cal state la creative writing

Student Success 2023

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Cal State LA alumna selected for Disney selective writing program

13 Cal State LA students receive prestigious pre-doctoral scholarships

Mar 15, 2024 | Student Success

A group of 13 Cal State LA students recently received the 2023-2024 Sally Casanova pre-doctoral scholar awards, which are granted each year to support the aspirations of students across the 23-campus California State University (CSU) system. Each scholar receives a...

Cal State LA computer science major receives CSU Trustees’ Award for Outstanding Achievement

Sep 12, 2023 | Student Success , University News

Patrick Emmanuel Sangalang, a computer science major in the College of Engineering, Computer Science, and Technology at Cal State LA, hopes to use his passion for computer science to inspire young students to pursue the many career possibilities in the STEM fields. ...

Jul 7, 2023 | Student Success 2023

Stacey Lau wants to see the nation’s food systems become more sustainable, ethical and affordable. And after years of studying food science and technology at Cal State LA—and conducting research—she is prepared to help make it happen. “My thought is that if you take...

Rosa Maldonado

Jun 30, 2023 | Student Success 2023

Rosa Maldonado received a Master of Arts in Chicana/o and Latina/o Studies from Cal State LA’s College of Ethnic Studies with a 3.8 GPA during Commencement on May 24. Maldonado, 28, was among seven Cal State LA students selected for the 2022-23 Sally Casanova...

Aims and Scope

Text & Type was established at California State University, Los Angeles in 2021 with the aim of showcasing innovative and imaginative work produced within global college writing communities. Sponsored by the First-Year Writing Program at Cal State LA, the journal features critical, creative, and multimedia writing projects that demonstrate engagement with current pedagogical conversations in the field of Writing Studies. We especially welcome submissions from first-year student writers; writing projects with engaged learning and community-based components; civic engagement, activism, and justice-focused writing projects; writing that represents the experiences of diverse and historically underrepresented student populations; and digital writing projects.

Review Process

All submissions to Text & Type undergo review processes. Articles submitted for general issues are reviewed by a faculty and student editorial board. Articles submitted for special issues are reviewed by faculty serving on English Department committees and graduate students working on special faculty-supervised projects.  

Articles printed in Text & Type are published under a Creative Commons (CC) copyright license. Authors retain ownership of all rights under copyright in all versions of the article. Specifically, the journal uses a CC BY-NC-SA license. This license allows reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator. If you remix, adapt, or build upon the material, you must license the modified material under identical terms. 

Open Access Policy

Text & Type is an open access journal. As such, all content is freely and immediately available through the internet upon publication. The Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) defines open access as "the free, immediate, online availability of research articles coupled with the rights to use these articles fully in the digital environment. Open Access ensures that anyone can access and use these results—to turn ideas into industries and breakthroughs into better lives" ( SPARC, Open Acces webpage ).

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California State University, Los Angeles

Department of English

5151 State University Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90032

E&T 6th Floor

https://www.calstatela.edu/al/english

Bachelor of Arts in English

Program planners for each option are available on the Department website or in the Department office. Students should consult with Department faculty advisors when choosing a program in English and regularly as they progress towards their degrees.

The Department of English can refer students to one of the coordinating faculty advisors. Regular office hours for all English faculty are posted near the Department office, and information sheets are available detailing which faculty members regularly advise for specific options.

ENGL 100B   , a general education foundation course, is not part of any English option. Some options permit or require courses from other departments; if approved by a faculty advisor, options may also include other courses outside English. Because some courses meet requirements in several options, students can often change options with no significant loss of credit towards the required total; students also regularly double major in two options in English.

In addition to the degree requirements for the Bachelor of Arts in English, English majors must meet the following requirements for University graduation:

• Each lower division course counted towards the English major must be completed with a grade of “C” or better. A course in which a grade lower than a “C” is received must be retaken and successfully completed prior to enrolling in any course for which it is a prerequisite.
• ENGL 380   , required of all English majors, must be completed with a grade of “C” or better. If a grade lower than a “C” is received, ENGL 380    must be retaken and successfully completed with a grade of “C” or better prior to enrolling in any course for which it is a prerequisite.

