• by Colin Kirkland , 59 minutes ago

Following a series of experiential music initiatives, TikTok is continuing to highlight emerging artists with the return of its Music On Stage competition, designed to promote music creators across the globe via TikTok Live and SoundOn, the company’s music distribution platform.

According to TikTok’s announcement, the social media company is looking to build on last year’s Music On Stage launch, which generated over 8.2 billion impressions, 230,000 hashtagged posts, and attracted over 1.4 million viewers of the competition’s finals programming.

To enter the competition, musicians can submit an original performance video using the #MusicOnStage hashtag. TikTok team members will then invite finalists to the live event, where they will compete against one another.

Winners will gain access to professional development opportunities through SoundOn, including the ability to record and release original music “with full production, distribution and promotional support” from TikTok.

Angelyque Solorio, one of Music On Stage’s 2025 winners, has recorded her debut EP with SoundOn, generating over 350,000 creator videos on TikTok, while boosting her Spotify following and stream count, per TikTok’s announcement. 

Top creators will also be invited to perform at upcoming TikTok-affiliated events, such as TikTok Live Fest, the Breakaway Carolina Festival, and the All Things Go NYC Festival – marking the social media app’s attempt at blending digital and in-real-life promotional experiences.

Selected music creators will be asked to audition starting Aug. 15, which will be part of a three-day global live concert showcase streaming on the app.

Despite closing a 250-person office on Nashville’s Music Row, shuttering its music streaming service, and losing its former Global Head of Music Partnership Development Michael Kümmerle late last year, TikTok remains a major influence on popular music.

The company’s 2025 Music Impact report shows that 84% of the songs on Billboard’s Top 200 list in 2024 first went viral on TikTok, whereas 74% of the app’s users were more likely to discover and share new music on social and short-form video apps than the average short-form video user.