- At Playlist Live in Orlando, Florida, thousands of YouTube- and TikTok-obsessed fans gathered at a Marriott Resort to meet featured creators, hang out with friends, and make (hopefully) viral content.
- The convention has traditionally been for YouTubers, but the new wave of TikTok creators and influencers completely took over in 2020.
- Playlist attendees were making TikToks everywhere you looked, and both huge TikTokers and mid-sized ones who weren't officially featured creators drew crowds of screaming fans.
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Ten years ago, Playlist Live was a convention for YouTubers to meet their fans. In 2020, the list of featured creators that drew more than 13,000 fans to a Marriott resort in Orlando, Florida, was still largely composed of YouTube stars. But a new class of influencers completely took over the proceedings – the TikTokers.
TikTok is easily the buzziest app of the new decade, with skyrocketing popularity, huge cultural implications, and cause for concern when it comes to its Chinese ownership and resulting data privacy conditions. But for the influencer-obsessed teens at Playlist, it was the movement of the moment.
Photos from the Playlist Live convention show the extent to which TikTok took over – to the point where it's starting to look like the short-form video-sharing app may soon overtake YouTube in terms of popularity and trends.
You couldn't walk five feet at Playlist Live without running into a TikToker, someone making TikToks, or someone talking about TikTok.
Lining up for early registration, guests exchanged TikTok handles with each other and eagerly showed off their most viral short-form videos on the platform.
The biggest craze this year at the YouTube convention had to be making TikToks, and teens occupied all available spaces to bust out moves and film them.
Aside from dancing, would-be TikTok stars also tried to go viral with stunts, challenges, skits, and lip syncing.
Even though Playlist is first and foremost a YouTube convention, there were signs everywhere (some literal), pointing to the future of social media trends.
Even the access-restricted creator lounges were themed after TikTok, with one space in particular termed the "TikTok Motel Lounge."
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Inside the TikTok motel, featured creators and VIP guests could get free merch and take part in crafting activities.
There was also a merchandise room with free Boohoo clothes, which influencers were encouraged to wear around the convention.
TikTok stars had a huge presence at Playlist, and those who ventured out into the crowd often got swarmed by fans.
Chase "lilhuddy" Hudson, a 17-year-old TikTok star, caused a commotion inside the Marriott Starbucks and had to be helped out by security.
Many of the TikTokers attracting fans weren't officially featured creators, so they had to brave the convention without security.
But even the most popular featured TikTokers came out to engage with their young fans, who were eager to take photos and even make quick TikToks.
Some of the featured YouTube creators have branched into TikTok to stay relevant and continue building their online growth.
Meanwhile, attendees found the artificial lawn by the convention's pool to be the best place to make TikToks, and it became an unofficial TikTok lawn over the weekend.
The most popular types of TikToks to make during Playlist were clearly dancing TikToks, and groups of friends often danced together.
The oversized presence of TikTok at Playlist indicates the wildly popular video app is here to stay, and YouTube's light looks a little bit dimmer in comparison.
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