• by Colin Kirkland , October 25, 2024

As TikTok continues to reassess its relationship to the music industry, the social media platform has decided to invest more attention in emerging music by partnering with UnitedMasters, a major distribution platform for independent artists.

The multi-year partnership will provide TikTok with UnitedMasters' "full, expansive catalog of music" while also providing commercial opportunities to the distribution platform's artists via TikTok's Commercial Music Library, according to a recent statement.

TikTok says its commercial library gives artists access to over 70 million brands, while UnitedMasters works to help its artists with placements and partnerships with major brands and media companies like Bose, Walmart, ESPN, IKEA and others.

UnitedMasters and TikTok have already forged a relationship based on the virality of UnitedMasters artists' in-app videos.

For example, “Gata Only” has been streamed over a billion times on TikTok and was named the app's #1 Song of the Summer across the globe -- an accomplishment that translated directly to placement on the global Billboard charts.

“With the success of "Gata Only," millions of users across continents created TikTok videos to the song -- leading to billions of views and further expanding" global reach, says UnitedMasters.

The partnership aims to help more UnitedMasters artists gain traction and promotional opportunities on TikTok, while also reinforcing TikTok's reputation as a key music discovery source in today's popular culture.

TikTok continues to have a major influence over today’s popular music, although it is in the process of re-evaluating its business goals in relation to the music industry.

Recently, the company announced it would shutter its music streaming service TikTok Music late next month, cutting off any plans to directly challenge Spotify, Amazon Music or Apple Music.

Now, the platform is leaning into its native influence over emerging music, and for good reason. Last year, a TikTok-commissioned report showed that users are significantly more likely to discover and share new music content on TikTok than on other social platforms, with 75% of its users finding new artists via TikTok clips.