Option in Creative Writing

(120 units)

The Creative Writing option is designed for students who wish to write as well as study fiction, poetry, or creative non-fiction. Exposure to traditional and recent literature is essential for anyone seeking to master the forms and conventions of writing creatively for the literary marketplace.

This option consists of 45 units, 31 of which must be taken in the upper division, including the following:

Lower Division:

Take all of the following:.

• ENGL 180 - Appreciation of Literature (3 units)
• ENGL 250A - Survey of English Literature (4 units)
• ENGL 250B - Survey of English Literature (4 units)

Take one of the following:

• ENGL 204 - Introduction to Creative Writing: Creative Nonfiction (3 units)
• ENGL 205 - Introduction to Creative Writing: Fiction (3 units)
• ENGL 206 - Introduction to Creative Writing: Poetry (3 units)

Upper Division:

Take the following:.

• ENGL 380 - Approaches to English Studies (4 units)

Take nine units from the following:

• ENGL 404 - Creative Writing: Creative Nonfiction (3 units)
• ENGL 405 - Creative Writing: Short Story (3 units)
• ENGL 406 - Creative Writing: Poetry (3 units)
• ENGL 407 - Creative Writing: Novel (3 units)
• ENGL 499 - Directed Studies (1-3 units)

Take three of the following classes in recent literature, literary genres, and literary criticism:

• ENGL 385 - The Short Story (3 units)
• ENGL 386 - Poetry (3 units)
• ENGL 459 - English Literature of the Twentieth Century (1900‑Present) (3 units)
• ENGL 460 - Anglophone Postcolonial Literature (3 units)
• ENGL 466 - Irish Literature in English (3 units)
• ENGL 467A - The English Novel (3 units)
• ENGL 467B - The English Novel (3 units)
• ENGL 469 - Selected Topics - Major English Writers (4 units)
• ENGL 470 - American Ethnic Literatures (3 units)
• ENGL 474 - Twentieth-Century American Literature (3 units)
• ENGL 475 - The American Short Story (3 units)
• ENGL 476A - American Poetry (3 units)
• ENGL 476B - American Poetry (3 units)
• ENGL 477A - The American Novel (3 units)
• ENGL 477B - The American Novel (3 units)
• ENGL 478 - American Drama (3 units)
• ENGL 479 - Selected Topics - Major American Writers (4 units)

Take electives to make up a total of 45 units chosen from the classes listed above and/or any upper-division English courses.

6 Best colleges for Creative Writing in Los Angeles, CA

Updated: February 29, 2024

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Below is a list of best universities in Los Angeles ranked based on their research performance in Creative Writing. A graph of 43.8K citations received by 2.34K academic papers made by 6 universities in Los Angeles was used to calculate publications' ratings, which then were adjusted for release dates and added to final scores.

We don't distinguish between undergraduate and graduate programs nor do we adjust for current majors offered. You can find information about granted degrees on a university page but always double-check with the university website.

Please note that our approach to subject rankings is based on scientific outputs and heavily biased on art-related topics towards institutions with computer science research profiles.

1. University of Southern California

For Creative Writing

2. University of California - Los Angeles

3. Loyola Marymount University

4. California State University - Northridge

5. California State University - Los Angeles

6. Occidental College

Universities for Creative Writing near Los Angeles

Art & design subfields in los angeles.

