TikTok has successfully established a new copyright deal with Universal Music Group (UMG) just in time for Billie Eilish’s latest album release, easing the platform’s concerns about music licensing issues. This deal is crucial as TikTok plans to leverage Eilish’s popularity to enhance user engagement on the app.
Today, TikTok announced the launch of a new “Fan Spotlight Feature” for artists, with Billie Eilish serving as the initial model. This feature aims to provide musicians with innovative ways to engage with their fans and expand their reach on the platform.
TikTok describes the Fan Spotlight feature as an artist-centric tool that allows artists to highlight their favorite fan videos on their music tab. Artists can pin up to five fan videos at a time to the top of their music tab as a ‘Fan Spotlight.’ When an artist selects a video, the creator receives a notification, and the video remains pinned for up to seven days, after which the artist can choose new fan videos to spotlight.
Read: 10 Essential Tips to Start and Launch a Podcast
This initiative is designed to foster greater engagement between musicians and their fans. By encouraging users to create tribute videos and amplifying these through artist endorsements, TikTok hopes to create a continuous promotional cycle that drives more content creation and interaction across the app. Given TikTok’s significant role in music discovery, this could attract more musicians to prioritize the platform for their promotional activities.
The successful resolution of the licensing dispute between TikTok and UMG, which impacted numerous high-profile artists like Billie Eilish and Taylor Swift, is vital for this feature’s success. The agreement ensures that more artists can utilize TikTok for music promotion, thereby enhancing engagement with their fanbase on the platform.
However, this positive development comes amidst ongoing concerns about a potential TikTok ban in the U.S., which remains a separate issue that could impact the platform’s future operations.
