INTERVIEW: Sarah Saint James On The Power Of TikTok

Sarah Saint James. Photo supplied.

Adelaide-born, Sydney-based pop artist Sarah Saint James knows better than most the power of social media. After recently uploading the demo Mad At God to TikTok, and it absolutely took off - gaining over 100k likes, as well as gaining her followers on a range of different platforms.

I spoke to Sarah about how the video has changed her rollout plan, as well as her relationship with social media. It’s an interesting chat about how using social media in the right way can give your music career a boost, as well as provide a sounding board to work out what music is going to be successful for you. She’s planning on releasing Mad At God very soon, but for now, you can check out the demo below, as well as the interview!

Ben Madden: Firstly, can you introduce yourself and your music?

Sarah Saint James: Hi! My name is Sarah, I'm a pop artist & songwriter. I love anything alt/pop AND emo, so I'm most inspired by artists like Ashnikko, Dorian Electra, Kim Petras, but I'm also a die hard My Chemical Romance & Panic at The Disco fan. I like to think I make stuff that's in between all of those artists. 

You recently had a demo, Mad At God, go viral on TikTok – can you talk me through that experience?

Yes! It's been so wild - I got back from Adelaide on tuesday and thought I might just post a snippet of a song and see if maybe 100 people see it... 350k views & 112k likes later. It's been so crazy, I've been getting hundreds of messages, thousands of comments of people telling me their stories about growing up plus size/queer and it's been the most heart warming, and validating thing I've EVER experienced. I've never been more grateful for an experience, but it's also super surreal and it hasn't really sunk in yet! 

Since having that track go viral, what decisions have you been able to make regarding your music?

Firstly, I got into the studio the next day to finish the song! I never expected anything to happen like this, so I just had a rough demo of the track - now it's completely finished and ready for release! I've also just finished up my EP tracks, so I'm fast tracking the release by probably 2-3 months at this stage. Through this process I've gained about 2k followers on Spotify, and 12k followers on TikTok, so I don't want to lose momentum, I want everyone to hear the songs as soon as they're done!

Can you talk me through your expectations when posting that demo, and why you chose to share an unfinished song?

I thought it would be good to put up a snippet of something that I was feeling at the time. I had a rough week, and thought about what songs I could post a snippet of, and I happened to choose 'Mad At God' thinking nothing would really happen but my new followers would see it. I really did NOT expect anything from the demo, other than maybe creating more of a relationship with my followers at the time. 

Has the experience of going viral changed your future music release plans?

Yes. I've fast tracked production of my entire debut EP, and will be releasing significantly earlier. I've never been more excited for ANYTHING. 

How do you plan on using TikTok in the future?

I'm going to keep posting snippets to gauge reactions, and move on from there. My EP is done, so those songs will definitely come out - but after that, each demo I write I'll post a snippet of first to see how it goes down! 

For artists that are thinking of starting a TikTok account, how would you recommend they use it to get the best value out if it?

Honestly I feel like it's a mixture of chance, luck and relatability so I don't think there's any rules! Just post and hope for the best, haha!

A lot of the viewers of the TikTok were from the US – how has this information changed your music release strategies?

That's one thing that has shocked me - 92% of the viewers have been from the US, which for me is ideal because that's where I'd like to end up long term. I'm hoping this will mean that I can create some relationships with people who can help me grow my fan base in the USA. 

Just in general, how do you usually view the relationship between social media and music promotion?

I love it. It makes it so much easier to create actual relationships with your fans, and also makes you more accessible. There's something really special about having an authentic relationship with people, if that's just through DM's, or comments that's awesome! 

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Finally, what are your next few steps personally, as well as music-wise?

I'm back in Sydney for now, and the next couple of months are dedicated to my debut EP. I'm also writing for some other Australian artists, and artists I've met through TikTok, to get some more songwriting cuts into the world. I love writing, whether it's for me or for other people so really I just want to write non-stop for the next year. All in all, I'm just really happy. 

You can pre-save Mad At God here. Follow Sarah on TikTok here, Facebook here, Twitter here and Instagram here.