• •  Minor in Accounting
• •  Minor in Anthropology
• •  Minor in Art
• •  Minor in Asian American Studies
• •  Minor in Asian Studies
• •  Minor in Aviation Administration
• •  Minor in Basic Business
• •  Minor in Bioinformatics (BINF)
• •  Minor in Biology
• •  Minor in Biomedical Engineering (BME)
• •  Minor in Business Intelligence
• •  Minor in Central American Studies
• •  Minor in Chicana(o) and Latina(o) Studies
• •  Minor in Child Development
• •  Minor in Chinese
• •  Minor in Classics
• •  Minor in Communication
• •  Minor in Comparative and Applied Linguistics and Literacy Studies
• •  Minor in Computer Information Systems
• •  Minor in Computer Science
• •  Minor in Creative Studies in Music
• •  Minor in Creative Writing
• •  Minor in Criminal Justice
• •  Minor in Dance
• •  Minor in Developmental Disabilities
• •  Minor in Economics
• •  Minor in English
• •  Minor in Entertainment Marketing
• •  Minor in Entrepreneurship
• •  Minor in Finance
• •  Minor in Forensic Science
• •  Minor in Francophone Studies
• •  Minor in French
• •  Minor in Geography
• •  Minor in Geology Sciences
• •  Minor in Health Communication
• •  Minor in Healthcare Management
• •  Minor in History
• •  Minor in Japanese
• •  Minor in Korean
• •  Minor in Labor Studies
• •  Minor in Latin American Studies
• •  Minor in Law and Society
• •  Minor in Management
• •  Minor in Marketing
• •  Minor in Mathematics
• •  Minor in Mesoamerican Studies
• •  Minor in Microbiology
• •  Minor in Music
• •  Minor in Natural Science
• •  Minor in Operations and Supply Chain Management
• •  Minor in Pan-African Studies
• •  Minor in Philosophy General
• •  Minor in Philosophy Prelaw
• •  Minor in Physics
• •  Minor in Political Science General
• •  Minor in Political Science Global Politics
• •  Minor in Political Science Prelegal Studies
• •  Minor in Political Science Public Administration
• •  Minor in Psychology
• •  Minor in Public Health
• •  Minor in Real Estate
• •  Minor in Rehabilitation Services
• •  Minor in Religious Studies
• •  Minor in Retailing
• •  Minor in Science Fiction
• •  Minor in Science, Technology, and Medicine Studies
• •  Minor in Social Gerontology
• •  Minor in Social Media
• •  Minor in Sociology
• •  Minor in Spanish
• •  Minor in Sustainability Marketing
• •  Minor in Theatre
• •  Minor in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

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Admission   |  Required Coursework   |  MFA Faculty   |  Visiting Writers Series   |  RipRap   |  FAQs

Admission to the program is limited to the fall semester. Students applying for admission to the MFA Program generally have completed a bachelor’s or master’s degree in English from an accredited institution with a 3.2 GPA in upper-division English courses, meet University admission requirements, and submit evidence of creative ability in prose or poetry. When an undergraduate degree has been completed in a program having different requirements from those of CSULB or in some field other than English, additional preparation may be required.

Admission to the MFA program in Creative Writing is based in part on an evaluation of a representative sample of the applicant’s recent work. The sample should consist of 10 pages of poetry or 20-30 double-spaced pages of prose (one or more short stories, one or more creative nonfiction essays, or a section of a novel). Admission to the program will be in one genre only, and applicants are discouraged from submitting in both genres in the same year.

In addition to the writing sample, a complete application will include official college or university transcripts, two letters of recommendation (not from CSULB Creative Writing tenured faculty), and a brief “statement of background and purpose” addressing the student’s preparation and potential for commitment to our MFA program.

The Admissions Committee reads each application carefully, paying particular attention to the quality of submitted writing samples. The Program is committed to selecting those applicants who not only satisfy all the admission requirements but also demonstrate the highest levels of achievement and promise in their writing.

Application Process

Applications are accepted from October 1 through January 15 for entrance into the following year’s Fall semester only. Notification will be given after February 15. The completed CSU Graduate Application should be uploaded in Cal State Apply.

In Cal State Apply, select “CREATIVE WRITING MFA” as your major.  It is not under “English,” but rather within programs starting with the letter “C.”

Through CSU Apply, you will be asked to provide transcripts, a writing sample/statement of purpose (in one document), and two letters of recommendation. Links to upload these components of the application will be found there.

Questions concerning admission or degree requirements may be directed to Cris Hernandez , the Graduate Programs Administrative Coordinator.

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Arts & Entertainment

Cal state la alumna selected for disney writing program, jaleese ramos was among a group of seven drama writers selected for the disney entertainment television's 2024 writing program., cal state la , community contributor.

