TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, announced on September 24, that it will be shutting down the music streaming service - TikTok Music - by next month. The move comes forward as the company plans to focus on core products and tries to co-exist with music streaming platforms, rather than competing with them.
TíkTok Music will officially end its global services on November 28, 2024. The music streaming app is a separate entity from the short-video sharing app. It has mostly been in use across several parts of Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, and Singapore.
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ByteDance has requested all users to transfer their playlists to their favorite music streaming platforms by October 28. Those with a premium subscription are also advised to request and claim refunds before November 28. All user info and data will be deleted after the discontinuation, and will no longer be accessible.
Speaking to the press about the discontinuation on September 24, Ole Obermann, TíkTok’s global head of music business development, commented,
“We will be closing TikTok Music at the end of November in order to focus on our goal of furthering TíkTok’s role in driving even greater music listening and value on music streaming services, for the benefit of artists, songwriters and the industry.”
All you need to know about TikTok Music amid the plans for discontinuation
TikTok Music was first launched in the Brazilian and Indonesian markets in July 2023, to compete with major music streaming platforms like Apple Music and Spotify. It was aimed at making it easier for users to discover popular songs from TìkTok videos.
The premium subscription of the app also allowed users to save, share, download, and listen to the songs they discovered on TìkTok. The music discovery and streaming app gained quick popularity and was introduced in Australia, Mexico, and Singapore by October 2023.
However, TikTok Music became less relevant in November 2023 when ByteDance introduced the 'Add to Music App' feature on the short-video sharing app. The feature first dropped in the U.K. and the U.S and seemed to be aimed at co-existence with major music streaming platform
Apart from the direct discovery of viral songs, the feature allowed fans to enjoy the tracks on music streaming platforms of their choice without paying anything extra to TìkTok. The feature gained popularity in no time and was expanded to over 163 countries by February 2024.
Sharing how the 'Add to Music App' feature enabled numerous users to save playlists on their favorite music streaming platforms, Ole Obermann told Billboard on September 24:
“Our Add to Music App feature has already enabled hundreds of millions of track saves to playlists on partner music streaming services.”
ByteDance has confirmed that the discontinuation of TìkTok music will allow the company to streamline its services and focus on its core products, including TikTok. The move is also claimed to help artists and music rights holders by generating better value and revenue.
Readers must note that the discontinuation of TìkTok music does not affect TikTok in any manner. The short video-sharing platform will continue operating as usual in all global markets.
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