New feature allows users to share audio directly to TikTok

The shared content will link back to the original source on the audio streaming platforms, ‘driving further discovery’, said TikTok.

TikTok has launched a new feature that allows users to share music from select music streaming services directly into the social media app.

The ‘Share to TikTok’ feature, launched yesterday (7 November), allows users to share audio content from Apple Music and Spotify to TikTok directly from the in-app share menus onto the social media platform.

Users can choose to share the content into TikTok by either posting it to the feed or sharing it with other users via TikTok’s in-built messaging platform.

The shared content will link back to the original source on the audio streaming platforms, TikTok said in the announcement, “thereby driving further discovery and engagement on those streaming services”.

A study conducted by TikTok last year showed that a higher engagement with an audio track on the app corresponded to higher streaming volumes on audio streaming platforms.

The study also revealed that TikTok users in the US were twice as likely to discover music on the app when compared to other short-form video platforms or social media platforms.

“We already know that creative expression is a core tenet of the TikTok user and creator experience,” said Lindsey Kelt Zikry, the global product partnerships lead at TikTok.

“Our ‘Share to TikTok’ integration enables seamless sharing of content from music streaming services to TikTok.”

This is TikTok’s latest partnership with music streaming services, following the launch of the ‘Add to music app’ feature last year that allows users to save a track they discover on TikTok to their a preferred streaming service. Initially launched in the US and UK, the service is now available for users in 163 countries.

“’Add to music app’ has already been responsible for hundreds of millions of track saves and billions of streams on our partner music streaming services,” said Ole Obermann, TikTok’s global head of music business development.

“’Share to TikTok’ takes the user experience full circle, and will be an amazing way of promoting artists and tracks to the TikTok community.”

With over a billion monthly active users, TikTok has launched several features targeting user engagement with the app.

Recently, the platform rolled out a new feature that will add a link to videos about new or upcoming films and TV shows which will redirect users to a special landing page with details about the film or show and a collection of creator content linked to the same title.

While earlier in the year, it launched its STEM feed in Ireland and the UK, claiming that it will encourage more people to take an interest in educational content.

Don’t miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic’s digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.