How To Track TikTok Music Trends with AI

Published Jan 31, 202610 min read
How To Track TikTok Music Trends with AI

How To Track TikTok Music Trends with AI

TikTok is reshaping music discovery, with trends often driving songs to mainstream success. Spotting these trends early can be challenging due to the platform's fast-paced nature, but AI tools make it easier. Here's how you can stay ahead:

  • Why It Matters: TikTok's algorithm amplifies trending sounds, boosting visibility up to 7x. Songs trending here often climb Spotify and Billboard charts.
  • AI's Role: Tools powered by NLP and Computer Vision analyze TikTok data in real-time, identifying emerging trends before they peak.
  • Getting Started: Use TikTok's Creative Center to find trending sounds and validate them by checking engagement stats like likes and shares.
  • Advanced Tools: Platforms like Pentos and Tokchart automate trend tracking, while AI forecasts trends' lifespans with precision.
  • Next Steps: Tools like SoundRise help you create and schedule content aligned with trends, maximizing your reach.

To succeed, combine TikTok's built-in tools with AI-driven insights to spot trends early, create relevant content, and time your releases effectively.

4-Step Process to Track TikTok Music Trends with AI

4-Step Process to Track TikTok Music Trends with AI

TikTok

Start by exploring TikTok's own tools to pinpoint trending content while ensuring your music choices are brand-safe and legally compliant. This step lays the foundation for deeper insights using advanced AI tools later.

Use TikTok's Creative Center

TikTok’s Creative Center (accessible at ads.tiktok.com/business/creativecenter) is a great resource for discovering trends backed by data. It tracks hashtags, songs, creators, and videos by region and industry, giving you a snapshot of what’s gaining traction on the platform.

To spot emerging music trends, head to the "Songs" tab and filter by "Last 7 days" - this helps you catch trends before they peak and become overused. Pay close attention to the "Breakout" tab, which highlights sounds experiencing sharp growth. Cedric Yarish, Co-Founder of AdManage.ai, explains:

"Finding trending sounds isn't about discovering what's already viral (too late). It's about spotting the curve while it's rising, jumping in before saturation".

Each sound includes detailed analytics such as interest levels, related videos, audience demographics, and regional reach. The "Interest Over Time" graph is particularly useful, as it shows whether a sound is gaining momentum or leveling off. Sounds with fewer videos but a climbing interest curve often outperform those that are already overused.

If you're creating content for a brand, be sure to toggle the "Approved for Business Use" filter. TikTok’s Commercial Music Library offers over 1 million royalty-free songs that are pre-cleared for business use. Using music outside of this library could lead to your content being muted or removed.

Once you’ve identified potential trends, confirm their staying power by monitoring related videos and hashtags.

Validate trends by checking out recent posts and their engagement stats. When you find a trending sound, click on it to see the latest videos using it. If the top posts were uploaded within the past few hours, it’s a strong indicator that the trend is still active and worth pursuing.

Look at "Related Videos" to find recurring creative formats that are driving engagement. TikTok has become a powerful tool for music promotion - nearly 96% of artists see a boost in streams when their songs are featured in popular TikTok videos.

Keep an eye on metrics like Likes, Comments, Shares, and the "Hot" ranking to gauge a trend's virality. Focus on the trajectory rather than sheer numbers. For instance, a sound marked as "New to Top 100" with a rising interest curve is often a better choice than one that’s already everywhere.

Step 2: Use AI Tools for Deeper Trend Analysis

While TikTok's built-in tools are a good starting point, AI takes trend analysis to the next level by automating data collection and predicting trends before they become oversaturated. With billions of uploads happening daily, manually tracking trends just isn't practical. AI, powered by technologies like Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Computer Vision, can analyze this massive flow of content in near real-time.

Automate Data Collection and Monitoring

AI tools eliminate the need for manual trend tracking, saving time and reducing errors. Tom Forest, a music industry professional, shared how automation changed his process:

"I used to have an intern manually copy song metrics out of TikTok every morning. It was slow and inaccurate. Now we measure our artists' song growth in real time".

Platforms like Pentos and Tokchart monitor thousands of sounds 24/7, alerting you when specific songs start gaining traction. These tools use automated scrapers to gather data on trends, hashtags, and engagement metrics - no manual browsing required. For instance, Apify offers $5 in free monthly credits, allowing users to scrape over 1,300 results and export the data directly to Google Sheets or other databases. This ensures you always have an up-to-date list of trending sounds.

AI also plays a key role in matching "original sounds" (user-created snippets) to their corresponding official tracks and artists. This feature is especially helpful for identifying which of your songs are being organically used on TikTok.

Once the data is collected, AI's predictive capabilities can help pinpoint trends on the rise.

AI's true strength lies in its ability to forecast trends before they hit their peak. Advanced models analyze elements like audio fingerprints, sentiment velocity, and visual patterns to estimate a trend's potential lifespan - often with a confidence interval as precise as +/- 12 hours. Instead of focusing solely on total numbers, AI prioritizes trajectory curves, identifying sounds with rapid momentum. For example, a sound with only 8,000 videos but steep growth might be flagged over a declining trend with 2 million videos.

Some AI tools even scan for minor spikes on platforms like Discord or Reddit, giving you early warnings about trends before they reach mainstream platforms. This cross-platform analysis is a game-changer. Brands that capitalize on emerging trends often experience engagement boosts of over 300% during the trend's peak. The growing demand for these tools is evident, with the market for AI-driven social listening platforms expected to grow at a 35% CAGR between 2024 and 2028.

Step 3: Use SoundRise to Create Trend-Based Content

SoundRise

After identifying trending sounds with AI, the next step is to act fast and create content that rides the wave of those trends. SoundRise simplifies this process, allowing you to produce TikTok videos that align with current trends - no need to appear on camera.

