Behind the screen-sweeping "Wumeizijiang", what is the value of the Douyin hit song?

Recently, the spread of "Wumeizijiang" on Douyin can be described as everyone must listen to it. The platform where "Wumeizijiang" fermented its popularity was Douyin, and it was also labeled as "Douyin's divine song". How did it ferment on Douyin? How should the development of Douyin's divine songs be evaluated?

"Your faint smile is like black plum jam, and I taste the mint flavor of lipstick at the corner of your mouth." Recently, many netizens have been brainwashed by this magical melody.

On February 20, music critic Ding Taisheng published his review of "Wumeizijiang" on a video platform. Comments such as "vulgar, speculative, deliberately catering to the preferences of the sinking market, and in line with the aesthetics of young people in small towns" aroused heated discussions among netizens.

Whether it is from the perspective of popularity or discussion, "Wumeizijiang" has become completely popular. The platform where "Wumeizijiang" became popular is Douyin, and it has also been labeled as the "Douyin Divine Song".

Ever since TikTok has made one song after another popular, discussions about "TikTok divine songs" have almost never stopped. The "Top Ten Chinese Popular Songs" selected at the 2021 Tencent TMEA Annual Ceremony are almost all from TikTok, which has further aroused discussions among netizens about "TikTok divine songs".

As a "TikTok divine song", what is the fermentation process of "Wumeizijiang" on TikTok? Are TikTok divine songs really vulgar? What is their value?

1. Tik Tok is a place where popularity ferments

"Wumeizijiang" is the ninth single from Li Ronghao's seventh album. It did not cause much of a stir when it was released last November. When the album "Zongheng Sihai" was officially released in December, "Wumeizijiang" still did not receive much response. On Zhejiang Satellite TV's New Year's Eve, Li Ronghao sang this song in front of many viewers, but the response was still mediocre.

In January this year, after this song was covered by artists such as "Xiao Liuzi" Cao Yang on platforms such as Douyin, its popularity has increased significantly, and it can be said that it became a hit in a small circle.

According to Yunhe data, on February 8, one week before Valentine's Day, #Your shallow smile is like black plum sauce# first appeared on the Douyin hot search, and ranked 36th on the hot search with more than 5 million searches.

On Valentine's Day, this song really broke through the circle. In the early morning of Valentine's Day, #白鹿唱的乌梅子酱# became a hot search on Weibo, and entered the top 12 of Douyin's hot searches with more than 7 million searches that night. In addition, "乌梅子酱" was also covered by Douyin music bloggers such as @范芽芽, @乃慧, and @Bell玲惠, which set off a wave of popularity on the platform.

Secondary creative contents such as "Mix up Love Like Fire and Black Plum Jam to sing", "Black Plum Jam that can't find the tune", and "Fancy performance of Black Plum Jam" have all made it to the Douyin hot list.

With its high popularity on Douyin, "Wumeizijiang" has also swept other platforms. Regarding the fact that the singer is Li Ronghao, music critic Ding Taisheng said that "(this song) cannot be compared with his earlier works. At least there was some sincerity in his early works, but now there is no sincerity at all." This comment made the related topics #丁太升说乌梅子酱不忍# and #如何评价李荣浩的乌梅子酱# become hot searches on Weibo.

The popularity of "Wumeizijiang" has also made many netizens curious about this food. #What is Wumeizijiang?# and #What is the divine taste of Wumeizijiang?# are both related hot searches. At the same time, "Wumeizijiang" has also driven the search volume on Taobao. Relevant data shows that the search volume of "Wumeizijiang" has increased by 200 times in 3 days, and the Taobao hot search index has increased by 843% in one week.

Although "Wumeizijiang" was caught up in the debate over whether it was vulgar or not, in terms of exposure, "Wumeizijiang" was the clear winner, and this also created momentum for Li Ronghao's "Zongheng Sihai" world tour.

