During the 1980's, artist Matthew Wilder composed a song in about 30 minutes. That song,"Break My Stride," has been featured in films and commercials over the years and turned him into a one-hit wonder.
Teens have posted videos of themselves dancing to the song, or acting out its lyrics with props like laundry baskets. The upbeat and bubbly pop song, coupled with its memorable refrain, has an almost magical power to make people feel like dancing. In one TikTok video that was liked 3.5 million times, the creator took a video of his mom sleeping, and then Photoshopped her into different backdrops relevant to the lyrics, such as sailing across the sea to China and in a row boat.
The success of these tracks, both old and new, highlights the impact that social media platforms -- even a relative newcomer like TikTok -- have on arts and culture. Just as Tumblr launched book deals and Instagram impacted the design world, Ricky Ray Butler, CEO of influencer marketing firm BEN, said once a song goes viral on TikTok, it sees huge spikes on other streaming services such as Spotify or YouTube, which"directly translates to money in the artists' and labels' pockets."