TikTok’s grand plans to take over our ears

Wanna ruin someone’s day? Send ‘em “Twinkle Twinkle Little Bitch,” one of the more viral TikTok-era songs of late.

A top comment on the track is a request to “unrelease it.” It’s also now a trend to ironically watch TV on your phone at concerts when it’s performed.

But look at the numbers and the song’s a hit, and yet another reason why TikTok’s laser-focused on music as its next frontier.

For the last couple years…

… the trend for many has been to hear a song on TikTok, then listen to it on Spotify. TikTok is, in fact, that much better at discovery: 63% of users discover new music on TikTok before any other platform.

As a result, TikTok finds itself in a position where it should probably just start hosting music itself.

And it’s already starting

Abroad, in India, Brazil, and Indonesia, TikTok operates an app called Resso, which is like a more social Spotify.

Stateside, Insider recently spotted a trademark filing for a “TikTok Music” app. Yesterday, TechCrunch reported similar filings in the UK, Singapore, New Zealand, Mexico, Malaysia, and Costa Rica.

Interestingly, a trend we’ve seen among social apps, eloquently dubbed “TikTokification,” is clearly happening in the audio space as well:

• Just this week, Audacy bought Moonbeam, a TikTok-style podcast app whose CEO we interviewed last year.
• Last week, Snap announced a fund for musicians who distribute sounds on Snapchat.
• And Spotify, the big tuna who’s long-struggled with discovery, is testing TikTok-style features.

With all these wannabes, TikTok must have “Twinkle Twinkle Little Bitch” stuck in its head.