2. Sides A and B of Tik Tok’s Divine Songs

Douyin's natural advantage in traffic can increase the probability of a song becoming a hit, and the influence of a song after it goes viral is not only reflected within Douyin, but will also expand to a wider range such as various platforms and TV programs. The powerful promotional ability of the traffic platform injects greater vitality into the music itself.

For example, after Liu Shuang's "Mohe Ballroom" became popular on Douyin, it was broadcast on major satellite TV stations. In the past one or two years, this song has appeared on stages such as "Time Concert", "Chasing the Lights!" and "The Shining Band". Artists such as Chen Chusheng, Yuan Hong and Wang Jingwen have also re-created this song in the form of song, dance and drama, giving "Mohe Ballroom" a richer way of expression.

Moreover, the platform's users actually possess a certain level of auditory aesthetics, and coupled with strong promotional capabilities, some classic old songs have regained new vitality. For example, Miriam Yeung's early classic "Kiss Everywhere" has reached a new peak on Douyin, and Hacken Lee's "Flower Guardian" has become popular again on Douyin.

The Douyin platform has also seen the value of Douyin's magical songs, and has co-produced a cross-screen interactive music variety show "Like for the Song" with Zhejiang Satellite TV. The variety show has a total of 12 episodes, and most of the songs sung in the show are from Douyin's popular music. By inviting well-known musicians (groups) such as Phoenix Legend, Angela Zhang, Hu Yanbin, and Li Yuchun to re-interpret Douyin's magical songs, new highlights and discussion topics are introduced.

In addition, the commercial value of Douyin's hits cannot be ignored, which is reflected in the number of plays and the value of the musicians. According to the market circulated level of 2 yuan for 1,000 plays, the income of a hit song will be as high as millions or even tens of millions, which seems very considerable. At the same time, the value of the singers and producers of the hits and other related personnel will also increase significantly. For example, Chen Feng, the producer of "Learn to Meow", spent half an hour to create this song. After it became popular, his single production fee increased from a maximum of 50,000 yuan to an average of 100,000 yuan, and commercial performances were scheduled for a year later.

At the same time, the influence of Douyin's hit songs is also reflected in the charts of various platforms. According to a report by Hedgehog Community citing industry insiders, "Charts equal money. Being in the top 100 of the Kugou chart is equivalent to money coming in. There will be a share of the platform's traffic and various licensing fees. As long as a song is popular, it can be said that you will not have to worry about food and clothing for a year."

The commercial value of Douyin's hits has prompted some small music companies to move closer to it in terms of production. Another industry insider said, "We disassemble the lyrics, arrangement, and timbre of the most popular songs, and then add a little of our own stuff, and it will sound different. A song is just like that, and it may take less than three hours. The music produced under this model has completely subverted the imagination of the traditional music circle. This kind of music is not measured by whether it is popular or niche, good or bad, high-end or low-end. It is a manifestation of commercial value." He even thinks, "I don't think we are creating or doing art. It feels like working in a production workshop."

The excessive pursuit of commercial value has damaged the quality of music works to a certain extent. Tian Tian, ​​co-founder and CEO of Neon Entertainment, once told the media: "After the popularity of Douyin, singers found that songs only need 30 seconds to become popular, and many people don't even write a complete song. Or in a 3-minute song, it is 30 seconds repeated over and over again. In order to quickly catch the ears of the audience, some musicians write songs that are shorter and shorter, and some even only write choruses of more than ten seconds." These phenomena will destroy the user's complete listening experience, so it is not difficult to understand why Douyin's divine songs are labeled as "garbage".

For professional musicians, short video platforms are also a test. In the preliminary stage of the music variety show "Tomorrow's Creation Plan", the program adopted the "30 seconds to decide whether a song is good or bad" competition system, and several program mentors discussed this competition system.

