The Limits of Virality: Music Creators and Platform Negotiation in the Era of Short-Form Video

As the lifespan of virality on TikTok has become increasingly short and operates at a smaller scale, music creators are grappling with what it means to be successful in this later stage of the platform. For this study, I conducted 27 semi-structured interviews with music artists and creators about how short-form video platforms like TikTok have affected the way they work and create music. Many participants believe that while the creation of viral content based on memes and covers of popular songs affords constant visibility, it does not result in the monetary or career milestones that they desire, so they need to use different approaches. In this article, I characterize this new period of online musical labor as a period defined by “platform negotiation,” in which creators evaluate platform demands and work to approach their content creation in ways that prioritize their personal and professional goals. This includes strategic decision-making to negotiate their presence—which can include their identity, brand, image, etc.—across platforms over time. As they engage in relational labor to support continued work, music creators cannot simply rely on the tenets of optimization to be successful. Rather, many are pivoting to utilizing content creation in ways that aim to prioritize fandom and career sustainability. This article examines the ways in which music creators grapple with the challenges of short-form video and how musical labor is changing online.