I miss when I was more focused on this song as a whole and not just how catching the hook is like a 15 second clip.” It's more special if you actually had to put in effort to find that artist. It's not about flexing, it's more like how it feels to you. “A lot of the fun of finding an underground artist is the reward that comes with how much you have to dig to find them,” said Giraudi. The short, repetitive TikTok sounds may be prime for algorithmic hits, but not for the thrill of the hunt. The move away from traditional discovery by radio and towards streaming services is indicative of how the attention economy now dictates how artists get their start. His experience with finding music through online media, unlike Pedersen, has been more grounded in streaming platforms rather than TikTok. Jackson Giraudi is a sophomore at Santa Clara, Traffic Director at KSCU and tune enthusiast. “However, I also think there's been an oversaturation of certain songs and that’s made them become ‘TikTok sounds.’ That can dilute the artistry because it's turned into a ringtone.”
“I found a lot of songs that I really like on TikTok because the algorithm is so creepily accurate – I feel like I’ll end up getting music that I can really relate to,” said Kailyn Pedersen of the student band Vuducaravan. It’s this popularization of attention economics that’s responsible for many of the biggest changes in how music is created and consumed. The real value exchange happens as we give more attention (and therefore data) to these corporations. Take, for example, all the biggest social media giants – TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. Our attention is a scarce and valuable resource, making it a sought-after currency among companies and entertainment alike. The idea that we live in an attention economy has become increasingly relevant as we spend more time connected to technology. This phenomenon is just part of a tidal wave of changes in the music industry that stem from diminishing attention spans, changes to market-leading platforms and shifts in how music is consumed.
Then, out of nowhere, a crisp 20-second clip of the song begins to play, and your memory of the song comes into a sharp focus. Maybe you’re just that tired, or it’s by an artist you’ve listened to once or twice in the past. We’ve all been there: you’re listening absentmindedly to a song that sounds eerily familiar.
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