Sixteen years later, the RIAA has certified a Pavement music as Gold after it went viral on Spotify and TikTok.
That certification was particularly awarded five days ago for “Harness Your Hopes,” which the 35-year-old band originally recorded for but did not include on 1997’s Brighten the Corners.
Subsequently, the B-side, which does not appear to have been particularly well known even among ardent fans prior to taking off, was published as part of an expanded edition of Brighten the Corners, once again through Matador, in 2008.
According to the article, Spotify algorithm modifications drove the song into the commercial mainstream in 2017, making it Pavement’s most streamed record. A few years later, “Harness Your Hopes” gained traction among the TikTok community, certainly fueling additional stream-count growth on Spotify and elsewhere.
“Harness Your Hopes” Streams By Platform
YouTube: 3.97 million views (3.79 million on the official music video and 183,000 on the official lyric video)
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Spotify has 151.82 million streams (148.49 million on the original upload, 3.29 million on a live rendition, and 34,000 on a sped-up version).
TikTok (according to Chartmetric data): 260.8 million views of clips including the labeled and unaltered track over about 74,700 postings.
Shazam (according to Chartmetric data) – 327,044 Shazams since August 2020, including 29,600 in the last month.
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All paths eventually led to Gold certification for “Harness Your Hopes,” which surpassed the economic success of the indie group’s 1994 debut song “Cut Your Hair.” Pavement reformed in 2022, capitalizing on the buzz that is likely fueling merch and physical sales. (The group had announced a live reunion in 2019, but the arrangements were canceled owing to lockdown measures.)
Pavement continues to perform, including a recent appearance at São Paulo’s C6 Fest, and has hinted at the possibility of new work. While Spotify appears to have played a role in “Harness Your Hopes” gaining popularity, TikTok’s contribution to the rebirth is substantial.
Despite the possibility of a US ban, the app continues to emphasize its perceived effectiveness as a music promotion and discovery tool. Though the scope of those skills is difficult to define precisely, TikTok’s confidence was not shaken when Taylor Swift chose to rejoin the service before it had reconciled with Universal Music Group.
Interscope-signed Billie Eilish has now leaned into promotional efforts on the platform, where songs like I Monster’s “Who Is She?” (2005) have also gone viral.
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