TikTok has introduced ‘Artist Accounts’ specifically for musicians on the platform.
The ByteDance-owned social platform says these verified accounts offer “a toolbox of features and promotional tools developed to forge a closer relationship between artist and fan on TikTok”.
These accounts are available to every artist or musician that has released music, and according to TikTok, act as “the shop window for fans to learn more about your music, creative process and to discover the latest releases”.
After activating their account, artists gain access to a suite of promotional resources, including an artist tag that sits below their account name.
According to TikTok, this “will signify to the community and potential new fans that you are an artist”.
Artists will need to have at least four songs uploaded to be eligible for the tag.
TikTok is also launching a “New Release” tool for Artist Account holders. This feature was first trialed in the summer by BTS to promote their single Take Two, but is now being rolled out widely as part of the new accounts.
The promo tool allows artists to highlight a new track for up to 14 days before release, and for 30 days after release.
The tag also highlights a New Release on discovery pages of catalog sounds, which TikTok says, allows artists “to drive further discovery of new music”.
The new Artist Accounts also feature a “Music Tab” that curates an artist’s catalog into a list of available tracks (in a similar layout to that seen on streaming platforms such as Spotify). TikTok says that new music is automatically added to this list.
As you can from the image below, the track list will display the number of TikTok videos each track has been used in, as well as 30-second clips of the tracks.
TikTok launched its “Add to Music App” feature earlier this month in partnership with services like Spotify and Amazon Music to let its users save songs they discover on TikTok directly to those streaming services.
The new Artist Accounts include a ‘By Artist’ feature that TikTok says “enhances” an artist’s visibility by allowing them to pin a preferred post to the top of the discovery page.
Meanwhile, the Behind the Song feature lets artists share “the stories and inspirations behind their songs” (see below).
TikTok says that this product feature has “already proved hugely popular with artists” like Cat Burns, Fred again.. and RAYE.
“Behind the Song has really helped me connect with core fans, and it helps people that maybe don’t know me as well understand my songs better too,” said Cat Burns.
“My songwriting is often inspired by things I’ve been through, and I often post bits of my writing as and when I’m inspired. Behind the Song helps me tie everything together and make clear what I was thinking and feeling at the time I wrote it.”
Commenting on the new Artist Account feature, Paul Hourican, Global Head of Music Partnerships & Programming at TikTok said: “With the introduction of the Artist Account, we are proud to further empower artists by providing them with the tools they need to reach new heights on TikTok.
“With the introduction of the Artist Account, we are proud to further empower artists by providing them with the tools they need to reach new heights on TikTok.”
Paul Hourican, TikTok
Added Hourican: “Alongside new features like Add To Music App, we’re seeing how these features can deepen engagement whilst creating unique opportunities for fans to connect with their favorite artists in meaningful ways, driving music discovery on the platform.”
TikTok’s expansion of its promotional and discoverability tools for artists follows the rollout last month of its premium streaming service TikTok Music in Australia, Singapore and Mexico (without Universal’s catalog), following the service’s initial launch in Brazil and Indonesiaback in July.Music Business Worldwide
