The idea that music 'sells if it goes viral on TikTok' is only half true.

In 2026, TikTok has become a massive gateway for music.

Creepy Nuts' "Bling-Bang-Bang-Born" spread globally through TikTok dances following its use as the opening theme for the anime "Mashle," and achieved the first-ever top 3 sweep by a single artist on Billboard's "Global Japan Songs Excl. Japan" chart. By April 2026, they had even reached the point of headlining the Gobi stage at Coachella.

Tani Yuuki started by posting songs he recorded at home to TikTok, and "W/X/Y" has reached a cumulative 800 million streams, one of the highest figures for a Japanese song.

Kocchi no Kento's "Hai Yorokonde" saw the "Giri Giri Dance" from its music video become a meme on TikTok, reaching a cumulative 200 million streams. Just seven months after its release, it reached the stage of the NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen.

And tuki., with her acoustic performance of "Bansanka" posted when she was 15 and in her third year of junior high, reached 500 million cumulative streams faster than any other female singer-songwriter in history. The total has now surpassed 600 million.

The common theory is that the trigger for all of this was simply "because it went viral on TikTok." You've heard that before, right?

But I want you to pause and question that for a moment.

There are hundreds, maybe even thousands, of songs every week that exceed 100,000 or 300,000 views on TikTok. However, many of them are forgotten by the following month.

Even though they all "went viral," some songs climb the global charts while others disappear within a week.

Is that difference just luck?

I don't think so. That is why the question of this article is as follows.

I have been in the entertainment industry for about 15 years now, working as a business manager and producer. Throughout that time, what I have been watching closely is "where to connect the viral success and fan enthusiasm next." So, every time something takes off on TikTok, I can't help but think, "So, where are they going to land this heat next?"

Before we get to the main topic, let me clarify one thing first. Every artist mentioned here is top-tier in talent. Their songs are good. Their singing is good. This is a fundamental premise, and there is no room for debate. On top of that, they have something new added to them. That is the "design of propagation." Propagation is the design of systematically transferring the fire lit on TikTok to other platforms, other contexts, and other experiences. There are times when you can get to the point of lighting the fire with talent and a little bit of luck. But it is also the job of design to propagate it to the next stage before the fire goes out.

In this article, I will analyze the phenomenon of artists going viral on TikTok and breaking out into the world. It consists of three steps.

🎙️ You can also listen to this article on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Please check those out as well.

Step 1: First, the "100,000 View Wall"

The most unique thing about TikTok as a platform is that the unit of diffusion is not the person, but the "sound source."

If there is a song you think is good, what spreads is not just the person's singing itself. It is a "bundle of derivative works" where tens of thousands of other people have used that song to dance, lip-sync, or incorporate it into their daily lives. Therefore, what is needed at the entrance is not the power to make people listen, but the "power to make people want to use it."

100,000 views is the initial threshold for whether the song resonates enough to make people want to use it in their videos or sing along. Once you cross this, TikTok's recommendation algorithm starts carrying it for you. Conversely, if you don't cross it, no matter how good the song is, the fire won't spread. *100,000 is a figure based on my own intuition.

There is no longer just one way to create that spark.

tuki. sparked it with her 'authentic self' as a 15-year-old playing guitar and singing.

For Atarashii Gakko!'s 'OTONABLUE,' the chorus of a 2020 song was spontaneously ignited three years later as a 'head-bobbing dance'.

And today's teenagers involve listeners from the very beginning.

The career of AKASAKI, who gained attention as a high school singer-songwriter, began with a single post on TikTok where he uploaded an original song with the caption 'Please give me a song title.' For 'Bunny Girl,' he posted only the 30-second chorus first, and released it only after comments asking to 'hear the full version' piled up.Within four months of its official release, it reached 100 million streams. The feeling of the listeners having 'nurtured' the song has become the fire itself.

Furthermore, the design to ensure this ignition isn't left to chance is to 'make' people create derivative works.

Instead of dancing yourself, you leave behind choreography or memes that tens of thousands of people want to imitate. Both Atarashii Gakko!'s 'head-bobbing' and Creepy Nuts' 'Bling-Bang-Bang-Born dance' are easy to do, easy to film, and feel good to imitate. It is a design that lets others carry the fire.

