TikTok hopes to form ties with K-pop

Oct 3, 2019

Short-form video sharing app TikTok stresses it can be a powerful tool in promoting the ongoing K-pop trend around the world.

On Thursday, TikTok officials took to the podium for at the 2019 Seoul International Music Fair held at Coex in southern Seoul to give a presentation titled “The New Kid on the New Music Block: TikTok.”

The Chinese app, launched in 2016, is available in 150 countries in 75 languages, and bills itself as a music discovery app, allowing “TikTokers” (TikTok users) to create and share 15-second long videos on the platform.

“It is an era when people can use mobile devices to share, create videos anywhere, anytime,” Jay Bae, business development director of TikTok Korea said at the conference. “Smartphones are important devices in watching videos and also listening to music.”

“Music is an important part of TikTok’s creative DNA,” Bae said. “According to our research, TikTok users use music streaming service 27 minutes longer per day than other internet users.”

(Korea Creative Content Agency)

TikTok’s director of music for Southeast Asia, Alan Tang, introduced how TikTok cooperates with artists to promote their tracks. TikTok provides licensed music for users to add on to their videos.

One of the cases introduced was Black Pink’s Jennie’s single “Solo” release last year. TikTok collaborated with the K-pop star, and released a sticker effect for a dance challenge for the song, generating more than 200 million views.

“It is a process of building a fan base and community on TikTok,” Tang said. “We encourage artists to add more video on TikTok profile, to form an authentic, intimate bonds with the fans.”

To attract more users, TikTok held an audition event TikTok Spotlight in Korea and Japan in April, where auditioners created their own music through the app. According to TikTok, the audition was also a platform for rookie artists to promote themselves.

“Budding musicians participated in this program. This is where artists can promote their music and industry can notice (them). They can showcase their original music on a global scale,” Tang said.

However, TikTok acknowledges that its profit model is limited for now.

“As of now, the biggest business model is advertisements. We are looking into developing other profit-generating models. But for now, music-related projects do not include direct monetization, merely functions for promotion,” Bae said.

Meanwhile, 74 acts participated in the four-day global music trade event 2019 Seoul International Music Fair, which was organized by the Korea Creative Content Agency.