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From Lil Nas X to Doja Cat and CKay, these days, plenty of artists have TikTok to thank for helping kickstart their careers. The phenomenon is such that the social network has become the number one source of music discovery for the under 25s. And this has not gone unnoticed by music streaming giant, Spotify.
From Lil Nas X to Doja Cat and CKay, these days, plenty of artists have TikTok to thank for helping kickstart their careers. The phenomenon is such that the social network has become the number one source of music discovery for the under 25s. And this has not gone unnoticed by music streaming giant, Spotify.
Spotify is undoubtedly the world's number-one audio streaming platform, with 489 million monthly active users. In addition, it has 205 million paying subscribers worldwide -- up 14% from the end of 2021. But the Swedish group must, like its competitors, contend with the arrival of TikTok in the music ecosystem.
The Chinese social network makes no secret of its ambition to deploy its own music streaming service. With this in mind, its parent company ByteDance has initiated discussions with several music labels, reports the Wall Street Journal. The Chinese group sees this as an opportunity to increase its advertising revenues and, above all, to compete with music industry leaders.
TikTok has already launched a music distribution and marketing service called SoundOn. This tool aims to help amateur artists take their first steps in music. Those who sign up can distribute their tracks for free on TikTok as well as on other streaming services. This could well shake up the economic model of the entire music business... as well as challenging Spotify to innovate.
Swipe and conquer
The streaming site, helmed by Daniel Ek, is now reportedly working on a new vertical homepage where users will be able to swipe through content recommendations vertically, one after another, according to Bloomberg. A function that is strangely reminiscent of TikTok's "For You" homepage. This feature could be unveiled during the Stream On event that the music streaming giant is holding on March 8 in Los Angeles.
For now, Spotify has shared very little information about this new homepage. It is part of a series of tests that the Swedish company is conducting to improve the user experience on its platform, as one of its spokespeople told Bloomberg. "Some of those end up paving the path for our broader user experience and others serve only as important learnings," they said.
The new homepage would bolster the fresh, trendy brand image that Spotify has built up over the years. It could also foster the discovery of new songs and podcasts \-- the audio content at the heart of the Swedish streaming giant's diversification strategy. Above all, it could prove a hit with Generation Z, who are only too used to swiping endlessly on TikTok and, to a lesser extent, on Instagram. And that's how they expand their musical horizons, with 67% of TikTok users more likely to listen to a song in its entirety on a music streaming service after hearing it on the social network, according to a survey by MRC Data and Flamingo. With this in mind, it's hardly surprising that TikTok is planning to create its own listening platform to bypass the giants of the sector for good.
