In 2021, a TikTok video featuring Canadian artist bbno$ syncing his eyebrow movements to the beat of his song “Edamame” gained popularity, significantly impacting his career trajectory. TikTok’s Canadian team proposed recreating the clip with a safari-themed filter and then promoted it globally, leading to a surge in the song’s success. The track, which includes Indonesian rapper Rich Brian, achieved six-times Platinum status in multiple countries.
Several Canadian musicians, including bbno$, are expressing concerns about the potential loss of social media support from TikTok, which plays a crucial role in shaping their careers. With TikTok facing a shutdown order in Canada, artists fear losing a valuable platform that allows their music to reach a global audience instantly, particularly benefiting emerging acts, especially those from racialized backgrounds facing obstacles in traditional music channels.
As the deadline for TikTok’s closure in Canada approaches, the platform’s Canadian team is conducting awareness campaigns to demonstrate its significance, with Canadian artists rallying behind these efforts. According to bbno$, being an artist today means being a TikToker, emphasizing the platform’s role in boosting his career and expressing worries about the impact on fellow Canadian musicians.
The Canadian government’s decision to dissolve TikTok’s Canadian operations in November 2024, citing national security concerns related to its Chinese parent company ByteDance Ltd., has raised apprehensions about potential data security risks. While there are worries about Chinese government access to user data and foreign surveillance, no public evidence supports data sharing with China. However, the closure of TikTok’s Canadian arm could diminish the platform’s surveillance capabilities and its influence on Canadian policies and public opinion.
TikTok’s closure in Canada could have significant repercussions for Canadian artists, reducing visibility and hindering opportunities for growth, sponsorships, and support systems. Prominent Canadian group The Beaches highlighted TikTok Canada’s pivotal role in their success, underscoring the platform’s importance for local artists to compete globally on a level playing field.
The shutdown order also impacted sponsorships for Canadian arts institutions and programs supporting Indigenous creators, such as the National Screen Institute’s TikTok Accelerator. Indigenous creators, like hoop dancer James Jones, lament the loss of support from TikTok, emphasizing the platform’s role in amplifying Indigenous voices and fostering connections for small businesses and creators.
Vanessa Brousseau, an advocate for missing and murdered Indigenous people and a participant in TikTok’s Indigenous Creator Accelerator, expressed concerns about the detrimental effects of the government’s decision on Indigenous creators. She emphasized the platform’s unique ability to amplify Indigenous voices and fears that without TikTok’s support, opportunities and connections for Indigenous creators will diminish significantly.
