Two weeks ago, TikTok announced that it had teamed up with indie artist distribution platform UnitedMasters to enable TikTok users to distribute their music directly to other music streaming platforms from within the TikTok app.
Now, the Bytedance-owned platform has launched another partnership-led feature, once again at the heart of music’s burgeoning direct-to-consumer industry: the ability for TikTok users to sell merch via the app to their fans.
According to a report in the Verge, TikTok has partnered with ‘social commerce platform’ Teespring to launch the feature, with over 7,000 US-based TikTok users recently taking part in a private beta.
Teespring also has integrations with YouTube, Instagram, Twitch, Discord and Streamlabs, and the platform claims to have become “the go-to company for over 300,000 creators to monetize their content creation and create and sell authentic products to their fans”.
In 2019, Teespring was the fourth top visited apparel website in the US, and in July this year the company reported four consecutive quarters of compounding growth with 97% YoY growth in Q2 2020 alone.
Teespring says it has on average 2,400 global creators signing up to its platform every day, and has paid out over $80m in creator profits over the past two years.
Sean Kim, Head of product at TikTok US, said: “At TikTok, we’re focused on providing the best app experience for our users first and foremost.
“Creators are the heart and soul of TikTok and we are constantly looking for ways to bring more value and opportunities for them within our platform.
“We are looking forward to building upon our ongoing commitment to support creators through monetary opportunities and, in the meantime, are excited to see what ideas creators bring to life on Teespring.”
“We are looking forward to building upon our ongoing commitment to support creators through monetary opportunities and, in the meantime, are excited to see what ideas creators bring to life on Teespring.”
Sean Kim, TikTok
TikTok’s recent announcements come at an interesting time in the platform’s short history.
Under pressure from the Trump administration, TikTok’s China-based parent ByteDance is in talks to sell off the app’s operations in the United States and certain other territories, including Australia with the likes of Microsoft, Oracle, supermarket chain Walmart and rival Triller also having expressed an interest in striking a deal.
The global music merchandise business was a hotly-contested landscape towards the end of 2018 and throughout 2019, with significant consolidation taking place in the sector during that time.
