The success of FloyyMenor and CrisMj’sGata Only is a prime example of how the balance of power is shifting.
TikTok confirmed last week that the viral hit from Chile, released through independent distribution company UnitedMasters, was the most popular track globally on its platform this year.
Gata Only, TikTok confirmed, saw 50 million creations on its platform. It’s also been streamed over 1.3 billion times on Spotify and reached No.2 on Spotify’s Global Chart. It debuted at No.98 on the US Hot 100 in March, before peaking at No.27 on the chart around five weeks later.
“FloyyMenor’s achievement is a testament to the changing landscape of the music industry,” Steve Stoute, UnitedMasters founder and CEO, tells MBW.
“It proves that with talent, the right platform, and the right team, independent artists can achieve mainstream success without needing a traditional record deal,” adds Stoute.
For FloyyMenor, real name Alan Felipe Galleguillos, “being recognized by TikTok for having the global No.1 song of the year is a dream come true”.
Gata Only was also named by TikTok as its biggest Global track over the summer when, as MBW reported at the time, over half of the platform’s biggest global tracks were independently distributed.
That trend has more or less continued throughout the year. Half of the Top 10 biggest tracks globally on TikTok in 2024 were handled via independent (i.e. non-major) distribution, while four of the Top five biggest tracks on the platform this year were independently distributed.
Those Top 10 tracks included:
Gata Only by FloyyMenor & Cris Mj (United Masters)
Pedro by Jaxomy & Agatino Romero & Raffaella Carrà (B1 Recordings/Sony Music/ Ultra Records)
Alibi by Sevdaliza feat. Pabllo Vittar & Yseult (Twisted Elegance/Believe)
MILLION DOLLAR BABY (VHS) by Tommy Richman (PULSE/ISO Supremacy)
Tell Ur Girlfriend by Lay Bankz (Artist Partner Group)
La Diabla by Xavi (Interscope)
Nasty by Tinashe (Nice Life Recording Company)
BIRDS OF A FEATHER by BillieEilish (Darkroom/Interscope)
Forever Young by Alphaville (WEA/Warner Music Germany)
Last week’s confirmation of FloyyMenor, UnitedMasters, and the indie sector’s success on TikTok this year arrived just a couple of months after the social video platform was making headlines for a bust-up with independent licensing body Merlin.
The blanket licensing deal between TikTok and Merlin officially expired on October 31. TikTokscrapped re-licensing discussions with the organization, blaming “operational challenges with Merlin in the past where music that is not quality controlled for copyright is delivered”.
UnitedMasters, a Merlin member, became the first prominent indie artist services and distribution platform to confirm that it had struck a direct deal with TikTok after its split from Merlin. Ditto Music and India-headquartered record label Tips Music subsequently also confirmed that they had inked direct deals with the platform.
Speaking with MBW, Stoute says that he has “a great deal of respect for Ole Obermann and everything that he’s done at TikTok,” but equally commends Merlin for having “done a great job for independent labels across the world”.
“I’m a proud Merlin member,” says Stoute, but “because Merlin and TikTok couldn’t get a deal done, we had to go direct. [Merlin CEO] Jeremy [Sirota], to his credit, was very supportive of that.”
Commenting further on TikTok’s positioning in global music and entertainment culture, Stoute says the app, “is a force to be reckoned with. It dominates attention”.
Here, Steve Stoute explains how a song released independently by an 18-year-old in Chile became the biggest track globally on TikTok this year, and shares his thoughts on Merlin, independence, and the future of the music industry…
FloyyMenor scored the No.1 song globally on TikTok in 2024 – How was this milestone achieved?
Following FloyyMenor’s partnership with UnitedMasters, his debut UM release Gata Only became a global hit. Initially, FloyyMenor was performing in smaller venues in Chile, but with strategic marketing efforts with the UnitedMasters team, he quickly emerged as one of Chile’s most promising new artists.
The campaign behind Gata Only involved a multi-pronged strategy that effectively propelled the song’s success. The song initially went viral in Chile where fans started sharing their own lip-sync videos and dances, which contributed to the song’s early viral growth, prompting the team to shift focus to nearby countries.
