Rourke Jensen
Hyrum Russon of Riff Wood at a Kilby Court Concert on February 11.
TikTok, the social media platform used by over 50% of young adults, is known for creating internet sensations overnight.
Local Utah band, Riff Wood, experienced the rapid growth of their band through TikTok in late October of 2024. Their first video to blow up was an acoustic rendition of their song Blur.
“The video wasn’t doing well at first,” band member Myrum Russon said. “We wanted to show this new song in its fullest form, so we were going to delete it, but five minutes later it was blowing up.”
The band described this moment as “magical.” They suddenly went from having 3,000 followers and doing everything they could to get content out there to becoming a “for you page” sensation.
Social media’s effect on the music industry has been life-changing for young, upcoming musicians and formerly established stars. Guitarist Carson Groves described the change: “No, rather than uploading five or so singles and then dropping a full album the band has to focus on keeping people constantly engaged.”
Social media platforms, especially TikTok, have the potential to create stars overnight. With the constant delays of the app’s ban by the Trump Administration, the future of this platform is uncertain, and with that, the opportunity to discover small artists and the future stars of our generation.