It’s no secret by now that TikTok – which was the world’s second-most downloaded app in 2019, and generates $40 million per month – is making huge waves in the music business.
Last year, the company bolstered its leadership team with London-based Global Head of Music Ole Obermann and Los Angeles-based Head of Label Licensing, Tracy Gardner.
And just last month, TikTok inked a multi-territory licensing deal with Merlin, the global digital rights agency for the world’s independent label sector.
The ByteDance-owned company is also understood to be in the middle of licensing negotiations with the majors.
Today brings further evidence of TikTok’s growing clout in music. The platform has nabbed the exclusive premiere of a clip from a new BTS single, ON, taken from the K-pop superstars’ upcoming new album MAP OF THE SOUL: 7 .
TikTok users will be able to listen to the new song 12 hours ahead of the official release of the album and they will also be able to create their TikTok videos using the music.
BTS officially joined TikTok on September 25, 2019, and according to ByteDance soon claimed the world record for fastest time to reach 1 million followers, achieving a record time of 3 hours and 31 minutes.
In the same week, TikTok also launched the band member J-hope’s ‘Chicken Noodle Soup’ challenge in more than 40 countries, which the company says has reached over 480m views.
The group currently have 7.5m followers on the platform.
TikTok’s BTS exclusive comes two days after the platform partnered with the BRIT Awards in London, delivering an exclusive live-stream of event’s red carpet, and a performance by Lewis Capaldi.
Speaking ahead of the BRITs, Rich Waterworth, TikTok’s General Manager UK, said: “On TikTok, artists can reach listeners at lighting speed and build authentic fanbases – it’s a unique connection between artists and fans that we want even more artists and fans to benefit from – as well as the discovery opportunities TikTok brings for success off-platform.”
Music Business Worldwide