I disagree. “75% of TikTok users in the United States said that they used the platform to discover new artists, and 67% said they were more likely to seek out a song on a streaming platform if they heard it on the app” [1]. This full article is worth reading.

“Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams," re-entered the Hot 100 more than 40 years after hitting No. 1 on the chart, spurred by a viral video from user Nathan Apodaca… The album from which it hails, Rumours, also rocketed into the top 10 of the Billboard 200.” [2]

This one ^^ is particularly compelling to me. It’s easy to dismiss cases where growing artists grow faster because of tiktok. But this is clearly caused by tiktok alone. Also if you want examples of unpopular artists who grew a ton from tiktok those lists are very easy to find.

[1] https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2021/09/for-better-...

[2] https://ew.com/music/megan-thee-stallion-tiktok-top-artist-2...