Bracing for a TikTok ban
App evolves from social platform to powerhouse in entertainment industry
LOS ANGELES — David Ma, a film director in Brooklyn, never had the money to go to film school. And though he loved shooting films, he was largely shut out of the opportunities reserved for big-time directors with Hollywood connections. Then came TikTok.
Ma joined the app in 2020 and immediately amassed a following for his unique directorial style. Studio executives and Hollywood bigwigs noticed. Suddenly, Ma was landing directing jobs.
“I was never on the radar in places like Netflix or HBO Max or Paramount,” he said. “Since I’ve been able to create work on the platform, my work has reached studio executives and marketing departments. TikTok allowed me to build that network without having the roster or résumé.”
Since the last time the U.S. government considered banning TikTok in 2020, the app has evolved from a social platform supporting a robust ecosystem of content creators and small businesses to an entertainment powerhouse. A ban now would threaten not only the livelihoods of TikTok’s biggest stars and thousands of small businesses, it could deal a massive blow to the entertainment industry.
“TikTok is the most democratized content platform we’ve ever had and it has revolutionized Hollywood,” said Adam Faze, studio chief of FazeWorld, an entertainment studio that produces scripted and unscripted shows. “I see TikTok as the old days of free network TV. Taking it away would go back to an era where we’re relying on legacy media brands and what Hollywood wants us to watch because they’re the only ones who can afford a marketing budget to find an audience.”
TikTok has allowed those who have traditionally been shut out of the media and entertainment industry a way to circumvent legacy gatekeepers and get a foot in the door.
That is consistent with what a recent poll conducted by The Washington Post found about TikTok’s audience: Its users are more likely to be young and non-White.
The poll found that 53 percent of non-White adults (including 67 percent of Hispanic adults) used TikTok in the past month, compared with 29 percent of White adults. Fifty-nine percent of Americans ages 18-34 used TikTok in the past month, compared with just 13 percent of those 65 and older.
TikTok users are also more likely to have lower incomes — 45 percent of those with household incomes of less than $50,000 used TikTok in the previous month, compared with 32 percent of those with incomes of $100,000 or more. And people without college degrees are more likely to have used TikTok in the past month (42 percent) than college graduates (32 percent).
Faze began producing scripted and unscripted television shows for TikTok last year, after discovering he could reach millions of viewers overnight at scale. One show produced by Fazeworld called “Keep the Meter Running,” where comedian Kareem Rahma conducts Anthony Bourdain-style interviews with cabdrivers as they travel on adventures together, became an overnight hit, amassing millions of views.
TikTok bills itself as an entertainment platform, not a social network. The app delivers a fresh feed of videos every day through its “For You” feed. In that way, it’s as much of a Netflix, HBO or Spotify competitor as a social platform.
While there is no authoritative figure of how much money studios spend publicizing their offerings on
TikTok, it is clear the platforms’ role in launching new movies is huge.
TikTok has said its research shows that 58 percent of its users are interested in seeing more content from entertainment studios on the platform. Last year, Variety reported that more major film studios were leveraging the app to achieve box-office success. Sony also used TikTok to generate hype for the theatrical release of “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” It gave popular TikToker Michael Le a walk-on part in the film and enlisted TikTok content creators to share behind-the-scenes footage before the film’s release. The film became the seventh highest-grossing film in movie history.
In addition to television and movies, TikTok has also radically transformed the music industry. It has launched the careers of a slew of pop stars including Lil Nas X, JVKE, and Jack Harlow. Other major artists such as Lizzo, Megan Thee Stallion, and Doja Cat all skyrocketed to fame after their songs went viral and became trends on the app.
TikTok contributed an estimated 13 percent of record labels’ “emerging platform” revenue in 2021, according to a report from Goldman Sachs. Since then, the app has nearly tripled its revenue.
The functionality of the platform has allowed a generation of Hollywood talent to bypass traditional gatekeepers.
“The consensus among the people I’m talking to is a fear that their voice might be silenced in the event that TikTok does get banned,” said Stephen Hart, an actor in Los Angeles who began creating content on TikTok during the early days of the pandemic when jobs were scarce.
His TikTok account, which has more than 416,800 followers, has helped raise his profile significantly and provides a steady stream of income.
TikTok has allowed a generation of talent to bypass traditional gatekeepers, industry experts said, and yanking that away would be a huge step back in terms of equality and access.
The consensus among the people I’m talking to is a fear that their voice might be silenced in the event that TikTok does get banned.”
— Actor Stephen Hart