Speaking in the new issue of Music Week, Toyin Mustapha suggested that more DSPs would sign up to TikTok’s Add To Music App, and his words have duly come true.
YouTube Music is the latest streaming service to be integrated into the Add To Music App, which won big at the Music Week Awards earlier this year.
“We’ve always known there’s been a real correlation between what’s been happening on TikTok and on streaming services, so for us to be able to close that gap and produce a feature where songs can be added or listened to at the point of discovery is amazing,” said Mustapha in our interview, which subscribers can read in full here.
TikTok’s head of music partnerships, UK, Ireland & SSA pointed to the huge impact of the Add To Music App, with the addition of YouTube Music set to further boost some already impressive numbers.
“We’re so proud of it,” he said. “In February, we announced we’ve had over a billion songs saved to it, which has led to many billions of streams off the back of that.”
The Add To Music App continues to deliver real results for the industry, with hundreds of millions of track saves translating into billions of streams on streaming services
Tracy Gardner
With the feature now live, TikTok users can save the music they discover on TikTok to their TikTok Songs playlist on YouTube Music.
Tracy Gardner, TikTok’s global head of music business development, highlighted the importance of the move.
“The Add To Music App continues to deliver real results for the music industry, with hundreds of millions of track saves translating into billions of streams on music streaming services,” she said. “By partnering with YouTube Music, we’re expanding this impact globally, helping artists reach new audiences while giving fans a seamless way to engage with the music they discover on TikTok.”
YouTube Music now sits alongside Spotify, Apple Music, SoundCloud, Deezer, [South Korean service] Melon and Amazon Music as part of the Add To Music App, with users able to switch between their preferred streaming service via their settings on TikTok.
We’re always trying to find new ways to help the industry and help artists engage with their fans and monetise their TikTok accounts
Toyin Mustapha
Mustapha emphasised TikTok’s intention to keep building out its Add To Music App in his Music Week interview.
“Looking at the Add To Music App and our partnerships with the streaming services, what’s most important there is that it signals not only our commitment to streaming, but working with partners in the places that are already doing it and doing a great job,” he said.
As for further innovations, Mustapha hinted that more could soon be on the horizon.
“We’re always trying to find new ways to help the industry and help artists engage with their fans and help them monetise their TikTok accounts,” he said. “We’ve done a lot of great work in the past 18 months. As well as Add To Music, we did ticket partnerships with AXS and CTS Eventim to enable artists to sell tickets directly from TikTok. We’re looking at working more closely with the TikTok shop team to enable merch for artists to become our next big thing as well.”
Watch this space, then.
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