How AYYBO Uses TikTok as Part of His Creative Process

A lot’s changed for AYYBO in a few short years.

In 2016, he was his high school’s upbeat DJ. Today, he’s recognized as a talented producer with a knack for creating online content. Touted as a viral sensation, the self-proclaimed “party music hustler” learned early on that the internet, specifically Tik Tok and Instagram, is fundamental in the rise of up-and-coming DJs and musicians.

Aaron Bonnema, aka AYYBO, loves the anticipation that comes from building interest in his music before it’s released. He constantly posts previews of upcoming tracks, using TikTok as his sounding board. I mean, just last week, he created a 10-day challenge for himself where he’ll post a snippet of an unreleased edit during each day of the challenge. He implores his followers for feedback, is incredibly active on the posts, and truly seems to take the comments to heart.

Fans flood his posts, declaring their favorites and love for AYYBO. Even artists like DJ Benzi, Tokimonsta, and Disco Lines popped in to give him props and applaud his new music offerings.

AYYBO also knows that visuals elevate music (prior to DJing, he focused on visual arts and cinematography), and with each song, he creates new videos and reels for TikTok. Many of AYYBO’s reels have upwards of 600k views. He re-shares them to Instagram and Twitter, though neither offers him the visibility and traction that TikTok does. So he capitalizes on that.

Sometimes he posts daily, other times weekly, but either way, his sound is getting out there., making it no surprise that his tracks have such high streaming rates, as most people are waiting for the tracks with bated breath. He’s also raised his followers by tens of thousands. Not only are his fans taking notice, but so are prospective labels, so keep an eye on AYYBO’s TikTok for clues to his next big hit.