BookTok Music: Is It Popular For A Reason?
Booktok? Is it boosting artists and music or is it just a myth?
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In 2022, the sub-community “BookTok” comes from the social media app TikTok. BookTok has earned its own viewership and recognition, and now, thanks to Gen-Z, it has taken the music world with it. Should we associate music with BookTok and its different playlists, or should the music and the artists get their own recognition?
A vision in how gen z read. (Marydola/shutterstock)
What is BookTok?
BookTok is a sub-community on the social media app ‘TikTok’. It allows users to share jokes, thoughts, feelings, music, and everything else associated with books. As part of the community, you can indulge yourself in popular books, book-to-screen adaptations, and music associated with books.
With the increasing use of Spotify and Apple Music, readers can put their songs or playlists online for other members of the community. They are even gaining the ability to put podcasts out about BookTok.
Music on BookTok
A big and popular artist that has had a major increase in listeners and followers because of the power of social media within BookTok is Taylor Swift.
With Swift’s song ‘Cruel Summer’ skyrocketing from the book to screen adaptation of ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’, author Jenny Han went as far as to put the 4-year-old song back in the British Top 40 and America’s Billboard Top 100. It goes to show the influence BookTok has on the music industry and the power it holds online. However, is the recognition just part of the ‘hype’ or is it the real deal?
An example of BookTok’s power is that playlists are being embedded within books or associated with a book or its characters. This example of the power can be associated with the `Twisted Series’ written by Ana Huang. She includes a new playlist at the beginning of each book of the series.
Readers can go online and find that Ana has a playlist associated with her books. To make each book memorable, viewers can see how they are reader-approved online. In addition, these playlists are giving the artists featured within the playlists more listeners and potential for a mass amount of followers.
Many studies show that reading with music is good for your brain and helps you focus. This activity has become popular among Gen Z. However, it can often be distracting to listen to music while reading. The tone of the music you listen to while reading can often impact your ability to read a book.
What Happens When You Read and Listen to Music?
When reading different books with multiple plot changes and different characters, readers can accidentally get tangled up within the music, rather than the book. This can distract the reader from what’s most important. When reading, background music tends to absorb the audience in songs with lyrics as opposed to instrumental music. Classical music is the most effective genre to listen to while concentrating.
The Positives and The Negatives
BookTok can be beneficial for all of the readers, authors, and artists within the sub-community.With its power, it can pave the way for new opportunities and new audiences. However, it might not reflect favorably on the scientific community or the artist. There are many reasons why readers’ concentration levels are being disrupted while listening to music and reading. Now, BookTok music could further that problem. In addition, now artists focus more on books or BookTok to establish themselves and gain followers, rather than developing their name directly. So, while it may appear nice, it may not be steady for artists in the long run.