TikTok releases SoundOn, a music distribution platform

TikTok has already had a significant impact on the music industry, propelling songs that have gained traction on the app to the top of the Billboard charts. To assist more musicians get their music heard, the firm is developing its own music marketing and distribution network, SoundOn. Artists can now upload their songs directly to TikTok and ByteDance’s own music streaming service Resso, as well as worldwide streaming platforms such as Apple Music, Spotify, Pandora, Deezer, and Tencent’s Joox, via the new platform.

This distribution is offered free of charge, and the platform waives all transaction expenses. SoundOn will pay 100% of royalties to music creators for an unlimited duration on ByteDance-owned platforms, according to TikTok. This includes TikTok, Resso in Brazil, Indonesia, and India, as well as ByteDance’s CapCut video editor software.

The compensation for global streaming services is also 100% in the first year, but drops to 90% in the second and subsequent years. DistroKid, on the other hand, charges artists and labels on a subscription basis and allows them to keep 100% of their earnings. Meanwhile, TuneCore charges a per-song or per-album fee for distribution, but guarantees that artists will keep 100% of streaming earnings.

Artists will maintain all rights and revenues, according to SoundOn’s FAQ, which means they will control their masters and receive 100% royalties (or later, 90 percent ).

Other promotional tools and support offered by SoundOn include audience insights and development, advice from the SoundOn marketing team, access to TikTok’s song tab (where music is linked on profile pages), TikTok verification, editorial placements on Resso and CapCut, and promotional support through TikTok’s platform through creator marketing.

According to the SoundOn website, distributing music through their platform puts tracks in front of TikTok developers.

The website adds, “TikTok creators are the lifeblood of our platform and the reason sounds become hits.” “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.”

The TikTok marketing component of SoundOn’s value proposition may appeal to young and emerging musicians, who recognise that being given an extra push on TikTok can help them break out and reach a larger audience, thanks to TikTok’s viral trends. Fans then follow musicians on music streaming sites, where their devotion is translated into real money.

The SoundOn platform, which had been in beta testing since last fall, is now fully operational in the United States, the United Kingdom, Brazil, and Indonesia, with an undisclosed number of artists and creators already using it, including Muni Long, Games We Play, Abby Roberts, and Chloe Adams in the United Kingdom.

SoundOn isn’t TikTok’s first foray into the music industry. UnitedMasters, the first music distribution firm to be integrated into TikTok, signed an agreement with the company in 2020.

The expansion of ByteDance into music distribution is not uncommon for streaming service providers. Last year, Apple invested in UnitedMasters, which, in addition to TikTok, has major relationships with the NBA and ESPN. Spotify also owns a small share in DistroKid, though it sold two-thirds of it for $167 million last October.