TikTok is introducing a new model for brands to tap into trending songs on the platform—and for artists to earn a cut of the revenue generated from brands’ videos containing their songs.
The platform today launched the “Artist Impact Program,” an initiative designed to make popular music from both established and emerging artists available for brands to include in their content without running the risk of violating copyright laws. The program is an expansion of TikTok’s existing Commercial Music Library, which the platform launched in 2020 to provide brands access to a collection of royalty-free songs to accompany their TikTok videos.
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But the rapid pace of TikTok’s trend cycle and the prominent role of music on the platform has led many brands to request that TikTok add trending songs into the Commercial Music Library more quickly, said Bryan Cosgrove, director of commercial music & creative licensing at TikTok. The Artist Impact Program is the platform’s solution to streamline this process, with TikTok partnering with 20 music distributors around the globe to help funnel songs into the Commercial Music Library from those distributors’ artist rosters.