Seemingly in an attempt to get younger listeners on board with the icons of yesteryear, music labels are creating TikTok profiles for dead artists.
First spotted by journalist Dave Jorgenson, who runs the Washington Post’s TikTok account, it seems Old Blue Eyes is being billed as an ‘exciting new artist’.
Sinatra’s account is verified and follows Universal Music Group and Capitol Records. But he’s not the only superstar joining TikTok from beyond the grave.
George Michael, Whitney Houston and the great John Lennon also all have accounts on TikTok despite all being dead.
In the case of Lennon and Houston, the accounts make it clear that they are being run by the artist’s estate.
As well as introducing younger audiences to older music, the motivation for launching dedicated profiles for these artists is likely to keep that sweet royalty money rolling in. Once the music is available on TikTok, companies and estates can collect royalties through the app.
Of course, adding dead stars to social media is nothing new. All four of the above artists also have dedicated Instagram feeds too.