Cal State LA alumna Jaleese Ramos has been selected to participate in the Disney Entertainment Television’s 2024 Writing Program.

A launchpad for fresh voices in television storytelling, the year-long writing program is widely recognized as one of the best in the entertainment industry. Only seven drama writers were selected for this year’s program, which is renowned for helping participants secure their first staffing assignments in a Disney TV series.

“It’s an honor to join the 2024 DET writing program,” said Ramos. “It has helped pave the way for so many talented writers and I’m thankful to be a part of this year’s cohort. Disney was a big part of my life growing up and getting to work with them now feels like a dream come true.”

Find out what's happening in Los Angeles with free, real-time updates from Patch.

As part of the program, Ramos will participate in advanced creative workshops, refine her portfolio, and meet and learn from Disney creative executives, producers, showrunners, and program alumni.

“This is our first Cal State LA student selected for this incredible Disney program that staffs diverse, emerging writers on scripted series,” said Kristiina Hackel, chair of the Department of Television, Film and Media Studies at Cal State LA. “Jaleese’s selection speaks primarily to her great talent as a writer, of course, but also to the strength of our Cal State LA programs, especially the Television, Film and Theatre MFA.”

In 2021, Ramos received her MFA in Television, Film and Theatre with a focus on writing. Cal State LA’s program brings the three creative arms of the entertainment industry—content creation, writing, and acting—together in cohorts.

“My time at Cal State LA was a wonderful experience and it played an important role in preparing [me] for the entertainment industry after I graduated,” Ramos said.

A second-generation Mexican American, Ramos grew up in the Central Valley of California surrounded by almond orchards and dairy farms. She explained that her work is influenced by her “sometimes messy, all the time loud Mexican family.”

“My storytelling focuses on exploring identity, family lineage, and the effects that time and unresolved trauma can have on characters with a desperate desire to do right but who never quite know how to,” Ramos said.

Ramos has worked as an assistant to a literary manager and as the showrunner’s assistant on NBC’s Lopez vs Lopez for two seasons. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature from CSU Stanislaus.

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch? Register for a user account.

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College of Humanities

Department of english.

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Academic Programs

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Creative Writing

The Creative Writing Option provides students with the opportunity to develop narrative, verse or playwriting skills while building a solid background of study in the literatures of Britain and America. For further information, contact:

Rick Mitchell  Creative Writing Advisor

Email: [email protected]

English studies provides a good academic foundation for radio and television broadcasting, editing, writing, politics, film and library work, journalism, criticism, advertising, public information, public relations, teaching and technical writing. Studies show that English as a pre-professional major is valuable preparation for future careers in law, medicine, business, and federal service.

Resources for Writers

• https://redhen.org/
• https://poets.org/
• https://www.awpwriter.org/
• http://www.pw.org/magazine

Requirements for the Bachelor of Arts Degree

In pursuing their major students are encouraged to follow our Degree Maps:

• 4-Year Degree Road Map
• Transfer Degree Road Map

Lower Division Required Courses (6 units)

A. creative writing (3 units).

ENGL 208 Creative Writing (3)

B. Literature (3 units)

Select one of the following:

• ENGL 258 Major English Writers I (3)
• ENGL 259 Major English Writers II (3)
• ENGL 275 Major American Writers (3)

Upper Division Required Courses (33 units)

A. critical writing (3 units).

• ENGL 355 Writing About Literature (3)

B. Literary Theory (3 units)

• ENGL 436 Major Critical Theories (3)

C. Literatures of Cultural Diversity (3 units)

• AIS 314 North American Indian Literature (3)
• ENGL 311 History of African-American Writing (3)
• ENGL 314 North American Indian Literature (3)
• ENGL 368 Gay Male Writers (3)
• ENGL 369 Lesbian Writers (3)
• ENGL 371 Issues in Jewish-American Writing (3)
• ENGL 431 Images of Women in Literature (3)
• ENGL 433 Women Authors (3)
• ENGL 434 19th Century Women Novelists (3)
• ENGL 487 Latina/o Literatures of the Americas (3)

*Consult an adviser for current courses in other areas such as Asian American literature, Central American literature, Chicana and Chicano literature, and Pan African or African American literature that may also satisfy this requirement. For the English major, you may not double-count these courses for upper division or Subject Exploration requirements in General Education.

