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Syracuse University sophomore Jackson Velli uses TikTok to promote his music. Velli is a student in the Bandier Program, which focuses on the music business, and he’s used TikTok since his freshman year.

For the past year, Bill Werde, the director of Bandier, has encouraged his students to use the app to promote their own music and discover music by other artists. After watching videos on the app, he’s seen how TikTok has become a “power broker” in the music industry, he said.

In October, Bandier launched its own TikTok account to showcase the work of students in the program.

Alex Coslov, a friend of Werde’s and a 2012 graduate of Bandier, first introduced Werde to the app. While in Beijing with students in May 2019, Werde and his students had the opportunity to sit down with the leadership team at ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok.

Although Werde has had his own account since May 2019, he doesn’t make his own videos because he doesn’t want to embarrass his students, he said. He uses his account as a spectator and has been able to see how TikTok has evolved and the power it now has, he said.

“It’s just something where creators are making amazing content for the people that authentically follow them, and now it’s something where I think everyone who has something to market understands the power of TikTok influencers,” Werde said.

The Bandier TikTok account exists primarily to reshare videos of current students and alumni. A video from October features Velli introducing the single “Indie Girls 101” from his most recent pop punk album, “Picture Us Tiny.”

Bill Werde (top) interviewed Melanie Martinez (bottom right) and her producer Michael Keenan. Courtesy of Bill Werde

One of the great things about TikTok is the algorithm that puts people into niche groups, Velli said. Velli uses other social media platforms such as Facebook to promote his music, though he believes TikTok is the best right now.

“I think TikTok is honestly the most important thing right now in the music industry in terms of trying to get in front of people,” Velli said.

Madison Kiper, a junior in Bandier, uses TikTok to find emerging artists. She used TikTok in two Bandier courses, “Business of Record Labels and Music Producers” and “Business of Live Music & Experiential Brand Activation,”making a fake marketing plan for TikTok in one of them.

Using the app has opened doors for Kiper, leading her to her current label marketing internship with the music company Altadena. Part of her internship involves brainstorming content for TikTok.

Through using the app, she has learned about the type of content that gets people’s attention.

As far as networking goes, Werde thinks anything that is good for Bandier is good for networking. The intention behind using TikTok wasn’t to create professional networking connections, he said.

Since the music industry is always changing and evolving, it’s important for the program to stay up to date, Werde said. Right now, TikTok is part of the evolution.

“The music industry is constantly evolving, like most media industries. And so the places that are important for distribution and marketing are constantly evolving,” Werde said. “In the Bandier Program, it’s just our mission to stay on that cutting edge.”

Published on November 10, 2020 at 12:07 am

Contact Gavi: gavi@dailyorange.com | @gavi_azoff