For Kocchi no Kento's 'Giri Giri Dance,' even official accounts of famous groups like Da-iCE, NiziU, and DA PUMP participated in the dance, further accelerating the fire. For FRUITS ZIPPER's 'Watashi no Ichiban Kawaii Tokoro,' middle and high school students imitated the choreography and posted it,and the total number of views on TikTok has swelled to approximately 3 billion.

What is important here is that there are truly hundreds of songs every week that just get ignited. 100,000 views is not the goal. It just means the fuse has been lit.

Step 2: Cross-platform promotion to 'establish' it in streaming

This is the most important part.

If left alone, the fire of 100,000 views will go out in a few weeks. The lifespan of a TikTok trend is that short. Therefore, those who continue to sell after going viral take action before the fire goes out. What they do is cross platforms. And they 'establish' it in the streaming services beyond that.

Carrying the fire outside of TikTok

imase's 'NIGHT DANCER' spread to 4 billion views worldwide on TikTok, the YouTube music video surpassed 100 million views, and from there,it entered the Spotify Viral Top 50 charts in 48 countries and regions.

The image above illustrates how the fire of imase's 'NIGHT DANCER (2022~)' spread from TikTok to various platforms. As you can see, it is important not to burn out on TikTok alone, but to transfer that heat to other platforms.

Placing yourself 'next to' the context

There is another powerful way to cross platforms. It is to place yourself 'next to' a place where there is already a large swell of interest.

Creepy Nuts' 'Bling-Bang-Bang-Born' rode the context of being the opening theme for the anime 'Mashle.' In 2026, imase climbed the charts once again after being selected for the streaming version ending of 'The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn't a Guy at All.' A song that has hit once can hit a second time by receiving a new context.

And the context you can ride on isn't limited to anime.

The phrase 'Biju Iijan' (You look great) from the lyrics of M!LK's 'Iijan' transcended the song itself and became a part of young people's everyday vocabulary. Total views on social media exceeded 2.5 billion, and it was nominated for the 2025 Buzzword Awards. When a song taps into the context of 'trendy words,' it sparks interest even among people who don't usually listen to much music.

FRUITS ZIPPER took the context of Harajuku's 'kawaii' culture across the sea, completing an Asian tour where tickets in Taipei and Shanghai sold out instantly. This is a way of transporting not just the song, but the entire culture along with it.

The goal is to turn song fans into 'artist fans'

However, cross-genre appeal and memes are ultimately just 'means'.

The true goal is for that song to be added to playlists and libraries on streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music, and to be listened to repeatedly in daily life. In other words, it's about turning 'That song is good' into 'I want to hear this person's next song too.' The fire from TikTok cools down in a few weeks, but the fire transferred to streaming turns into an accumulating asset.

As proof, the list of songs that have surpassed 100 million cumulative streams officially compiled by Billboard JAPAN is lined with the songs featured in this article. 'W/X/Y' at 800 million. 'Bling-Bang-Bang-Born' at 700 million. 'Bansanka' at 600 million. 'Hai Yorokonde,' 'Bunny Girl,' 'NIGHT DANCER,' and 'Watashi no Ichiban Kawaii Tokoro' each have 200 million. Even if a TikTok buzz is fleeting, the plays recorded here do not disappear.

The most clear example of 'turning into an artist fan' is M!LK. The highest chart position for 'Iijan' itself was 45th weekly. But the people who came to love M!LK themselves through that buzz pushed their next single, 'Bakuretsu Aishiteru,' to the group's first-ever Billboard JAPAN overall No. 1. This was the moment the song's buzz was converted into a fandom for the artist.

Creepy Nuts is the act that managed this entire flow with a single ignited song.

They ignited it within the context of 'Mashle,' induced user-generated content with simple choreography, funneled it from TikTok to streaming (Spotify, Apple Music, etc.), and achieved 500 million streams in 2024 at the second-fastest speed in history. From ignition to establishment, it is all connected in a single line.

Step 3: Connect the fire to an 'experience' that cannot be copied

Once you reach this point, there is one thing that can be said clearly.

The number of plays itself no longer turns into money or deep fans on its own. The place where value is created has shifted 'outside' of the plays.

