The Jonas Brothers (pictured) have partnered with TikTok on a discovery hub for the New Music hashtag. Photo credit: Erik Drost
Just days after being banned on government devices in Florida, TikTok has expanded its hashtag “New Music” into a “global music discovery hub,” dubbed a “new music destination” from the top.
ByteDance-owned company TikTok unveiled its latest feature in an announcement message today – after already introducing a “creativity program” and a “work with artists” option in May. Though talks over a possible ban on the highly controversial platform in the US have largely stalled in recent weeks, the service’s US security chief Eric Han quietly resigned today.
Taking advantage of this continued inaction by Congress, TikTok has worked to cement its status as a promotional tool amid allegedly lengthy licensing negotiations with the Big Three, and has launched the #NewMusic search hub mentioned at the outset.
As its name suggests, according to TikTok, the offering will “act as a hub for new music, highlight new releases, and make it easier for fans to discover the latest tracks from prominent and emerging artists.” Additionally, the short-form app, which had previously taken up a pre-release option through its SoundOn distribution service, also said some tracks would arrive on the platform “before being heard elsewhere.”
Users can search “New Music” to try out the feature, which TikTok has announced will partner with the Jonas Brothers and R&B artist Miguel. The former act released their aptly titled sixth studio album The albumtoday, while Miguel has turned to TikTok since an accelerated version of his 2011 work Sure Thing caused a stir.
(Yesterday, before The album became available via streaming, the Jonas Brothers released several tracks from the project candy Crush Sagain particular including a “Candy Crush Remix” of “Waffle House” as well as exclusive video performances of “Summer Baby” and “Sail Away”.
The video-sharing app also took the opportunity to tout the alleged audience of certain titles and genres on the platform. “#NewMusic has already garnered over 18 billion views on the platform,” the company wrote of the hashtag, which it claims is “the ultimate treasure trove for discovering new songs.”
TikTok also pointed to the nearly 150 billion views rap tracks are said to have garnered after hashtagging, compared to a reported 5.9 billion views for electronic music and 1.2 billion views for Latin music. Similarly, according to supervisors, there are more than a billion on-platform playbacks behind the aforementioned “Waffle House,” and Ed Sheeran’s “Eyes Closed” is said to have spawned about a million “video creations” before release.
In a statement, Paul Hourican, TikTok’s global head of music, appeared to refer to the building of #NewMusic as a sort of precursor to the debut of an overarching music streaming service.
“We’re excited to launch the #NewMusic Hub, a global discovery platform that celebrates and nurtures artists of all genres, from emerging talent to international superstars,” said former YouTube and MTV music executive Hourican. “TikTok is already a destination for artists looking to check out their latest work and for music fans wanting to discover new music, and this new feature will give artists a new way to connect with our global community.”