At the beginning of March 2022, TikTok announced the official market launch of their in-house approach to empowering new and undiscovered artists through listener outreach and promotional capabilities. SoundOn – TikTok’s all-in-one platform for music marketing and distribution – is designed to help artists develop and build their careers through a series of online tools.
How It Works
This new tool breaks down barriers to entry for many artists trying to dip their toes into the music pool. Musicians can now upload their songs directly to TikTok in order to start earning royalties. Expanding fan access to an artist’s music, SoundOn also distributes to other music platforms, thus enabling artists to build audiences across streaming services and DSPs. In other words, by uploading music directly to TikTok, artists can reach fans on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, among others.
Benefits to Artists
SoundOut is full of practical solutions for artists. In the first year of usage, SoundOut gives creators 100 percent of royalties, followed by 90 every year thereafter. To further support artists, the TikTok platform provides promotional tools and creator marketing, audience insight and development, and access to Tiktok’s song tab (where profile pages link to the music). SoundOn’s A&R department also provides expert advice from its dedicated team to guide artists through the process of growing their career.
Starting Your Musical Career
TikTok’s SoundOn is now fully available in the U.S., UK, Brazil, and Indonesia following a stint of BETA testing last year. Starting on the platform provides artists a unique opportunity to not only reach larger audiences, but potentially catch the eye of publishers as well. Working with co-writers and other artists is another potential benefit of using the platform, which is striving to launch the musical careers of its early adopters. A few notable names in the UK include Muni Long, Games We Play, Abby Roberts, and Chloe Adams.
TikTok’s Head of Music, Ole Obermann, said of the platform: “New artists and musical creators are a vibrant community within TikTok and SoundOn is designed to support them as they take the first steps in their career. Our SoundOn teams will guide creators on their journey to the big stage and bring the expertise and power of TikTok to life for the artist. We’re incredibly excited about how this will surface and propel new talent and how SoundOn will contribute to an increasingly diverse and growing global music industry.”
Taking Your Music to the Next Level
Interested in building a fanbase through TikTok? Be sure to check out Starlight PR’s 6-week “Social X” campaign, which includes targeted promotions on Spotify and TikTok. Increase your exposure and enable fans to get familiar with your sound through social engagement designed specifically for this market segment. Learn more today.
