How Track Star became your favorite musician’s favorite TikTok show

Guess the artist, win five bucks. Whether you’re a random person on the streets of New York, an A-list celebrity, or the sitting Vice President of the United States, that’s the pitch behind one of the most fun music shows on social media. You show up, you get some headphones and a microphone, and you hope you know what song is playing.

The show is called Track Star, and it’s hosted by Jack Coyne. On this episode of The Vergecast, the first in our three-part miniseries about the future of music, Coyne joins the show to tell us the story of Track Star.

We talk about the show’s beginnings as a trivia show about New York called Public Opinion, how Coyne and his co-creators figured out the show’s structure and pace, how he thinks about his role as the host, and why a bunch of famous people started clamoring to be on the show. Coyne never expected Track Star to feature the likes of Ed Sheeran, Olivia Rodrigo, Jack Antonoff, Nelly Furtado, Kamala Harris, and Oprah, but it happened. And somewhat remarkably, it didn’t change the show at all.

We also dig into why a show like Track Star works, and why it matters, in the current music landscape. Coyne and his team have big plans for expanding the franchise, too, and sees a place for Track Star even in an online world already overloaded with stuff to listen to. If you start with music, conversation, and a decent playlist, there are plenty of places you can go.

If you want to know more about everything we discuss in this episode, here are some links to get you started: