TikTok has officially launched an artist sponsorship program called Elevate. Photo credit: Tiktok
Two months after expanding its New Music hashtag into a “global music discovery hub,” TikTok has launched Elevate, which leaders have dubbed the “premier program to identify, nurture, and celebrate emerging artists.”
The highly controversial video sharing app today announced the official launch of Elevate. Now promoting itself as “the ultimate platform for music discovery and promotion,” TikTok has hinted that the newly created program will offer participating artists “meaningful support both on the app and out in the world” — with a focus on developing their “careers beyond a single trend hit.”
Time will tell what exactly this meaningful support means; The ByteDance subsidiary’s Elevate announcement message is relatively sparse in specific detail. However, TikTok announced plans to offer fans “unique artist experiences” as part of the campaign, “including exclusive performances” in the hometowns of the registered artists.
Of course, these YouTubers will also chart their careers (and potentially get a significant promotional boost from it) on TikTok, which now operates a distribution platform and music-streaming service of the same name in Brazil and Indonesia.
TikTok pointed out that we’re now linking to the actual artists involved in the first iteration of Elevate – which is only scheduled to run “until October,” suggesting many creators could be joining the program soon CHINCHILLA, Sam Barber, Omar Courtz, Isabel LaRosa, SmallAnd Lu Kala had been selected.
Meanwhile, TikTok intends to “release more details on upcoming Elevate cohorts in the coming months,” and the service’s head of North American artist partnerships, Rachel Dunham, underscored the app’s perceived status as a leading “destination for music discovery” in a statement.
“Elevate speaks to the core of TikTok and our commitment to celebrating and empowering the diverse talent on the platform,” shared Dunham, Live Nation’s former head of artist services. “As a music discovery destination, we’re thrilled to provide meaningful support to artists on and off TikTok to help them achieve long-term success in the music industry.”
Despite extensive regulatory scrutiny, a spate of government-level bans (along with the threat of an outright ban in some countries), and multiple lawsuits, TikTok has pushed more than a few music-related initiatives over the past year.
These numerous efforts and agreements (besides the above plus an AI song generator from ByteDance) include a music collaboration tool called StemDrop, a Ticketmaster collaboration, a “Talent Manager Portal”, high profile licensing deals, exclusive music, featured artist campaigns and a “Work With Artists” option.