Old Clichés or a Transforming Community?

This article investigates how performers of Western early music aremusicking and interacting on and through TikTok, with a focus on their communication strategies and how they affirm their identity. This is the first attempt to examine the output on this social media platform of a group of musicians identified on the basis of a musical repertoire from the past.A first part devoted to methodological considerations is followed by the analysis of six case studies that can be considered representativeof the plurality of profile present on TikTok: both individual musician and ensemble, singers as well as instrumentalists have beenconsidered. The last part of the article develops reflections ranging from theTikTokers themselves to their music personae, from the repertoireperformed to the specificity of the format of the published videos forthe TikTok platform. In addition, TikTokers' interaction with theaudience as well as with colleagues specialized in the same field isexamined.Far from being exclusively recreational in nature, the videos areoften informative or reflect a professional or even commercial intent.In most cases the videos are competently shot, yet the manner ofstaging oneself remains close to everyday life. The large number ofpieces performed by more TikTokers in a deterritorialised andasynchronous fashion reveals that the innovative way of producing music typical of this online musicking platform is also becoming established in the field of cultured music. This survey highlights that the community of early music performers onTikTok, although still very small, is very diverse within itself andmakes use of differentiated communicative strategies. This community is rapidly developing and oriented towards a participatory culture; moreover, it includes the affirmation of ethical and social values that go beyond the strictly musical sphere.