October 2025
I already wrote in February about TikTok’s report, which attempted to highlight its contribution to pushing old and new tracks into the charts. Try as they might, the conclusions were mixed — virality is important, but not sufficient.
Now MIDia has released a report with the opposite claim: TikTok isn’t driving streaming. And Zoomers are even complaining that they’re tired of TikTok music and are content with the short snippets they hear alongside videos.
But you can write whatever you want in headlines, but you can’t fool the numbers, and the situation is more complex.
MIDia says that TikTok and social media in general aren’t the main source of discovering new music. Only 27% of users named social media as their favorite source. This is only slightly less than YouTube (31%), but more than streaming (23%).
However, the age group breakdown must be taken into account. Among 16–24 year olds, TikTok is the number one choice for 30% of listeners, while other social media combined account for 39%. YouTube accounts for half that number, at 21%.
Given that this age group is the most active, the role of other sources is significantly diminished. From a strategy perspective for artists, a combination of social media and YouTube allows for 60% reach, and these are the most controllable tools for artists.
MIDia says the funnel isn’t working — TikTok drives more content consumption on the platform than streaming. While this is true, only half pay attention to the artist’s name, and only a third listen to their music on streaming.
But no funnel guarantees 100% conversion. The conversion rate from watching a track’s video on social media to streaming other songs by the artist ranges from 33% to 40%, which is quite good. And 9% even become superfans.
MIDia also reports that the 16–24 age group is less likely to stream music than 25–34. But the difference isn’t that dramatic: 33% versus 40%. 33 or 40 people out of a hundred isn’t a significant difference to factor into strategy.
The final observation, which seems controversial, is that social media users are exposed to too much music and don’t see the need to listen to it on streaming platforms. For 18%, maintaining a consistent social media session is important, and 22% say they listen to more than enough music on the platforms themselves.
It’s interesting to see the trend and how it changes over time, but currently only one-fifth of users are lost due to music overload. The benefits of wider reach still far outweigh the losses for some users.
Social media companies are in a clear conflict of interest with copyright holders: TikTok doesn’t want people to leave its platform for streaming, but if that doesn’t happen, labels have a stronger argument for raising licensing fees to at least the same level as streaming.
Some argue that TikTok doesn’t really need music, and that labels and artists need it for promotion. However, 36% of users say music is critical to their social media experience. It’s these 36% that are driving the bargaining.