D. British Literature Before 1900 (3 units)

• ENGL 414 Chaucer (3)
• ENGL 416 Shakespeare: Selected Plays (3)
• ENGL 417 Shakespeare: A Survey (3)
• ENGL 418 English Drama to 1642 (3)
• ENGL 419 English Drama 1660-1880 (3)
• ENGL 420 Milton (3)
• ENGL 443 English Literature of the Middle Ages (3)
• ENGL 449 The English Renaissance (3)
• ENGL 452 17th Century Literature (3)
• ENGL 456 Age of Revolutions (3)
• ENGL 458 The Romantic Age (3)
• ENGL 460 The Victorian Age (3)
• ENGL 466 Major British Novelists I: 1700-1815 (3)
• ENGL 467 Major British Novelists II: 1815-1900 (3)

E. American Literature (3 units)

Select one course from the following:

• ENGL 473 American Literature: 1607-1860 (3)
• ENGL 474 American Literature: 1860-1912 (3)
• ENGL 477 Major American Novelists I: the 19th Century (3)

F. Twentieth Century Literature (3 units)

• ENGL 427 Drama from Ibsen to the Present (3)
• ENGL 461 Modern British Literature (3)
• ENGL 462 Contemporary British Literature (3)
• ENGL 463A Modern Poetry (3)
• ENGL 463B Contemporary Poetry (3)
• ENGL 468 Major British Novelists III: 1900 to the Present (3)
• ENGL 475 American Literature: 1912-1945 (3)
• ENGL 476 Contemporary American Literature (3)
• ENGL 478 Major American Novelists II: The 20th Century (3)

G. Creative Writing (9 units)

Select three of the following (course may be repeated one time for credit):

• ENGL 308 Narrative Writing (3-3)
• ENGL 309 Verse Writing (3-3)
• ENGL 310 Playwriting (3-3)
• ENGL 408 Advanced Narrative Writing (3-3)
• ENGL 409 Advanced Verse Writing (3-3)
• ENGL 410 Advanced Dramatic Writing (3-3)
• ENGL 457A-Z Selected Topics in Creative Writing (3-3)

H. Creative Writing Theory (3 units)

• ENGL 464 Theories of Poetry (3)
• ENGL 465 Theories of Fiction (3)

I. Senior Seminar (3 units)

• ENGL 457A-Z Selected Topics in Creative Writing (3)
• ENGL 490 Senior Seminar in Narrative Writing (3)
• ENGL 491 Senior Seminar in Verse Writing (3)
• ENGL 512 Writing for Performance (3)

Upper Division Electives (6 units)

Select any upper division courses except  ENGL 305 .

General Education (48 units)

Undergraduate students must complete 48 units of  General Education  as described in this Catalog, including 3 units of coursework meeting the  Ethnic Studies (ES)  graduation requirement.

6 units are satisfied by the following courses in the major:  ENGL 208  satisfies C1 Arts;  ENGL 258 ,  ENGL 259  or  ENGL 275  satisfies C2 Humanities.

If taken,  ENGL 306 ,  ENGL 313  or  ENGL 315  satisfies E Lifelong Learning;  ENGL 311  or  ENGL 371  satisfies 3 units of F Comparative Cultural Studies and fulfills the Information Competence requirement.

Students majoring in English are encouraged to take a foreign language as part of their college program.

Total Units in Major/Option: 45

General education units: 42, additional units: 33, total units required for the b.a. degree: 120.

Updated July 2021

Undergraduate Programs

Major in English Minor in English

Graduate Programs

Internship Program

Composition Program

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• California State University

The U.S. might ban TikTok. Record labels are cutting ties. What’s music’s Plan B?

