TikTok's Music Streaming Ambitions Come to an End

TikTok, the world's largest short-form video service, had once been seen as a potential "Spotify killer" with the launch of its own subscription streaming music platform. However, the company has now confirmed that it will be closing down TikTok Music worldwide on November 28, 2023, marking the end of its foray into the music streaming space.

Shifting Focus to Driving Music Consumption on Partner Platforms

TikTok's decision to shut down its music streaming service is driven by the company's strategy of partnering with external music streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, rather than directly competing with them. The closure of TikTok Music is partly informed by the company's goal of focusing its resources on its "Add To Music App" feature, which enables TikTok users to save music tracks they discover on the video platform to playlists on their preferred music audio streaming service.

Prioritizing Partnerships over Direct Competition

According to sources within TikTok, the closure of TikTok Music has been influenced by the company's strategy of collaborating with established music streaming platforms. By partnering with services like Spotify and Apple Music, TikTok aims to drive consumption on these platforms, rather than trying to build its own standalone music streaming service.This shift in focus aligns with TikTok's broader goal of enhancing the music listening experience for its users and creating more value for artists, songwriters, and the music industry as a whole. The company's "Add To Music App" feature has already enabled hundreds of millions of track saves to playlists on partner music streaming services, demonstrating TikTok's ability to drive engagement and discovery on these platforms.

Navigating Licensing Challenges and Partnerships

TikTok Music officially launched in Indonesia and Brazil last summer, licensed by all three major music companies. The app succeeded ByteDance's Resso, a long-running music subscription platform, in these territories. However, the app's expansion to Australia, Singapore, and Mexico last year was not without its challenges.The TikTok Music app launched in these additional markets without Universal Music Group's recorded music catalog, which seemed to be a precursor to a licensing fallout between UMG and TikTok. This issue has since been resolved, but it highlights the complexities involved in navigating the music licensing landscape and establishing partnerships with major record labels.

Leveraging TikTok's Influence to Drive Streaming Consumption

Despite the closure of its standalone music streaming service, TikTok remains committed to leveraging its platform's influence to drive consumption on third-party streaming platforms. The company's "Add To Music App" feature has already partnered with Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon, allowing TikTok users in over 180 countries to save music tracks they discover on the platform to their preferred streaming service.Furthermore, TikTok has highlighted the power of its platform to drive consumption on these external streaming services. According to the company, more than a quarter (27%) of the Top 100 singles in Germany last year went viral on TikTok before becoming a hit on the German singles chart. This statistic underscores the significant impact TikTok can have on music discovery and consumption on other streaming platforms.

Exploring Partnerships with Additional Streaming Services

Insiders at TikTok suggest that the company is currently in discussions with other music streaming subscription platforms about partnering on the "Add to Music App" feature. This indicates that TikTok is actively seeking to expand its collaborations with a wider range of music streaming services, further solidifying its role as a powerful discovery and engagement platform for the music industry.As TikTok shifts its focus away from direct music streaming competition and towards strengthening its partnerships with established platforms, it will be interesting to see how the company's influence and impact on the music industry continue to evolve. The closure of TikTok Music marks the end of one chapter, but the platform's ongoing commitment to driving music consumption and value creation on partner services suggests that its role in the music ecosystem is far from over.