Five up-and-coming Canadian music artists are turning TikTok virality into real-world record deals, tours, and chart-topping success one video at a time.
As TikTok grows, the platform’s impact on the music industry also keeps ramping up. Amid the increasing influence, these newer music artists are sharing their best tips to create social media engagement while prioritizing their musical craft.
Chrissy Spratt @Chrissyspratt: Be consistent with the type of content you post
Amassing over four million TikTok followers with her Afrobeats covers, singer Chrissy Spratt says the platform is a “whole beast of its own.”
“I started getting requests in comments under my videos from the Afrobeat world. I didn’t know much about the music or much about the culture yet, but I really liked the music. So I started with a few requests, and then the requests kept coming in, and the songs started to get a little bit more complicated,” Spratt told Now Toronto
As soon as the artist noticed the popularity of her signature videos dressed up and singing covers on a professional mic, she continued to post consistently-– sometimes even posting similar videos throughout the day.
Spratt, who just released her very first single “In Too Deep,” credits her millions of followers with landing her a record deal with Nigerian Canadian label Hi-Way 89 Entertainment and collaborations with Nonso Amadi and Tejiri.
“It was just so niche and so specific that it just worked for me,” she said.
Chani Nattan @chaninatt: Make shareable content
Punjabi-Canadian music artist Chani Nattan recently performed at the JUNOS this year with prominent musician A.P. Dillon and just finished his debut album tour across the U.K. He credits getting some of these opportunities from being active on social media.
Nattan started vlogging on Snapchat years ago, but started seriously posting on TikTok this year, especially after noticing the effect of people using his audios on their own TikToks.
Nattan’s hit song “‘Noormahal” has been used in over 20,000 videos, while one of his most recent collaborations “Best Friend” was streamed in other 11,000 videos on the platform.
Being on TikTok as part of the Punjabi music scene has helped the artist bridge Canada and the U.K. digitally.
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“You realize how strong the platform is and how much it matters for creators to boost content on there and how much the audience engages with it because it could literally make or break a song,” Nattan told Now Toronto.
Yanchan Produced @yanchanproduced: Work backwards to find your purpose for posting
Getting his name plastered on a billboard as a 2025 JUNOs nominee, reminded classical Indian carnatic music producer Yanchan of his roots.
Instead of thinking about which kind of content would get the most views on TikTok, Yanchan focused on what makes him feel alive: making beats and creating music.
“You can build multiple verticals, but the overall arching umbrella is me. As I create music, let me put it on in the world, right? That could be in the form of content [or] it could be in the form of song releases on Spotify. And then the money-making part, let me try to make money from the things that I love doing, right?” Yanchan told Now Toronto.
He viewed himself as an entrepreneur, studying corporations like Wendy’s and Walmart to find a way into their business secrets, and that’s when he noticed they had separate departments for marketing, research, and finance.
“Now, I’m a label owner and I have my own arts development company with my business partners…The more followers and viral videos I get, I get a lot more leads in my inbox [and] I get a lot more artists who reach out for production. Then, from there, I have a whole process of how I would convert that artist into a client,” he said.
Through a consistent trial and error process, Yanchan has created his own sustainable blueprint as a successful music entrepreneur on TikTok, which also landed him a unique space in the Tamil wedding business.
LøLø Jones @lolopopgurl: Utilize TikTok specific features for music artists
Canadian music artist LøLø Jones stood out on TikTok for calling herself the “punk rock Walmart Taylor Swift,” eventually securing a headlining act as the Simple Plan show opener during the Warped Tour this June.
Her TikTok account relies on live concert videos performing her recently released single “Possibility” and her debut album Falling for robots and wishing I was one.
Jones has accumulated 35 million Spotify streams. These could have partly come from the TikTok feature “Add to Music App,” which allows music fans to save songs they discover on the short-form video platform to their favourite music streaming services, according to TikTok Canada Head of Music Kat Kernaghan.
“TikTok is a really inclusive platform that values authenticity, and where so many communities we may have considered ‘niche’ can find each other and celebrate the music they love. This is particularly true for artists from a range of musical backgrounds,” Kernaghan told Now Toronto.
DJ Beatz @djbeatztoronto: Find ways to engage with your audience
Guyanese Toronto-based DJ Beatz became popular with his consistent turntable content and videos playing throwback Caribbean jams.
Although most of his videos focus on DJing, the artist also highlights upcoming events he’ll be playing in to convert TikTok fans into club patrons.
This is a common technique used by music artists on the platform, which allows them to sell tickets directly from TikTok videos through an integrated ticketing tool, according to Kernaghan.
DJ Beatz also relies on a strong visual identity, keeping his texts and filters consistent across different videos, which is another tip Kernaghan deems to make the profile stand out.
“When thinking about forging deeper relationships with music fans and sharing your creativity and music with a growing community, there are definitely a few best practices to keep in mind…. Authenticity and creativity are celebrated on TikTok, and expressing your creativity offers a really unique opportunity to give fans behind-the-scenes access to the artists they are discovering,” Kernaghan continued.