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In November 2022, Isimeme Udu uploaded the song that changed her life. The singer, who performs as Hemlocke Springs, was stressing about her medical studies at Dartmouth when she dropped her synth-pop track “Girlfriend” onto TikTok. Its lo-fi élan immediately found an audience.

Within hours, Grimes commented with high praise, and fans clamored for the new “awkward Black girl anthem,” as many described it. Millions of plays later, Udu finished her degree and became a touring sensation — she opened for Muna at the Greek Theatre and, this summer, will open Doja Cat’s European arena tour.

“When it came to music, I thought it was just unattainable,” Udu said. “People talk about getting a foot in the door, but I didn’t even know what the door was. Days later, people were stopping me on campus asking ‘Are you Hemlocke?’”

Udu is grateful for the opportunity the app offered. “I’ve been so lucky to meet so many cool people who I never thought would know me,” she said. “But that can’t be at the expense of doing the thing that made you popular. I had a viral moment, but I had to say, ‘Don’t lose yourself, because that’s only going to be temporary.’”

She was right. TikTok’s status as music’s hitmaking force suddenly looks less certain.

@hemlockesprings every time I listen to this song, I wonder was I truly sober..girlfriend comes out this Wednesday, november 2nd! Presave link in bio! Thank you so much evryone! #hemlockesprings #presavemysingle #newindiemusic2022 #newindie #newmusic #music #fyp #fyppppppppppppppppppppppp ♬ girlfriend - hemlocke springs

In February, Universal Music Group, the largest record label conglomerate in the world, pulled its catalog from TikTok. Videos using music from Taylor Swift or Bad Bunny suddenly fell silent. After a contentious U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce hearing about ByteDance, the app’s Chinese parent firm, and its potential risks for data security and political influence, the House overwhelmingly passed a bill in March that could force a sale or ban TikTok (President Biden has said he’s open to signing that bill). The Senate has held closed-door meeting on the topic, and TikTok urged its users to contact Congress to protest.

Representatives for TikTok declined to make executives available for an interview. But given the existential threats to the app, musicians are wondering whether they need a Plan B.

“I didn’t start out with connections, and that moment opened up everything for me,” Udu said. “But music is why I’m here. I’m not a TikTok personality.”

TikTok began life as Musical.ly, an app to film oneself lip-syncing to songs. Interacting with pop music was a core function of TikTok. Fans and artists shared music they loved, grafting it onto videos showing their lives and ideas. It was a lifeline to friends and culture during the pandemic.

Though the app is now a source of infinite types of content made by a billion users, countless songs — from Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” to Kylie Minogue’s “Padam Padam” — found new life there. In a new report , TikTok said that 56% of users began listening to a new musician or podcast after watching a TikTok video.

But TikTok’s benefits to the music industry were primarily in exposure, not money. Despite earning around $18 billion annually in ad revenue (in large part through videos that use licensed music), one study estimated that TikTok only pays out $400 million annually to all music rights holders. Unlike Spotify, which pays fixed royalty rates per stream, TikTok pays a flat fee to labels as a kind of blanket license.

As government threatens TikTok shutdown, the music industry holds its breath

Short-form video platform TikTok has become the most significant generator of music hits since the heyday of MTV. What would a ban mean for artists and labels?

March 28, 2023

UMG’s dispute with TikTok upended that agreement.

In a January open letter announcing the threat of a pullout, UMG said that “TikTok proposed paying our artists and songwriters at a rate that is a fraction of the rate that similarly situated major social platforms pay …Ultimately TikTok is trying to build a music-based business, without paying fair value for the music. TikTok’s tactics are obvious: use its platform power to hurt vulnerable artists and try to intimidate us into conceding to a bad deal that undervalues music and shortchanges artists and songwriters as well as their fans.”

In a statement to The Times, TikTok said that “It is sad and disappointing that Universal Music Group has put their own greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters. Despite Universal’s false narrative and rhetoric, the fact is they have chosen to walk away from the powerful support of a platform with well over a billion users that serves as a free promotional and discovery vehicle for their talent. TikTok has been able to reach ‘artist-first’ agreements with every other label and publisher.”

