• by Colin Kirkland , May 15, 2023

As emerging artists are continually being discovered on TikTok, the ByteDance-owned social video platform has introduced an in-app #NewMusic Search Hub that showcases trending songs from both new and established artists, with the Jonas Brothers and Miguel on board for the feature’s launch.

TikTok says it created the #NewMusic hub to help fans discover emerging music and for musical artists of all kinds “to grow their fan bases and connect with their audience.”

“TikTok is already a destination for artists who want to preview their newest works,” writes Paul Hourican, global head of music operations at TikTok. “This new feature gives artists a new way to connect with our global community.”

According to internal data, TikTok says the hashtag #NewMusic has already amassed over 18 billion views on the platform, with highly anticipated tracks like Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ #1 Billboard hit “Unholy” and Ed Sheeran’s “Eyes Closed” dropping first on TikTok.

The latter generated over 1 million video creations before its official release, TikTok says.

The Jonas Brothers and Miguel -- who helped announce the launch of the #NewMusic hub -- have found major successes on the video-sharing platform, with songs getting billions of views and millions of video creations. Both groups also use TikTok as a way to build their audience with behind-the-scenes videos and marketing campaigns for upcoming releases.

Miguel’s 2011 hit “Sure Thing” was even revived on the app, resurfacing as a sped-up version which caused the tune to land back on the Billboard Hot 100 after more than a decade since its original release.

Music has been an integral part of TikTok's entertainment-first allure, with 9 out of 10 users considering sound to be necessary to the in-app experience. 

The #NewMusic search hub is the latest addition to a series of music-first moves recently made by the platform, like TikTok's “SoundOn” program, which allows artists to upload their music directly to the platform and earn royalties when their songs are played.

In addition, TikTok focuses on supercharging music trends via its “Stem Drop” initiative, its Music Library program, which organizes pre-cleared music for organic content and ad creation, and a new “Work with Artists” option that helps musicians offer incentives for users to add their tracks to TikTok clips.