JOHANNESBURG – In a move set to supercharge the local music industry, TikTok has officially launched its comprehensive ‘TikTok for Artists’ insights platform in South Africa.
The timing is impeccable, landing amidst a storm of viral Amapiano and house tracks that are dominating the platform, with Ciza’s energetic anthem ‘Isaka (6am)’ leading the charge.
The new platform is designed to give artists, labels, and managers a wealth of transparent, actionable data about their music’s performance, their posts, and their followers. This aims to help them better engage with the TikTok community and “supercharge their careers both on and off the platform.”
The launch highlights the critical role TikTok plays in breaking hits in South Africa. Over the last three months, the most saved track in the country using TikTok’s ‘Add To Music App’ feature has been ‘Isaka (6am)’ by Ciza, Jazzworx and Thukuthela. The song has been used as the soundtrack to a staggering 1.2 million video creations in South Africa alone, and more than 2 million globally.
This follows a familiar pattern of South African music finding a global audience through digital platforms, a phenomenon NOWinSA has documented before, from Jerusalema’s rise to other anthems of hope.
‘Isaka (6am)’ is not alone in its success. Other hugely popular tracks driving engagement include ‘Ngishutheni’ by Goon Flavour, Master KG and Eemoh—another one of the most-saved tracks in South Africa—which has generated nearly 1 million local creations and over 6 million worldwide. The success of Mawhoo, GL_Ceejay and Thukuthela’s ‘Bengicela’ (feat. Jazzworx) has also seen over 630,000 local video creations.
Listen to ‘Isaka (6am)’ here | Listen to ‘Bengicela’ here
Speaking on the expansion, Toyin Mustapha, Head of Music Partnerships, UK, Ireland and SSA at TikTok, said: TikTok has always been a key space for music discovery and promotion across Africa. With the launch of TikTok for Artists in South Africa we’re giving artists and their teams access to insights that can help them engage their fans in more meaningful ways and grow their careers globally. This platform is about putting powerful, transparent data in the hands of creators so they can make smarter decisions and connect with the global TikTok community.
The ‘TikTok for Artists’ platform offers daily-updated dashboards with features including:
· Song performance: Number of views, posts, and creator engagements per track.
· Post performance: Detailed metrics on views, likes, comments, and shares.
· Follower insights: A breakdown of audience by gender, age, and language.
· Pre-Release tool: Allows artists to create campaigns for upcoming albums so fans can pre-save them directly to Spotify or Apple Music.
For an artist like Ciza (Nkululeko Nciza), who is currently enjoying the biggest song in South Africa, this data is invaluable. His hit has achieved over four million plays on Spotify and 21.8 million impacts across radio stations, a success story ignited on TikTok.
“I”ve just been experimental because I love music so much and I’m just so happy that everyone’s been consistently following my journey and loving every single thing that I’m doing,
” Ciza told IOL Entertainment recently. “I feel like African music right now is going to the top.
“
The launch solidifies TikTok’s investment in Africa’s creative community at a crucial time, as the global tech landscape shifts. The platform’s role is increasingly vital for artists seeking international reach. This strategic move comes amid a shifting global tech landscape, including the potential for a US TikTok ban and its ramifications for local (South African) and international creators (as recently reported by NOWinSA), a topic of growing urgency with ByteDance’s September 17 deadline to sell the app or face a US ban.
TikTok for Artists is available now for all artists with a certified TikTok Artist Account.
ALSO READ: 50 Million and Counting: How MasterKG’s Hit ‘Jerusalema’ Rose to Become a Global Anthem of Hope
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