TikTok is cooperation with music streaming services, including Spotify, Amazon Music and Apple Music in a new feature that will allow users to save their favorite songs they hear in TikTok videos directly to the music streaming app. The addition comes at a time when TikTok’s influence is increasingly a factor in top music charts and the discovery of new artists. His impact can also be felt in Spotify’s TikTok-inspired app redesign earlier this year, which revamped the app with short-form discovery streams for music and podcasts.
Now, TikTok’s new “Add to Music app” feature will begin appearing as a button that says “Add Song” next to a track name at the bottom of a TikTok video in the For You Feed, allowing users to save the song to music streaming app. The first time users tap this button, they’ll be able to set which music service they prefer as their default.
Apple Music was not disclosed in TikTok’s press release about the feature, but it is visible in the screenshots provided. TikTok has retroactively confirmed in its live news that Apple Music is indeed part of the feature.
For Spotify, TikTok users in both the US and and in the UK will be able to save songs to the ‘Songs They Like’ playlist. In addition to setting the default when you first interact with the new feature, you can also find the option on the Settings page under Music. More purchases will be supported over time, Spotify says.
Image Credits: Spotify
Once activated, you’ll be able to hit an “Add to Spotify” button on TikTok whenever you come across tracks you like and want to listen to again as you browse your For You feed. You can also access the feature from an artist’s Audio Details page.
Similar functionality will also be available for Amazon Music listeners, also in the US and UK In this app, TikTok songs will be added to a “TikTok Songs” playlist or another playlist of your choice. On Amazon Music, however, the feature will be limited to Prime members and Amazon Music Unlimited customers, while Spotify will support both its free and paid (Premium) users.
Apple Music, meanwhile, is a paid service only, so it will only offer this feature to paying subscribers.
Image Credits: Tik Tok
The feature will require both the user’s TikTok app and music streaming app to be updated to the latest version for it to work. Spotify notes that the feature is coming to both its iOS and Android apps, starting today, and integrates with its other social integrations, including those with apps like BeReal, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter (now X).
It’s interesting to see TikTok working with streaming services to improve their offerings at the same time that parent company ByteDance is building its strength in the music streaming game. By expanding its TikTok Music streaming service outside the US, the company is tapping the popular short video app as fodder for a music rival of its own.
But in the meantime, Spotify remains the top music app in the US., in terms of monthly listeners — second only to YouTube and tied with Amazon Music, according to data from a US usage study. Except it’s the dominant streamer worldwide, Spotify also drives much of American culture around music, thanks to its flagship personalized playlist, Discover Weekly, curated editorial compilations, and popular year-end review, Spotify Wrapped. Amazon Music, meanwhile, has traction thanks to its connection to the popular Prime subscription, which gives it a foothold in the U.S.
That means TikTok, at least for now, needs to work with its competitors on integrations like this, not ignore them.
“TikTok is already the world’s most powerful platform for music discovery and promotion, helping artists connect with our global community to increase engagement with their music,” he said. Tik TokGlobal Head of Music Business Development, Ole Obermann, in a statement about the release. “The Add to Music app takes this process one step further by creating a direct connection between discovery on TikTok and consumption on a music streaming service, making it easier than ever for music lovers to enjoy the full song on the music streaming service of choice, thereby creating even greater value for artists and rights holders,” he added.
TikTok has collaborated on other music endeavors so far. Last month, for example, it partnered with Billboard to launch a Top 50 Songs chart. And, earlier this year, TikTok launched a new program to identify up-and-coming artists in the music industry. It also offered artists the chance to showcase their talent at a live music competition in August and September as it grew its reputation as a hub for music discovery.
The Add to Music app feature is currently available to users in the US and UK, with more markets to follow, TikTok notes.
11/14/23, 10:28 am ET: Confirmed with TikTok that Apple Music is part of the feature. We understand that the original omission was a request from Apple.