Mexico became a key market, and the digital campaign pivoted to target Mexican audiences through a combination of influencers, media coverage, and live performances. This localized approach created a strong viral moment in Mexico, further fueling the song’s momentum.
As the record gained traction across Latin America and Europe, the team capitalized on its growing popularity by expanding the campaign to the United States.
By incorporating radio promotion, we amplified the song’s presence in US streaming platforms and social media, building on the organic growth it had already experienced. The strategic use of media, influencer partnerships, performances, key appearances across multiple regions was key in sustaining and expanding the song’s reach, making Gata Only not just a local hit, but a global one that transcended language barriers.
Could you share your thoughts about the significance of this achievement for UnitedMasters, FloyyMenor, and the independent artist community and tell us about its implications for the future of the music industry?
This achievement emphasizes UnitedMasters’ model of empowering independent artists. It demonstrates our ability to help artists reach a global audience, showcasing the power of independent music distribution and artist development.
“This achievement emphasizes UnitedMasters’ model of empowering independent artists.”
[On the independent artist community/implications for the future]: This win is a beacon of hope and inspiration for independent artists worldwide.
It underscores the power of independent artists, the importance of social media, and the potential for music to transcend geographical boundaries. TikTok’s role in this success highlights the increasing importance of social media platforms in music discovery and promotion. Artists who can effectively leverage these platforms have a significant advantage.
Unitedmasters recently signed a direct deal with TikTok. Could you share your thoughts about the significance of the deal?
I have a great deal of respect for Ole Obermann and everything that he’s done at TikTok. The relationship between TikTok and the labels has always been bumpy because TikTok is a great promoter of music. The labels feel like they want fair compensation for [the use of their music on the platform].
You don’t see the artists complaining, it’s the labels complaining. The artists want the promotion. Labels want the money. The artists know how valuable the promotion is for them to sell merch, have tours, and the popularity that they can monetize.
And Ole Obermann is in a tough spot. [UnitedMasters] doing a direct deal with him is primarily based on the fact that he and I have a strong relationship. I believe in the power of the platform. I think that we struck a fair deal for UnitedMasters and the artists that go through UnitedMasters. So I’m very happy to get that done.
Is the monetization better in your new direct deal with TikTok than it was in your previous deal, via Merlin?
No. Merlin has done a great job for independent labels across the world. And I’m a proud Merlin member, but because Merlin and TikTok couldn’t get a deal done, we had to go direct. [Merlin CEO] Jeremy [Sirota], to his credit, was very supportive of that.
“Merlin has done a wonderful job for independent labels around the world.”
I spoke to him first. That’s as much as I’ll say on that. I spoke to Jeremy before I did the deal. I have a great deal of respect for Merlin. It has done a wonderful job for independent labels around the world.
How common is it for you to do direct deals with any other DSPs across the industry, and how core do you see direct deals becoming for UnitedMasters or for any other independent companies when they reach the size and positioning that UnitedMasters commands in the market?
Scale [has] as a seat at the table [for] UnitedMasters [due to] the size [of the company]. You have got to remember, we had the No.1 song, Gata Only, at TikTok this summer. We’ve had consistent success over the last few years; seismic growth. [The company] expanded into Brazil, expanded into Africa.
The scale is what provided us a seat at the table [with TikTok]. So it’s not feasible for every regional company to do a direct deal, which is why Merlin is very important.
There will be some direct deals for the scaled players, ourselves and EMPIRE [for example], but for smaller regional players, there needs to be a resolution between TikTok and Merlin because TikTok is not going to do direct deals with every single independent label.
You mentioned FloyyMenor’s success with Gata Only. I’m curious to know your views on TikTok’s role today in fueling global hits?
TikTok today is like MTV. In fact, it feels more like TRL, which showed the Top 10 trends in music every day.
That’s what TikTok feels like in music. Every day, you’ve got the Top 10 things that are rising in your algorithm; the things that make a difference. That’s why artists love it for promotion, because as far as artists are concerned, and I’m just going to be very clear with you, artists feel like they don’t make enough money streaming anyway, so they might as well get the promotion and then earn the money on higher margin opportunities like live shows and merchandise.
