The TikTok Guy at the Gig

I'm told he's a master of dark arts on the platform

At the Basement East, in the back corner where industry dicks lurk, I watched an artist I like play an opening slot. I was with with two friends; the agents for the act. We were digging the set.

The TikTok Guy arrived and commingled into our clump. The agents knew him; I did not. I was introduced with a first name only, no context.

After the artist sang her new single, one of the agents mentioned it was added to a cool playlist. The TikTok Guy scoffed and talked loud: “Dude, playlists? Over. Playlists are dead, dude. They literally mean nothing. Like, legit dude, absolutely nothing.”

He said the new song had no TikTok moment, so it basically didn’t even come out. “Her single before this one, dude, that one had that little moment, you remember? This new one just doesn’t exist, dude.”

“But she just played the song. Right there on the stage. It went right into your ears,” I said.