Previously, in an article reading Spotify data, I introduced the figure that 80% of artists earning 100 million yen a year have never gone viral. Conversely, going viral (an explosion of plays) and being able to make a living (monetization) have become separate events. Plays are the fuse that lights the fire, and the money falls where that fire is carried.

It might sound like a strange story. One play is worth a fraction of a yen, and the lament that 'you can't make a living on subscriptions' is true. Yet, the global recorded music market is at $31.7 billion (approx. 5.1 trillion yen), growing for 11 consecutive years and hitting an all-time high. Even though you can't make a living on subscriptions, the music business as a whole is the most profitable it has ever been in human history.

The answer to this contradiction is the polarization of 'can it be copied or not.' Plays that can be copied are becoming infinitely thinner, wider, and cheaper. In exchange, experiences that cannot be copied—live performances, venues, physical goods—are hitting all-time high prices.

The Japanese live entertainment market reached 856.4 billion yen in 2025, hitting a record high for the third consecutive year. In an era where all music can be heard at any time, the price of 'that night, in that place' has become the highest.

For a detailed explanation of why the price and value of things that cannot be copied continue to rise, please check out this article as well. It is free to read.

Therefore, those who connect the end of the fuse to the next exposure, to the next live performance—in other words, to an 'experience'—are incredibly strong.

tuki. stood on the stage of the Nippon Budokan as her first solo concert in February 2026, without ever having performed live in front of an audience in her life. All 8,503 tickets were sold out, and it was certified as a Guinness World Record.2026年2月、初ワンマンとして日本武道館に立ちました。チケット8,503枚は完売し、ギネス世界記録に認定されています。

Tani Yuuki, who started by recording at home, gathered 10,000 people for his first Nippon Budokan concert in December 2025.

FRUITS ZIPPER, whose debut stage was a 150-capacity live house, carried their 3 billion TikTok views to the Tokyo Dome 1,379 days after their debut. In their solo performance in February 2026, they stood in front of 50,000 people.2026年2月の単独公演で、5万人の前に立ちました。

And M!LK sang 'Ii Jan' on the stage of the NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen, and from September 2026, their largest-ever arena tour, mobilizing approximately 160,000 people, awaits.

Even if the ignition is the same 'TikTok buzz,' the places those flames reach are completely different. Whether it ends with streaming play counts or turns into a 'live experience' at the Budokan or a dome—the design of the third step is what creates this difference.

Here, I will share one piece of news that is happy for Japan. While overseas songs hit with the sheer scale of their success, Japanese acts are beginning to stand 'next to' the world by using a multiplication unique to them: 'Anime x Music x Choreography that makes you want to imitate it.' For both Creepy Nuts and imase, the entrance was anime. And for FRUITS ZIPPER, the entrance was the 'kawaii' culture of Harajuku. I believe this is a form of dissemination unique to Japan, going out into the world without relying on scale.

A buzz is just the starting signal.

This has been long. Let me summarize.

A TikTok buzz is nothing more than ignition. 100,000 views is not the goal; it is the fuse.

In the first step, ignite with a 'song people want to use' and create a state where user-generated content spreads on its own.

In the second step, carry the fire outside the platform, establish it in streaming, and turn fans of the song into fans of the artist themselves.

In the third step, connect that heat to an 'experience' that cannot be copied.

What separated the artists who steadily climbed the stairs from the hundreds of songs that 'went viral' but disappeared within a week was whether they could climb these three steps.

Finally, just a few personal thoughts.

While writing this article, what struck me the most was how small everyone's starting point is.

A 15-year-old singing in their own room.
Home recording equipment.
A high school student's first post with the caption, 'Please give me a song title.'
A debut performance at a 150-capacity live house.

Until recently, all of these were considered the places furthest away from the Budokan, the Tokyo Dome, or Kohaku.

In the past, standing on those big stages required a major agency and television airwaves. Now, the fuse from one's own room is connected all the way there.

Of course, hundreds of songs are ignited this week as well, and many of them will quietly fade away. But I don't see that as a mountain of failures. It means that hundreds of candidates for the next Budokan are being born every week. Moreover, as we have seen in this article, the design after ignition can be learned.

As a producer for 15 years, having seen many things, I feel that this is the era where the distance between the base and the summit of music is the closest. That is why I think the future of the music business holds much more to look forward to.

Until next time.

Keke Asahi.

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