Open AccessCROSS-CULTURAL STORYTELLING APPROACHES IN TIKTOK'S MUSIC CHALLENGES
Author(s) -
Arantxa Vizcaíno-Verdú,
Crystal Abidin
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
selected papers of internet research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2162-3317
DOI - 10.5210/spir.v2021i0.12260
Subject(s) - storytelling , musical , meaning (existential) , grounded theory , music industry , visual arts , popular music , aesthetics , sociology , psychology , media studies , narrative , literature , art , qualitative research , anthropology , music education , psychotherapist
TikTok has created new strategies that has impacted the musicindustry through visual effects, stickers, filters, augmented reality, split screens, andtransitions in videos no longer than 60 seconds. TikTok posts presents a mode ofinterdependence where users demonstrate the cultural value of music through challenge andaudio memes. This study focuses on a popular social trend on TikTok known as ‘musicchallenges’. We focused on the significance and cultural meaning of music challenge memesthrough five key elements – image, audio, text, story, culture – to understand whatcomprises a ‘challenge’ on TikTok, how storytelling constitutes music challenges, and whatcross-cultural in-group affiliations are identified in this trend. For this purpose, wedeveloped a ‘TikTok music storytelling codebook’ informed by grounded theory, and selected150 music challenge meme posts via manual scraping the ‘#MusicChallenge’ hashtag on TikTok1–3 April 2021. Through a pilot analysis, we identified new modes of storytelling throughaudio memes related to nostalgia, fandom and humour. Beyond “put a finger down” challengesand “I know the song/I don’t know the song” lists, we found a broader significance intelling stories grounded across cultures: sharing a childhood memory, relating to alifestyle type, and fanning after a musical genre. We noted a musical-peer group belongingtrend that brings out a mixture of urban tribes and experiences via creative song-mixingthat lasts seconds. To sum up, we understand that TikTok music challenges emerge as avehicle for interdependent groups to showcase their in-group identities through playfulaudio-visual creations.