There are rumors that TikTok is going to start its own music service. Whether that’s really something we should look forward to…?
TikTok is a video platform that only allows short video clips. It is very popular with young people, but definitely has a downside. It is originally a Chinese product, with a lot of user data shifting towards that direction. Including potentially interesting location data. The Chinese state can keep an eye on the movements of potentially “hostile” elements, for example. Furthermore, TikTok has been discredited several times for not removing shocking content or content inciting self-harm or worse. But precisely this “naughty” character will attract adolescents and young adults, the target group of the platform. A generation that cares significantly less about issues such as privacy, dictatorships and other less pleasant matters.
Trademark
Anyway, a trademark has been applied for by the company, which includes a “mobile app intended for buying, sharing, downloading music, tracks, albums and lyrics”. Whether such a streaming or downloading service will really arrive in the end, remains to be seen. And whether it will be available outside China, because such a service could very well become China-only, filled with party-approved music.