“Artists feel like they don’t make enough money streaming anyway, so they might as well get the promotion and then earn the money on higher margin opportunities like live shows and merchandise.”
The labels can fight back and forth, but the artists, again, never felt like streaming was enough money for the impact that the song was causing anyway.
And you’ve seen a lot of articles on this where people say, ‘I got a billion streams, Why am I not making a billion dollars’, or whatever that number is. You’ve seen the cultural impact of a song far outweighs the revenue from streaming, but you can capture that revenue in touring and in merchandising, in direct to consumer opportunities.
So we have to be concerned about that for our artists and get the best deal we can, but also respect the fact that that promotion engine is the way for the artists to create larger opportunities.
You’ve mentioned trends on TikTok. more than half of TikTok’s Top 10 global songs of the summer were independently distributed. Do you see that stat as a reflection of broader trends in independent music’s positioning?
The great news is that emerging markets are having their day in the sun. A kid like FlloyMenor, 18 years old from Chile, would have had to go to Brazil, Colombia, or Miami in order to get success.
Because of the UnitedMasters application, he was able to upload his song while he was still in Chile and become the first Chilean artist to have a platinum song.
“Emerging markets are having their day in the sun. A kid like FlloyMenor, 18 years old from Chile, would have had to go to Brazil, Colombia, or Miami in order to get success.”
TikTok is a promotion engine that coincided with what we did at UnitedMasters, along with the power and the reach of TikTok, to make it a global phenomenon.
Do I think that would have happened without TikTok? No, I think we would have done well, but I don’t think we would have done as well as we have if we didn’t have that promotion engine.
Now we want to get better economics, of course we do. In the deal that we did with [TikTok], the economics are fair. Transparency is fair. It’s a step in the right direction.
Speaking about economics, the press release about the deal referenced additional commercial opportunities that artists will see via the agreement. Could you give a bit more insight on that, especially in terms of the platform’s commercial music library?
We’re an independent distributor and we champion independence. We are also a world-class creative company.
We represent the likes of the NBA, we represent the likes of AT&T. We represent the likes of Meta. So because we have [access to the] creative class, they understand the power of sync.
“We’re an independent distributor and we champion independence. We are also a world-class creative company.”
As brands need to soundtrack themselves on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Snap, music has become way more important, as far as I’m concerned, in licensing.
We have aligned ourselves in this opportunity; sync is a fast-growing [sector], as brands are soundtracking themselves. Our creative side of the house is growing rapidly and leaning into sync and TikTok is a big partner in that.
How big a part of your business do you see that becoming?
I think sync is going to be 50% of our business. How about that? It’s growing 100% year over year. Brands realized they’ve got to be on social media. Every brand has to be on social media and engagement is higher when you have music.
You need music. It’s part of the storytelling component on social media. Major labels are very expensive and slow when it comes to licensing music for the quick pace of digital social media platforms and brands’ needs. We are nimble and fast.
We have been working with our artists to license music at scale with brands because we are a creative company, and we have deep creative relationships with brands. This is what we’ve done for the last 20 years. Having TikTok aligned in our mission is very important,
Looking to the future. How do you predict Tiktok will be positioned in the global music industry, and in this convergence of the brand and music worlds?
It depends on the continent because I have no idea about the politics in America and TikTok, and how that all nets out.
Globally, TikTok is a force to be reckoned with. It dominates attention. Particularly the music vertical. If you look at celebrity news, entertainment, cooking, makeup, and fashion, it’s really growing its influence in all these verticals. So, I think TikTok’s dominance in pop culture is a force to be reckoned with.
“[TikTok]’s role is extremely important and very influential.”
Between that and Instagram, it’s hard to ignore when you look at the user behavior of a 17-year-old and a 24-year-old and their engagement with those platforms. It’s hard to ignore how sticky and relied upon those platforms are. When you go to certain parts of the world, they use TikTok as the lead for search, whereas you and I would go to Google.
So when you ask me about their role, I think that outside of what’s going on in American politics, their role is extremely important and very influential, and you can’t ignore that, regardless of how you feel about China or whatever.Music Business Worldwide
