- TikTok held a major concert, signaling its influence as a music destination.
- The event caps a year of cultivating a thriving artist community amid complex industry relationships.
- TikTok aims to collaborate, not compete, as it expands music tools.
TikTok held its first major concert event on Dec. 10th featuring stars like Cardi B, signaling the platform’s arrival as an influential music destination after starting to focus solely on viral videos.
“TikTok In The Mix” show
The sold-out “TikTok In The Mix” show capped off the app’s year long cultivation of a thriving music community, according to TikTok’s head of music partnerships, Paul Hourican.
“Given where we are in our music journey and this incredible artist community that we’ve built around the platform, it felt like the time was right,” he told Business Insider.
TikTok now drives significant revenue growth for labels and ticketing agencies while competing directly with streaming services via its music app in select markets abroad.
Continually innovating
The delicate balancing act requires avoiding conflict with crucial industry allies, Hourican explained. “In such a relatively short time, we have taken on a lot,” he remarked.
TikTok recently introduced new artist profile features like custom badges for musicians to simplify music promotion as it mirrors functionality common on veteran music apps.
“We want to maximize the amount of time artists have to do what artists do and make it as easy for them as possible,” said Hourican.
A collab, not a competitor
The splashy Phoenix concert experience signals TikTok aims to collaborate rather than compete, even if it continues to widen its music-industry footprint into arenas like ticketing and streaming.
“Any excuse to throw a big global livestream completely centered around music, hopefully, is a good thing for everyone involved,” Hourican added.