It takes the insights from your trend analysis and turns them into actionable content, quickly and efficiently.

Create TikTok Videos Tailored to Your Genre

SoundRise leverages AI to help you craft faceless TikTok videos that suit your music style. Through an automated slideshow feature, it combines visuals with your tracks, creating professional-looking videos. Whether your music falls under hip-hop, indie rock, electronic, or any other genre, the platform adapts the visuals to complement your sound.

You’ll also find a content library filled with examples of what’s working in your niche. This helps you focus on trends that resonate specifically with your target audience, rather than chasing generic trends that might not connect as well.

Fine-Tune and Schedule Your Content

Once your video is ready, you can tweak it to align perfectly with your vision. SoundRise pulls visuals from Pinterest, giving you access to millions of images that can match your brand’s vibe. You can create multiple drafts, experiment with styles, and export your final video when it’s ready to go live.

The platform’s drag-and-drop calendar and AI-driven scheduling tool make posting easy. It analyzes your audience’s activity to recommend the best times to post, ensuring your content hits during peak engagement. If you’re on the Growth plan ($49/month), you can even publish directly to TikTok and schedule posts automatically, saving time and making sure your content lands when the trend is at its hottest.

Step 4: Build a Music Promotion Strategy from Your Insights

Now that you've tapped into AI-driven trends and created content, it's time to turn those insights into a focused promotion strategy. Timing is everything when it comes to TikTok, as the platform's algorithm rewards content that aligns with emerging trends. With 96% of artists reporting an increase in music streams when TikTok videos featuring their songs gain significant traction, your timing and execution can make or break your strategy. Use these insights to plan your releases and refine your approach as you go.

When choosing sounds, focus on their growth trajectory rather than their current popularity. For example, a sound with 8,000 videos and a sharp upward trend is often a better bet than one that's already saturated with millions of views. TikTok Creative Center offers tools like "Breakout" and "New to Top 100" filters, which can help you spot rising sounds before they peak.

Cross-check these trends with platforms like Spotify Viral 50 and Billboard Hot 100. Songs climbing these charts often reflect TikTok trends with staying power. If you're targeting specific regions, use TikTok Creative Center's regional filters to identify sounds that are just starting to trend in those areas. Cedric Yarish, Co-Founder of AdManage.ai, emphasizes:

"Success isn't about riding any trend. It's about finding trends with formats you can execute in your niche before they saturate".

Monitor Performance and Adjust Your Approach

After your content goes live, use real-time data to refine your strategy. Switching to a TikTok Business Account gives you access to detailed analytics, allowing you to track views, engagement (likes, comments, shares), and watch rates. This data helps you pinpoint what works and adjust your posting schedule accordingly.

Check the "Active Times" section in your analytics to determine when your audience is most active, and schedule your posts during these peak periods. Keep a rotating library of 5–10 trending sounds that show potential for future use. Regularly remove sounds that have lost momentum and experiment with new ones based on your audience's evolving preferences. By staying adaptable and data-driven, you'll maximize your impact on TikTok.

Conclusion

AI can be your secret weapon for identifying emerging trends and positioning your music ahead of the curve before the market becomes oversaturated. This guide lays out a straightforward approach: begin with TikTok’s Creative Center, integrate AI tools for predictive insights, leverage SoundRise to craft trend-focused content, and develop a promotion strategy backed by data.

Unlike TikTok’s native features, AI tools can track up to 250 trending tracks, tackling the challenge of saturation head-on. They also pinpoint the creative elements that fuel virality. As Cedric Yarish, Co-Founder of AdManage.ai, puts it:

"The audio that wins is the audio that unlocks a repeatable creative format anyone can execute".

SoundRise simplifies your workflow by turning trend data into actionable, scheduled content. It allows you to produce genre-specific videos, refine visuals with Pinterest inspiration, and schedule posts during peak engagement times - all while fostering organic growth without resorting to fake plays or middlemen.

With these tools and strategies at your fingertips, there’s no reason to wait. Start implementing them now, and you’ll be riding the next wave of viral sounds before your competitors even catch on.

FAQs

AI tools have the ability to spot TikTok music trends early by processing huge volumes of real-time data, including video uploads, hashtags, comments, and user interactions. With technologies like Natural Language Processing (NLP) and pattern recognition, these tools can pinpoint trends before they become widely popular.

By monitoring engagement metrics, hashtag activity, and user behavior across different regions, AI uncovers which sounds are beginning to gain traction. This gives artists and creators a chance to jump on trends early, increasing their chances of producing viral content and getting more exposure for their music.

AI has become a game-changer for tracking music trends on TikTok, offering artists and marketers a powerful way to stay ahead of the curve. These tools can sift through massive amounts of data in real-time, spotting trending sounds, hashtags, and content before they hit their peak. This means creators can jump on emerging trends early, boosting their chances of going viral and reaching a broader audience.

Beyond just identifying trends, AI dives deeper into audience preferences, regional patterns, and genre-specific insights. This helps users craft content that feels more tailored and engaging. Even better, AI can analyze user behavior and engagement to predict what might trend next, giving creators a chance to stay one step ahead.

By simplifying the process of discovering trends, AI frees up time and energy for creators to focus on what matters most: making content that connects with audiences and drives organic growth.

SoundRise simplifies the process of creating TikTok content that matches trending music styles. With tools designed to generate genre-specific videos based on current trends, you can tap into a vast content library for inspiration. It also allows you to customize videos to reflect your personal style and schedule posts automatically. This way, your content stays timely and resonates naturally with TikTok audiences.

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