House passes bill that could lead to U.S. ban on TikTok

The House has passed a bill that would lead to a nationwide ban on the popular video app TikTok if its China-based owner doesn’t sell.

March 13, 2024

In February, UMG followed through and pulled its enormous catalog — which included songs by Universal Music Publishing Group songwriters in addition to UMG recording artists — from TikTok. The ferocity of UMG’s actions surprised even major-label veterans.

“It was such a ballsy move,” said Sarah Flanagan, a former senior director of digital marketing at Columbia Records (which is not part of UMG). “TikTok hasn’t figured out a way to compensate artists or labels fairly for the amount of music that gets used. As great it’s been for music discovery, I hope this works, because TikTok’s system for compensating artists is either not good enough or they don’t care enough.”

Eugene Lee, the founder of ChannelMeter, a firm that handles payments to musicians and content creators across social platforms, said that TikTok could change the way it compensates musicians, but has little incentive to now.

“YouTube distributes an enormous chunk of its revenue to music rights. TikTok hasn’t prioritized that, so you have to ask, what are they prioritizing?” Lee said. (In 2022, YouTube paid about $6 billion to music rights holders). “Maybe they don’t want to be so dependent on music as an economic factor of their platform. Rights are a complex problem, but every year they say, ‘Oh, we’ll come to a fairer model next year,’ and labels just got fed up.”

Company Town

Universal Music Group, Taylor Swift’s label, says it will pull tunes from TikTok

Universal Music Group could pull all of its music from TikTok’s popular social media app on Wednesday as the two companies have yet to reach a new licensing agreement.

Jan. 30, 2024

Yet UMG’s sudden about-face, after years of accepting these terms, surprised other tech industry-watchers.

“ByteDance built this multibillion dollar company off of content including music. If UMG had said years ago that ‘you can’t do this,’ I’d say sure, you’re pissed because a company is growing off your music,” said Ed Zitron, a tech marketing executive and host of the insightfully skeptical podcast “Better Offline.” “But this just feels like rich people smacking each other in the face. Music needs TikTok more than TikTok needs UMG. TikTok has the leverage, and the only people suffering are musicians and customers.”

No one disputes TikTok’s importance for reaching younger audiences today. But insiders say the app’s well of instant virality could be drying up.

“The difference in 2024 is that there’s no clear cheat code to work TikTok’s algorithm anymore,” said Chris Berdine, an L.A.-based creative director who has worked on marketing campaigns for acts including Juice Wrld, Peso Pluma and the Chainsmokers. “We know that this platform is extremely important, but no matter what you try to do to hack it now, it’s never consistent. Influencers don’t carry the same weight as they once did.”

Some artists genuinely enjoy the creative tools of TikTok, and Berdine’s sympathetic to young artists’ conundrums around it. “This mandate to constantly churn out content for TikTok — are any of these timeless artists of the past that we admire participating in this? Absolutely not,” Berdine said. “But then you have younger artists that are like, ‘Of course that’s what you need to do’.”

Column: What would banning TikTok accomplish? Answer: Virtually nothing

A Congress that can’t decide whether tunafish or chicken salad is a better sandwich is trying to ban TikTok. That’s a sign of its inability to do anything substantive.

March 14, 2024

Imogene Strauss is a creative director working on the rollout for Charli XCX’s album “Brat.” She’d be remiss not to prioritize videos on the digital platform where Charli’s fans gather.

“TikTok is a huge and useful platform for most artists — it works really well for Charli,” Strauss said. “We’re in the middle of a big album campaign now, it would be devastating for our plan if a ban or licensing dispute happened.”

Charli XCX is on Atlantic, so the UMG pullout didn’t affect her. But the demands of cultivating an audience on TikTok take a toll too. Charli XCX recently posted a list of cringey marketing ideas for going viral on TikTok that she claims were sent to her team, like “Charli gets her nipples pierced at Claire’s” and “Charli gets caught shoplifting at a mall and leaks the CCTV footage.”

