Dive Brief:
- NYX Professional Makeup is blending music with makeup with the launch of NYXTape, a mixtape featuring five bespoke tracks created with five independent women artists and songwriters, per a press release.
- NYXTape features artists Snow Tha Product, Zeina Mates, Dina Ayada, 8ae and Ashley Mehta. The mixtape is being released with TikTok’s SoundOn platform, and NYX is becoming first brand to have an artist profile on the app.
- The mixtape will be supported with a commercial airing during the 2025 Grammy Awards telecast on Feb. 2 and an album release party on Feb. 13. The TikTok-focused effort arrives as the platform’s fate in the U.S. continues to be questioned.
Dive Insight:
NYX is merging music creators with makeup creators for NYXTape, a project that sees the cosmetics purveyor supporting independent artists while continuing to lean into TikTok, a platform where the brand has amassed nearly one million followers. The latest platform push arrives amid ongoing uncertainty around TikTok’s fate in the U.. The Supreme Court on Jan. 17 announced that it upheld a law requiring China-based ByteDance to sell TikTok into U.S. ownership or face a ban starting on Jan. 19, though President Trump has since granted it a stay of execution.
“We continue to meet our community where they are: on TikTok, where music and makeup intersect,” said Denee Pearson, global brand president for NYX Professional Makeup, in the press release. “NYXTape gives us an opportunity to advocate for women in the music industry, by supporting independent artists in a space where they can truly be heard.”
NYXTape is being released in partnership with TikTok’s music distribution and promotion platform SoundOn, which helps artists earn royalties for their music and reach TikTok’s global audience. NYX is also becoming the first brand to have an artist profile on TikTok, which will allow consumers to download tracks from the mixtape directly from the brand’s profile.
The creation of the mixtape began last July, when NYX brought together the five artists for a three-day songwriting camp led by DJ Rosegold, where songs were written and co-produced in partnership with Warner Chappell Music producers. The mixtape is inspired by NYX’s Spring 2025 product launches and its creation culminated with a music video shoot. NYX bills itself as the first brand to create and distribute co-owned music on TikTok.
NYX has often sought to link itself to the music scene. The brand last year teamed with Cardi B for a Super Bowl spot promoting its Duck Plump lip gloss. It has also sponsored music festivals, created a viral “Buttergloss Pop” dance challenge for TikTok and released an original song, “Swipe, Slash, Beat, Repeat,” to support its Halloween campaign last year.
Beyond music, NYX has linked itself to culture in other ways. Last fall, the brand launched a “Mon-Star Bash” campaign inspired by Universal Pictures’ classic movie monsters. Prior, it launched a “Game Out Loud” campaign across platforms including Roblox and Twitch that sought to bring awareness to anti-LGBTQIA+ bullying in the online gaming world.
