and Daddy Yankee. But I've noticed in recent years, there has been more effort to integrate this music on popular lists like Billboard Top 100. On Spotify, global listening to Latin music grew 110% in 2017. 10 Spanish-language singles made it onto the platform's Global Top 50 chart, setting a new record, according to Rolling Stone.

My guess is that this started from the Despacito. This song was everywhere. It was on the radio, in memes, and on Musica.ly / TikTok. But hearing a tune this much can get tiring. So, what do you do when you love a song but are also tired of hearing it? You look for similar music. And when more people are listening to Latin music. Non-Latin artists, like Justin Bieber and The Weeknd, start recording songs in Spanish and remixing older songs in Spanish.

I want more music to become popular too. More African and Indian music should be listened to everywhere. We just need one "Despacito" for those genres. And once they do become more mainstream, it can change all American music so much. I'm looking forward to it because music has to evolve! I've started to listen to more music from different cultures. You can enjoy it, even if you don't speak the language. You should probably look up the translation before you start singing along to it.

Random Thoughts on: Playlists With a Vibe

Some people are masters at creating playlists. Whether for road trips, birthday parties, celebrations, or breakups, there is a playlist for every situation. If you have a vast music taste and listen to music for every activity, this is probably you. Being able to capture a specific vibe with several unrelated songs is a gift. Creating one for a person can mean you know them better than they thought. Wherever they come from, building playlists is an art.

It's not just about picking the right songs. It's also about how those songs follow each other. There needs to be a good transition between them. It's not something a computer can easily replicate. My taste in music and my mood change every day. If I just let Spotify make my playlists, I'll end up listening to 'Son of Man' by Phil Collins from Tarzan, 'Numb' by Lincon Park, and then 'No Scrubs' by TLC. These are all songs I love! But maybe not all at the same time. I'm not trying to bash Spotify, of course. Spotify is great! I'm just saying their playlist game could be better.

Thinking about this reminds me of the Hulu show 'High Fidelity.' Zoe Kravits plays a record store owner who lives for great music and creating playlists for different moments in her life. Sometimes just the act of creating a playlist can help someone work through a difficult situation. It can be very therapeutic. You can start it to express how you're feeling and add to it to document you're healing.

I think it's an underrated skill and use of knowledge. What do you do when you want to listen to music but don't know what to search for? Look at a playlist. There's probably one for the vibe you're feeling at the moment. What's great about doing that is if you don't have an expansive knowledge of music, playlists can help you grow! There are hundreds of thousands of artists of all different periods that you might enjoy but have never heard of. So maybe go try something new. Let me know what you think about what you find.

Random Thoughts on: How music affects people

Music can affect you in so many ways. A song can be a trigger for sadness, or it can make you happier. Someone could listen to something sad like So Sick by Ne-Yo to help them get out their emotions. You could listen to Survivor by Destiny's Child to give yourself the motivation to move forward. I like to listen to Hakuna-Matata from The Lion King to cheer myself up. The emotional component of music is something that can be unappreciated. Not all songs trigger emotions in an obvious way, but they all have something in them that that brings it out of you.

In the same way songwriters get emotional when writing, people get emotional listening. A lot of people might think that music is something extra that's not a necessity to people. But music is a tool that creators build for others to use. If you're not good at writing or singing but want a song to show someone you love them, pick one and play it loud outside their house. Apparently, that works for some people.

Music is so good at fueling emotion. Movie directors and music supervisors have to be very specific about what songs they use in the movie. Imagine a drama without a somber piano; or Doctor Who without its action theme song, so you know something crazy is about to happen. It wouldn't be as effective. You wouldn't be on the edge of your seat that way.

Music can even help you calm down, go to sleep, focus, learn, take up time, make you feel less alone, or just help you think of good times. Music isn't just an extra activity people do for fun. For many, it's a necessity for their life and wellbeing. It's a part of who they are and how they identify themselves. Not just for the creators, but for the audience too.

Random Thoughts on: Performing Virtually

My first virtual concert taught me a good lesson. There's a reason, shows like the tiny desk concerts have so many people on staff. There are several sound and video people and managers who handle everything.

The technology to put together my virtual show was not on my side. I had to download additional software to stream (OBS), but it didn't work. So, I had to stop and start over. Then I had to post the new video on my website. Once I got things going, it was ok until the sound started acting funny. I could see myself on my computer monitor. I looked up and realized I was focusing on all the technical parts of the show. I made sure I was singing correctly and had all the words down. But, I forgot to perform. I was doing nothing with my face or my body.

It's like when you read through a book, and you realize you weren't paying attention, so you have to start over. When people have big concerts, there are usually dozens of people to make it happen. So the performers can just perform. If they needed to focus on other things, they wouldn't be all there, and it would take away from the entertainment.

I can practice singing and make sure I sound great without much thought. But there's more to performing than just singing. There's connection, emotion, acting, and bringing people in so that they can feel the message behind the words I write. So I have to be all in with the performance and not be distracted by everything around me.

However, with everyone in quarantine, that is pretty difficult. For next time, I'll try to get everything automated. As prepared as I thought I could be, actually doing it is the experience I need. Thank you to everyone who was there to watch my messy beginning. If you missed it, you can catch my next show soon. Check my Shows page for more information!

Random thoughts on: Celebrity Influence

Some celebrities like to use their voice to create change. They win an award and use their acceptance speech time to talk about politics or climate change. They use their social media following to influence people to help when there is a cause for it. Sometimes it is welcome. But other times, people think they should know their place as entertainers, and stay there.

Some people want to listen to music or go on social media without hearing celebrities speak up about issues that matter to them. For some, it's because they assume since the celebs are rich, they're full of it and don't have any actual problems. For others, they just don't care and are tired of hearing about it. They just don't want to hear about BLM, homelessness, or climate change anymore. They react to them as if they are trends that can get old.

I understand their viewpoint to not want to hear about it. I get that focusing on the world's problems on top of personal issues can be overwhelming. You can turn to social media or entertainment to get away from it and distract yourself for even just a few hours and have a bit of emotional rest. But, the problem with this is it can become all some people do. Some people have become so overwhelmed that they spend all their time being distracted. It feels better to be; to think about your favorite shows, movies, and games.

So celebrities use the unique opportunity. They're the ones we're watching and they want to tell us to look. Because if you look off for too long, it becomes harder to believe that there's a problem, just because you haven't seen it.