The recent inaugural MOBO UnSung event, presented by SoundOn and Headliner Spaces, represents a historic moment at The Pioneer Club in St. Albans. This venue, known for its rich indie music history, is currently embracing the very best music of black origin on this particular evening, showcasing the MOBO UnSung class of 2023.
Presented by TikTok’s music distribution service SoundOn, MOBO UnSung is an initiative which looks at discovering the next wave of talent. Being identified as the next up-and-coming artist is all well and good, but how do artists harness that opportunity to maximum effect to raise their profile and get their music out there to new audiences? For independent musicians, finding the right platform to distribute their music and promote their work can be challenging:
“When you're doing independent artistry, you can feel so alone – you don't really have a team, you're doing so many things by yourself," nods R&B singer, Bea Anderson, who performed at the SoundOn showcase. "It was the perfect time to have some form of infrastructure that could be the next stepping stone to what's next in my career, and I honestly feel like this is the opportunity for that.”
Enter SoundOn, TikTok’s music distribution service, which is essentially an all-in-one platform for music marketing and distribution, aiding artists like the MOBO UnSung class of 2023 to build their careers and connect with new fans through TikTok, exclusive partners (Resso and CapCut), and on other digital streaming platforms via its global distribution service.
So who is SoundOn aimed at? If you're an artist that owns the rights to your music and are in search of distribution and marketing services, SoundOn could be the ideal platform for you. It's not just artists either – any labels situated in the UK (possessing their own catalogues) are encouraged to join SoundOn as well.
Using SoundOn, artists like Anderson can distribute music not only to SoundOn's in-house partners like TikTok and Resso but also to global streaming platforms – over 90, in fact, including Instagram and Facebook, Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, SoundCloud, Deezer, Tidal, Pandora and Shazam.
"You can't get away with releasing music now and not do [TikTok]," acknowledges Anderson. "I've had the phenomenal opportunity of using SoundOn for the live version of my lead single, which is great,” she adds.
On TikTok, she shares that it’s also become an essential part of her music campaigns:
“When I first released music, I wasn't on TikTok, and then it boomed and everyone was using it to propel themselves into the industry,” she reflects. “It really made me pivot my entire campaign. It's really important to understand how music is being consumed. At the moment, it is mainly TikTok, so you have to be on it, you have to use it, you have to utilise the platform to help you push your music.
Also ideal for emerging artists like Anderson, distributing music using SoundOn is free of charge, with all transaction fees waived by the platform. Too get ahead of the curve, artists are encouraged to upload new tracks well in advance – at least one week ahead for TikTok, Resso, and other ByteDance services – and at least four weeks in advance for other global streaming platforms.
