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Global Music Programs, TikTok听

When he got a course survey card on his first day in Laura Kornish鈥檚 marketing class, William Gruger was pretty sure no one would read what he wrote. So he described the 鈥渟oul-crushing internship鈥� he鈥檇 just completed that left him unsure of his future plans. Turns out, Professor Kornish reads every card, which is how William found himself in her office later that week.听

鈥淪he asked what I wanted to do, and I told her I was interested in the music business,鈥� he said.听 鈥淭hat turned into an introduction to Alex White,鈥� who co-founded Next Big Sound, in Boulder. 鈥淟ong story short, I asked him if I could work for him鈥攁nd that internship has opened literally every door I鈥檝e come across since.鈥�

That internship didn鈥檛 pay a salary, but it paid big dividends when Next Big Sound became the data provider for the charts at Billboard鈥攚hich, like other industry players, was growing to adapt to the changes technology introduced to how people find and consume music.听

鈥淚 was told early on as a student at CU that the job I would have in the future probably didn鈥檛 exist yet鈥攁nd wow, did that end up being true,鈥� William said. 鈥淎t Billboard, I found myself at the place鈥攁t the source of the data鈥攚here the music industry was changing from measuring artists based on radio play and sales to the sum of what people were consuming and participating in via creator platforms on the internet.鈥澨�听

His work had him documenting trends and writing stories for Billboard that were very different from the magazine鈥檚 past work. He wrote about trends like the Harlem Shake or 鈥淕angnam Style,鈥� which were bigger hits on YouTube and streaming platforms than on the radio.听

鈥淚t was when people were consuming music on the internet in the first real way, and I was one of the earliest people documenting that change,鈥� he said.

In addition to Billboard, where he was associate director of charts, social and streaming, William鈥檚 career has included stops at Twitter-owned Vine, the original short-form video app, and Tidal, the streaming service Jay-Z bought in 2015, before winding up on the music team TikTok. At TikTok, he was promoted to his current role from music editorial lead for the United States; 鈥渘ow, I鈥檓 part of a team focused on scaling out editorial operations and music programming functions globally.鈥澨�

From that seat, he鈥檚 seen huge shifts in the music industry. As more sophisticated creator platforms like YouTube and Instagram became prominent, much about the industry鈥攖he ways music is consumed, what it meant to be a musician and how to get discovered鈥攕tarted to change. Ask William who he鈥檚 following on TikTok, and he鈥檒l rattle off a list of artists who fit that bill鈥攁rtists like Lil Yachty, Charli XCX, A$AP Ferg, and Lil Nas X, who鈥檝e built substantial followings that have improved their influence.听

鈥淵ou can鈥檛 just be a good singer,鈥� William said. 鈥淭he music economy has built itself up around people who can act as creators and build ecosystems around them. You need to be an entertainer as well as a singer.鈥澨