TikTok's Getting a New Owner (and Algorithm) So Now It's Actually Time To Panic
Just kidding. Kind of. But here's how to navigate the biggest TikTok shake-up yet and keep your music career thriving.
The TikTok news cycle has been absolutely wild lately. The White House just confirmed that Oracle will oversee TikTok's US algorithm when the sale is completed, with a new joint venture controlled by majority American investors including Oracle and Silver Lake. ByteDance will lease a duplicate copy of the TikTok algorithm to this new US entity, which Oracle will then retrain "from the ground up."
But here's what this actually means for you as an artist: the algorithm that's been your discovery engine is about to change. And honestly? This might be the shake-up we needed to really start diversifying our marketing efforts.
The Algorithm is Already Changing
Even before the sale details were announced, TikTok's algorithm officially changed in September 2025, and creators are already feeling the impact. Views are down across the board because most creators are still posting like it's 2022, when the reality is that TikTok is now focusing on how you categorize your videos, use SEO keywords and how searchable your video is to your audience.
The good news? TikTok's algorithm update means actually a fairer playing field for everyone but it means your content has to be good. Translation: the days of random virality might be ending, but that means consistent quality creators will actually have a better shot.
What This Means for Music Marketing in 2025
The new owners may wish to modify TikTok's Community Guidelines according to their view of acceptable and unacceptable speech, and the proposed app's U.S.-only user population will alter the makeup of the app entirely.
For artists, this means two things:
Your TikTok strategy needs to evolve NOW - The old "post and ghost" method is dead. You need to be thinking about searchability, categorization, and keyword optimization.
The fundamentals still matter most - TikTok can’t be your only platform for reaching fans.
Here's Your Action Plan:
Double Down on SEO Optimization Stop thinking of TikTok as just a video platform. It's a search engine now. Use relevant keywords in your captions, think about what your audience is actually searching for, and categorize your content properly.
Quality Over Quantity (Finally!) The algorithm is rewarding creators who make TikTok-first content. 79% of TikTok users prefer brands that understand content creation specifically for TikTok. This isn't about having expensive equipment - it's about understanding the platform's native style.
Don't Panic - Adapt Yes, there will be changes. But now is the time to diversify your efforts. If you’ve been going all in on TikTok, it’s time to apply that same dedication to another platform.
Keep Building Your Email List If the past few years have taught us anything, it's that platform changes happen fast. The artists who weather these storms best are the ones who own their audience directly. How many of your TikTok fans can you reach if the app goes down tomorrow? You should always own as much of your fan data as you can, don’t rely on algorithms.
The music industry has been through platform shakeups before - remember when Instagram changed their algorithm and killed everyone's reach overnight? The artists who survived were the ones who adapted quickly and didn't put all their eggs in one basket.
TikTok isn't going anywhere, but it is changing. The question is: are you going to change with it?
As always, reach out to me at Amethyst Collab for help adapting your strategies to these new algorithm updates!