“TikTok stresses all artists out,” Strauss said. “It’s a constant and ruling platform that you have to feed now in addition to all the other other platforms. The amount of content that artists are expected to make would make your mind explode. She has lot of self-awareness about that, and with that post, she’s trying to not hide those pressures.”

For younger acts who have recently found viral fame there, their relationship to TikTok is as complicated as any romance they write songs about.

In 2022, the singer-songwriter Maddie Zahm released the single “Fat Funny Friend” on TikTok. The song is a painful lament for how she used feel about her body and relationships, and it was an instant smash there.

“When I posted it, my publisher called me and said, ‘Go check TikTok,’ and I saw so many people going through the same things,” Zahm said. The song’s earned nearly 30,000 fan video creations, and Zahm has 1.2 million followers there. In March, she played a packed El Rey Theatre show.

@maddiezahm CANT BE TOO LOUD ♬ original sound - sp33dsongsx

“TikTok directed my music to who it needed to go to,” Zahm said. “That song helped me heal and it resonated. That’s the most fulfilling part of being a musician.”

Yet she admits she’s limiting her time there. “Vulnerability isn’t something I can do all the time,” Zahm said. “I have to take breaks because I’m still growing a lot as a person, and those rushes of want for connection will come, but I never want to force it based on views or likes.”

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Shou Zi Chew, ByteDance’s CEO, said in recent congressional testimony that “I understand that there are concerns stemming from the inaccurate belief that TikTok’s corporate structure makes it beholden to the Chinese government or that it shares information about U.S. users with the Chinese government. This is emphatically untrue...Let me state this unequivocally: ByteDance is not an agent of China or any other country.”

For musicians and industry insiders, whose careers now depend on TikTok, they aren’t sure who to root for.

“Artists want their music on TikTok,” Strauss said. “It’s good promotion, and it sucks for those that aren’t there anymore. But artists should also be getting paid, and yet I’m not sure it would change that many things for artists themselves. I’m not saying TikTok is fundamentally good, but the only people suffering here are the artists.”

Zahm agrees. “It’s kind of heartbreaking, I’m friends with people that have worked really hard to write songs, and given that TikTok kind of runs the music industry, it sucks to tell them they’re not allowed to be on it,” she said. “I expected there to be a new thing someday, I just didn’t expect this limbo.”

Whatever TikTok’s ultimate intentions are for music, it is an effective means for artists to reach new fans, and there aren’t many others left.

Labels are trying to catch up — Warner Music Group recently announced its interest in buying Believe Music, the French parent firm of services like TuneCore that distribute independent and emerging artists (though the company later passed). “TikTok is one of the few things that does seem to touch real people,” Zitron said. “But this is a problem for all creative media now. Where do you go to discover new music? The value of a song has been reduced to nothing, and the people controlling the mechanisms are disconnected from the actual creativity.”

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Columbia Records’ Flanagan said that a course correction was overdue.

“Artists should have unlearned having one platform being their main vehicle,” Flanagan said. “I knew people with massive Instagram audiences, and suddenly they change their algorithm and you can’t reach your followers. You have to make sure you have email, texting, Discord, Substack, all of that. Trends change so quickly, you need to be able to transfer your superfans to other platforms.”

“Is TikTok still useful? Of course. But it does make you wonder if it’s waned, or if they just have too much going on right now,” Lee said. “You can’t be completely dependent on one platform to break artists. We have to think of a world where the platform is the artist and fans will follow you.”

For someone like Hemlocke Springs, who used TikTok to succeed beyond her wildest dreams, she said she “feels for emerging artists, especially ones under UMG right now,” she said. “The music biz’s focus is on TikTok, and pulling that away from people sucks. But to solely rely on viral moments to push things off, that feels counterintuitive too.”

For her, the new killer app is a very old one — playing great live shows.

“I feel like touring is going to be an even bigger thing,” she said. “I’m going into these Doja shows assuming no one knows me, and the more I lean on that, the more it lights a fire under me.”

More to Read

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August Brown covers pop music, the music industry and nightlife policy at the Los Angeles Times.

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