businessinsider.com
TikTok is on the rise as a search tool, particularly among Gen-Z users.The app isn’t close to challenging Google’s search dominance (the companies have even partnered together). But as a video-first app, TikTok may be better suited for certain visual-leaning queries.A new Adobe Express survey, conducted in August by brand-engagement firm Fractl, examined what makes search different on TikTok and what its users typically look for.The company asked 808 US-based respondents what search apps they tu…
2 months ago
businessinsider.com
Music licensing talks are heating up between TikTok and Universal Music Group as negotiations have left the conference room and entered the public sphere.UMG, the label behind Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande, published an “open letter” on Tuesday, claiming a range of grievances against TikTok. It accused the app of being “flooded with AI-generated recordings,” allowing a “tidal wave of hate speech, bigotry, bullying and harassment,” and “selectively removing the music of certain of our developing…
about 2 months ago
businessinsider.com
Creator+, a film studio and pay-per-view app that raised $12 million in 2021 to produce movies starring digital talent, is in talks to sell various aspects of its business, from its technology to its completed films and other IP, cofounder Benjamin Grubbs confirmed to Business Insider in a statement.The company began winding down operations at the end of last year, a source familiar with the matter told BI.Creator+’s business launched in 2021 and aimed to produce six feature films that year that…
about 2 months ago
businessinsider.com
TikTok and Universal Music Group are at an impasse in their fight over song licensing.After their existing contract expired last month, tracks from popular artists like Olivia Rodrigo and Taylor Swift are off the app, with more set to be removed from UMG’s publishing catalog at the end of February. TikTok has muted existing videos featuring the delisted songs, with no immediate resolution to the business dispute in sight.But for music marketers tasked with helping artists and new releases go vir…
about 2 months ago
businessinsider.com
TikTok scored a victory this week, as President Joe Biden finally caved and joined its app.The move was an about-face for the president, whose administration had spent years calling it a national security risk. The White House had pushed for a sale of TikTok’s US assets. Now, Biden is posting “Dark Brandon” memes on the app like other TikTokers.The president’s arrival on TikTok is the latest win for the company, which has used the courts, political lobbying, and its CEO’s charm to ward off polit…
about 1 month ago
businessinsider.com
Step aside Charli D’Amelio and Khaby Lame. TikTok has a new type of influencer on its mind: the shopping star.The company wants to prop up influencers on its app that are uniquely gifted at selling goods. Its “Star Creator” team focuses on finding and developing influencers who can drive sales in various product categories on its e-commerce tool, TikTok Shop, according to two sources who work with Shop-focused talent. It’s hiring for several new roles in the US and UK for the group, including a…
about 1 month ago
businessinsider.com
Paul Hourican, TikTok’s global head of music partnerships and programming, is leaving the company, the executive confirmed to Business Insider.Hourican joined TikTok around four-and-half years ago in London as an executive heading up the company’s UK music operations. From there, he jumped into a role overseeing its European music operations before expanding into a global leadership position on the music team.In his global role, Hourican oversaw music initiatives like the company’s December “Tik…
about 1 month ago
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It’s no secret that social media has become a major part of the artist and song promotion playbook.Short-video apps like TikTok and Instagram have become the center of many of those efforts, given that hundreds of millions of people now discover new music by scrolling through feeds.TikTok, in particular, has revolutionized how users discover not just new songs and artists but old ones too. Decades-old tracks like Matthew Wilder’s “Break My Stride” have experienced a resurgence after trending on…
30 days ago
businessinsider.com
In 2022, after TikTok had established itself as hit-making machine and key promotional tool for music, a wave of artists began complaining they were burned out on making content for the app.“TikTok has now become a whole other part of our job that takes up such a significant amount of time,” performer Taylor Upsahl told Business Insider in June 2022.At the time, if an artist wasn’t gung-ho about filming social videos, their manager or record label could turn to other marketing tactics. Some hire…
23 days ago
businessinsider.com
TikTok is facing the threat of a ban or forced sale — again.The US House of Representatives voted Wednesday on a bill that would require its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell the US version of TikTok or see it pulled from app stores outright.Since August 2020, when the Trump administration first tried to box out TikTok via executive order because of its owner’s ties to China, the company has faced an onslaught of attacks from state and federal politicians. These ban attempts haven’t sto…
16 days ago
businessinsider.com
TikTok is coming after Google’s businesses, and it wants its users to help.The company’s new creator rewards program, announced Monday, incentivizes creators to post longer videos and optimize their content for search. By asking creators to prioritize those two factors, TikTok may be able to ratchet up its early efforts to compete with Google’s search engine and video platform YouTube.To qualify for payments in the new program, a creator’s video must be over one minute long, a requirement that T…
11 days ago