The new platform is in response to the burgeoning popularity of TikTok and its role as a haven for music discovery.
A new music marketing and distribution platform called SoundOn has been launched by TikTok, giving musicians more exposure on other streaming services.
As reported by MixMag, SoundOn is essentially a distributing platform that allows registered users to upload their tracks so they can be used on TikTok and sent to other streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, and Pandora, thus increasing exposure and making it easier to identify songs that trend on TikTok.
SoundOn guarantees that 100% of monthly royalties go straight to the artists in the first year of usage, then 90 per cent for the years following. Other distribution companies also usually give artists 100 per cent of royalties, but often charge distribution and transaction fees.
As motivation to upload music onto TikTok itself, when TikTok users use audios by musicians, artists will be allowed to keep 100% of the royalties from those too.
SoundOn users will be able to choose whether they upload their music to multiple streaming platforms or just one. They will also have access to data about audience demographics, SoundOn marketing assistance, and promotional help from TikTok.
“TikTok creators are the lifeblood of our platform and the reason sounds become hits,” the website explains.
“When you release through our platform, our team will activate diverse creators to make videos with your track. This helps you broaden your fanbase and reach new communities that these creators are a part of.”
TikTok has established itself as the leading music discovery app on the planet in recent years. A 2021 study found that 75% of TikTok’s US users say they discover new artists via the platform, and if that number is anywhere close to the same for the rest of the world’s estimated one billion users, it provides literally anyone with the means to reach an unprecedented audience size.
The app is now unquestionably the platform that artists look to exploit for rapid promo, with 430 songs getting more than one billion video views as TikTok sounds in 2021, marking a threefold increase over the number of singles in 2020.
In a statement about the launch of SoundOn, Ole Obermann, global head of Music at TikTok said: “New artists and musical creators are a vibrant community within TikTok and SoundOn is designed to support them as they take the first steps in their career.
“Our SoundOn teams will guide creators on their journey to the big stage and bring the expertise and power of TikTok to life for the artist. We’re incredibly excited about how this will surface and propel new talent and how SoundOn will contribute to an increasingly diverse and growing global music industry.”