Radio has been deposed by social media giant, TikTok, as the platform to launch unknown artists into the pop culture stratosphere, The Daily Telegraph reports.
One of these artists is global rap sensation Masked Wolf, whose followers and trending moments converted to millions of streams in the last 18 months.
READ MORE: Meet the Greek Australian rapper, ‘Masked Wolf’, topping international charts.
The Greek Australian rapper, who’s real name is Harry Michael, released Astronaut In The Ocean in June 2019, but it didn’t lift off until late 2020.
Why? Because TikTok creators began using its dramatic 30 second opening to soundtrack videos about welding, four-wheel drives and feats of superhuman athleticism.
JLo also gave the hit an extra bump when she posted a video of her dancing poolside to its infectious beat.
This in turn sent Masked Wolf’s fans to streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music to play the whole song.
TikTok’s Director of Music, Ollie Wards, said the song’s explosion into the music ecosystem was “mind-blowing.”
“It was completely mind-blowing to watch this rapper from Maroubra in Sydney go from being completely unknown to having a song in the top 10 of the US Billboard chart and a billion streams purely because of TikTok trends, and now he’s a bona fide touring and recording artist,” Wards said.
Source: The Daily Telegraph.
