TikTok to shut down music streaming platform globally in November

TikTok, the global short-form video platform, will shut down its music streaming service, TikTok Music, worldwide on November 28.

The service in five countries, Indonesia, Brazil, Australia, Singapore, and Mexico, will be discontinued in all these regions.

According to Music Business Worldwide, the decision is part of TikTok's strategy to focus on its 'Add To Music App' feature. This feature allows users to save music tracks they discover on the TikTok platform to playlists on their preferred audio streaming services, enabling a seamless music discovery experience.

Ole Obermann, TikTok’s Global Head of Music Business Development, explained why the move was: “Our Add to Music App feature has already enabled hundreds of millions of track saves to playlists on partner music streaming services. We will be closing TikTok Music at the end of November to focus on our goal of furthering TikTok’s role in driving even greater music listening and value on music streaming services for the benefit of artists, songwriters, and the industry.”

Launched in Indonesia and Brazil last summer, TikTok Music was licensed by all three major music companies and was presented as a successor to ByteDance's earlier music platform, Resso. In October 2023, the app expanded to Australia, Singapore, and Mexico. However, due to a licensing dispute, its initial launch in these regions lacked Universal Music Group’s (UMG) recorded music catalogue. This issue has since been resolved.

The closure of TikTok Music marks a change in TikTok’s music strategy, aligning with its aim to enhance the user experience and drive more music streaming activity across other platforms while benefiting artists and the wider music industry.

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