TikTok works on a streaming music platform. Spotify and Apple Music have more than a few reasons to be anxious – that could be just fine.
TikTok also looks with interest to the world of streaming music. A patent filed in the USA leaves no room for misunderstandings: the Chinese giant now wants to celebrate also Spotify, Apple Music and company. The new brand is called TikTok Music and portends ByteDance ‘s entry into the on-demand music industry.
After all, the Chinese giant would play almost at home: TikTok and music are closely linked. It is precisely the social network, thanks to the viral videos of its users, that has produced some of the most important musical hits of recent years. Users come across old songs, or niche songs by semi-unknown authors, decide to use them for their videos and here the machine starts to gear. That song is picked up by more and more users, like in a zombie epidemic, reaching tens of millions of people in a few days. An in- depth analysis by the BBC told it: more than Spotify and Soundcloud, emerging artists look to TikTok as a possible launching pad to change their careers.
All the more reason, the titans of the industry – from Apple to Spotify, passing through Tidal and Amazon – have more than a few reasons to look with extreme fear at the possible imminent and fierce competition from TikTok. There is a risk that the application, very popular among young people, but not only, will steal important market shares from them.
TikTok Music is described like this: “a platform that would allow users to buy, play, share and download music, songs, albums and lyrics”. Still reading the description attached to the trademark registration, it seems that TikTok Music will have its own app that is independent and distinct from the main social app. However, the integration with the latter could be decisive for the success of the new service.