Masani Musa Discusses The Future Of Radio As The Host of Sirius XMs TikTok Music Show
Ask any avid TikTok user and they’ll tell you the app has changed their life. From tapping into relationship advice, laughing at hilariously relatable clips or recreating delicious recipes, the platform curates specific content with near psychic-like accuracy for its more than 1 billion users. TikTok’s winning formula can be felt across nearly all industries, even radio.
SiriusXM, the nation’s leading satellite broadcast provider, has leaned into the social media platform’s prowess and created an audio version of TikTok’s “For You” page. A genius move, and according to the show’s host, it’s also the future of radio.
“No one else is doing this,” Musa told ESSENCE. “SiriusXM really understands what’s important to their audience and aims to meet them where they are.”
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The multi-hyphenate started her career at her alma mater, Florida A&M University, at the local terrestrial station and learned the fundamentals of broadcasting. After graduating, she took her talents to LA, and it was there she learned about the appeal and power of TikTok.
“The app is really a place people can be themselves and I’m amazed Sirius was able to tap into that inclusive culture and create a show for their listeners that feels the same.”
Musa explained the show covers trending pop culture topics, features hit music and interviews with stars that are engaged on the app. According to her, it’s the perfect amalgamation of her two biggest passions: social media and radio.
“Everyone at Sirius has really been incredible,” she told ESSENCE. “This is truly my dream job.”
She shared a piece of advice for Black girls and women who aim to break into journalism when everyone has a POV.
“Bring your unique personality into it,” she said. She also got real about what it will take to gain traction in an industry that has long been designed to keep Black girls locked out. “I would just say get comfortable working twice as hard as everyone else. And this doesn’t necessarily speak to my current experience with Sirius at all. It’s just what it took to get here. And I think that oftentimes as young Black women in any forms of media, we hop online and we see different topics being discussed like colorism, and it’s really easy to be discouraged. But I would say young Black women should use that as fuel and just become comfortable with knowing that you have to put in more work, but the reward is still working.”
