TikTok has announced that it will shut down its music streaming service, TikTok Music. The social media giant’s parent company, ByteDance, launched the platform halfway through 2023 in an attempt to compete with major services like Spotify and Apple Music.
ByteDance cited challenges with music labels over compensation and artist rights while fighting regulatory battles over TikTok’s ownership in the US.
TikTok Music was initially launched in July 2023 in several markets, including Indonesia, Brazil, Australia, Mexico, and Singapore as a low-cost on-demand provider. While never launching in the US, the app did undergo beta testing in major markets and received a US patent filing.
The service’s final day is set for November 28, however, this doesn’t mean TikTok will abandon all of its music ambitions. TikTok Global Head of Music Business Development Ole Obermann said the move is all part of a strategy to, “Focus on our goal of furthering TikTok’s role in driving even greater music listening and value on music streaming services, for the benefit of artists, songwriters, and the industry.”
In 2022, social media contributed 30.9% growth to music revenue, with short-form video platforms contributing about 60% of that internal growth. Whether ByteDance will now try to partner with its would-be streaming competitors remains to be seen.
