Lay Bankz's "Tell Ur Girlfriend" stands out as a unique musical creation. It combines elements from Ginuwine's "Pony" and Omarion's "Ice Box" and adds a four-to-the-floor kick drum for a distinct sound. Alec Henderson, head of digital at Banks' label, Artist Partner Group, believed it had the potential to be a hit. "It felt like a hit to us," he said. However, labels often struggle to accurately predict what will become a hit.

APG's Stance on the Song

In this ever-changing music landscape, labels sometimes give up on songs that don't immediately gain popularity. But APG stuck with "Tell Ur Girlfriend" and ran TikTok campaigns that played on its saucy lyrics. The track's lyrics, such as "Should tell my boyfriend what I been doin'/ Been thinkin' of you every time I screw him," added an extra layer of appeal. Henderson emphasized their belief in the song. "We really believed in that song," he said.Their faith was rewarded when two creators developed a dance set to the track. On TikTok, where trends come and go quickly, dance trends hold a special place. The "Tell Ur Girlfriend" dance "just went crazy," according to Henderson. In April, the song cracked the TikTok Billboard Top 50 chart. A week later, it debuted at No. 58 on the Billboard Hot 100 (dated April 27), thanks to nearly 9 million official U.S. streams, according to Luminate.

The TikTok Billboard Top 50 and Hot 100

Lay Bankz's hit was one of 24 songs that appeared on the TikTok Billboard Top 50 before jumping to the Hot 100 in the first 11-ish months of 2024. ("Tell Ur Girlfriend" ended up spending three weeks at No. 1 on the former chart.) This shows that while there is a significant number of songs making the leap, it still represents a small percentage of the platform's biggest hits. More than 600 songs appeared on the TikTok Billboard Top 50 during this period, highlighting the fact that even hard-won virality on TikTok does not always translate to widespread listening activity.

Marketers' Perspectives

Marketers recognize the importance of TikTok in their campaigns. Amy Hart, who worked at Flighthouse and 10k Projects before co-founding prairy, said, "All roads lead back to TikTok at this point, in some capacity." However, she also noted that the odds of starting something from scratch on TikTok are small. Digital marketers who focus on TikTok will face additional challenges in 2025. The future of TikTok is uncertain, as federal judges recently upheld a law requiring Bytedance to sell the app by January 19th or face a ban in the U.S., where over 170 million people use TikTok.In TikTok's early days, paying influencers to make videos with an artist's song was common and relatively cheap. But now, it's expensive and often ineffective. Sam Alavi, who co-manages the artist bbno$, said, "I'm starting to put less and less faith in influencer marketing as a vehicle for the distribution of and marketing of music."Some marketers have turned to contest platforms, which recruit a pool of creators and offer them cash prizes to make videos with specific songs. This ties performance to payment and encourages creators to make thoughtful videos. Marisa Kurtz, vp of marketing at Fearless Records, explained, "It offers a much easier way to get a volume of sound uses compared to reaching out to one influencer at a time." However, not all executives have had success with this approach. Rafael Rocha, CEO of NuWave Digital, said, "We've actually been working on moving away from contest-style campaigns in the last seven or eight months. Those are, in our view, also becoming inefficient and oversaturated."Another strategy that has gained popularity is creating and overseeing artist fan pages. These accounts can post content at a low cost and operate as if you had a media outlet at your disposal. Laura Spinelli, digital marketing manager for Shopkeeper Management, said, "It can tell the story of an artist without the artist having to be the voice." Tim Collins, co-founder of Creed Media, noted that fan pages provide a unique way to promote an artist.One thing is clear: The music industry is constantly evolving, and marketers need to adapt their strategies. As Hart said, "Tik Tok is always moving and changing." Alavi added, "As much as we all like to think that we can sit down at this table and be like, 'This is the thing that's going to go viral,' none of us f--king know."