What TikTok's new tool means for Kenyan artists

For the last few years now, TikTok has been the spark that turns relatively unknown melodies into global anthems, taking artists from the streets to the charts with the swipe of a screen.

The social media giant has now launched TikTok for Artists in Kenya, which it says is aimed at putting more power directly into the hands of musicians; offering data, insights, and tools designed to help them grow their careers and engage fans both online and offline.

The rollout, announced globally earlier this year, introduces an all-in-one dashboard that gives artists, their teams, and labels access to real-time analytics. Kenyan artists can now track song performance (views, creator engagements, posts), monitor fan interaction on their own content, and break down their audience demographics by gender, age, and language. It’s transparency and data musicians in the region have long been hungry for.

“Whether you’re an emerging or established artist, the main thing for TikTok for Artists is that it’s an insight tool that gives transparent actionable data in real time for artists to be able to know who’s using their music and how they’re using it,” Toyin Mustapha, Head of Music Partnerships, UK, Ireland and SSA at TikTok, told Citizen Digital in an exclusive interview.

“We built this platform to guide and inform artists on where their audiences are and where they need to enhance their strategies to grow and reach more global audiences.”

For Kenya’s fast-evolving music industry, where independent artists often outnumber those signed to major labels, the platform’s biggest promise lies in its accessibility.

“Anyone who is certified on TikTok as an artist has that actionable data themselves, directly. They don’t need to be told by their label teams - which could be the traditional way - what’s going on on TikTok with their music,” Mustapha explains.

“It’s great even for independent artists because they will directly be able to know firsthand their audiences; they will be able to see the videos that are helping to push their music further and the views they’re getting.”

What this means is that a Gengetone act in Umoja or an Arbantone star in Rongai doesn’t have to wait for label gatekeepers to explain their reach. With the dashboard, they can see - at a glance - where fans are dancing to their beats, and how best to turn those numbers into strategy.

Perhaps the most exciting addition for Kenyan musicians that comes with the new TikTok for Artists feature is the Pre-Release tool. It allows artists to create campaigns for upcoming projects up to a year in advance, letting fans pre-save directly to their preferred streaming platform - whether Spotify, Apple Music, or YouTube Music.

“It gives artists the ability to pre-release their forthcoming projects on TikTok up to a year in advance. This is a further way for fans to pre-save music and interact with artists, and for artists to then see what’s happening on the platform translate to real life off-platform as well,” Mustapha says.

And if a song starts to heat up? TikTok’s music team is listening, according to Mustapha: “If artists and their teams can see that their music is performing really well and growing, then it gives them the opportunity to let us know in case we haven’t seen it, so then we can give it editorial support in terms of playlists or banners or further amplification in-app.”

While TikTok has long been associated with viral dance challenges, the platform is now doubling down on helping artists monetize beyond social media buzz.

Through integrations with Spotify, Apple Music, SoundCloud, YouTube Music and more, users can instantly add tracks they discover on TikTok to their streaming libraries.

“Even though it has only been a year, that feature actually generated over a billion track sales already, which has led to several billion more streams,” Mustapha reveals.

The offline link is also clear: TikTok has partnered with global ticketing firms like Ticketmaster, giving artists the ability to sell tickets directly through their videos. A fan vibing to a Kenyan act’s live performance content on TikTok can, with a tap, buy a ticket to the next show.

Kenya’s music scene is vibrant but volatile, with many artists scoring viral hits before quickly fading into obscurity. Mustapha acknowledges the allure of chasing overnight success but cautions against it.

“Most artists only ever see those that have made it, and then think it happens overnight. One of the things we try to really steer artists away from is looking for that one moment of virality… While those moments are great, they don’t guarantee a sustainable long-term career in music,” he says.

Instead, TikTok urges authenticity. “We try to encourage artists to make music that is authentic, and not just music that they think will blow on TikTok. We’re here to support artists at any stage in their career; but the artists need to make music that is authentic and that they’re proud of – because, ultimately, that’s what resonates with the community that is on TikTok.”

A global stage for Kenyan sounds

For Kenyan artists long overshadowed by the dominance of Afrobeats and Amapiano, TikTok for Artists is more than a tech feature; it’s a bridge.

By combining actionable data, pre-release campaigns, streaming integrations, and ticketing, the platform is betting big on turning Kenyan hits into global exports.

As Mustapha puts it: “It doesn’t matter whether you’re big or emerging; the main thing is that you have the data to help you make informed decisions to make your projects go further, not only in your region but globally as well.”