Image source network

Singer Deng Ziqi believes that "in the fast-paced Internet era, this is indeed a problem that singers have to think about, but excellent works should be excellent in every aspect. Since we cannot change the environment, we should adapt with high quality." Wu Tiaoren said, "When they used to wholesale records, they also tried to judge whether to purchase a song based on 30 seconds. Of course, there is still a chance of failure. Today, everyone is accustomed to the sensory stimulation of short videos and rarely has time to appreciate music beyond 30 seconds... The time left for art appreciation in life is constantly compressed. If possible, let's leave more time for music."

3. Is the short video platform a value depression in the music industry?

In addition to the discussion on whether the "Tik Tok divine song" is vulgar or not, the significance of the short video platform as a promotional channel for the music industry is also worth exploring.

According to the "2022 China Digital Music Industry Insight Report" released by Fastdata, the size of China's digital music market in 2022 was 49.47 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 3.4%. The development of the industry has entered a bottleneck period, which also means that the industry needs new energy to drive development.

It is undeniable that short video platforms have indeed made some "popular songs" popular, but many Chinese hits have also been discovered and reborn through short videos. It's just that the "short, flat and fast" music has a large base on short video platforms, giving people the illusion that Douyin hits are low-quality and vulgar. Douyin hits are not synonymous with shoddy work, and auditory aesthetics and traffic attributes are not in conflict.

From a long-term perspective, the music industry and the short video industry will have a deeper connection. On the one hand, the "tool value" of short video platforms in publicity and promotion is valued. "The production idea has changed, from planning first to song first." Senior music practitioner and music marketing expert Tang Jiancheng mentioned in an interview with China Economic Weekly.

Because the data on the dissemination paths of platforms such as Douyin and Kuaishou are very transparent and market feedback is more rapid, some record companies will select a number of songs that may become popular and release them to the market for testing, and make subsequent decisions based on the feedback data. This, to a certain extent, avoids the huge loss of manpower and material resources in the early stages of planning and design.

On the other hand, professional singers have become more tolerant of Douyin hits, and some mainstream singers and traditional record companies have begun to re-examine online songs. For example, when Li Ronghao was a mentor on The Voice of China, he selected a Douyin hit song, "Your Pub Is Closed to Me," for a student. In response to questions from netizens, Li Ronghao posted on Weibo, "There is no good or bad music, don't be misled again."

Image source network

When evaluating Dao Lang, Li Jian once said: "Many people think that online songs and folk songs are not up to standard, but to some extent, pop music is also a kind of contemporary folk song. Dao Lang's works are very musical, have an audience and a market, and this is the mainstream of contemporary music." This evaluation also applies to some short video hits.

For some listeners, instead of being crazy about Douyin hits and complaining that short video platforms have ruined the Chinese music scene, it is better to actively look for good music that is beyond the algorithm. For some musicians, not being obsessed with 15-second hits will make the life cycle of their works longer.

As music blogger @呆若木一 said, "In this era, every click we make is a vote for the world we want. Share and talk about the things you like as much as possible. Instead of focusing on the dark side and creating a contempt chain, it is better to see if we have neglected the highlights that deserve attention. If you remain silent, the space for speaking will naturally belong to others."

References:

1. "Plum Sauce" swept the screen: Are the record industry and short videos accelerating their "reconciliation"? | Rhino Entertainment

2. "Wumeizijiang" is a huge hit, is the Chinese music scene "in trouble" again? | Yiyuguancha

3. Tik Tok’s Divine Song: A Data-driven Carnival Driven by Traffic｜Hedgehog Commune

4. The 30-second Douyin hit song, is it music garbage or a new direction? | China Economic Weekly

5. The top ten hits of the year are all Douyin hits? This is clearly the "people's choice"｜APPSO

6. Can "Like for the Song" justify the reputation of Tik Tok's hit songs?｜New Voice Pro

Author: Aries; Editor: Ji Nan

Source: TopKlout (ID: TopKlout), a self-media ecological observation account that combines good-looking and informative content