What is the app that records video with music playing?
Brief History of Musical Video Apps
The concept of musical video apps emerged in 2014 with the launch of Musical.ly. Founded by Alex Zhu and Luyu Yang, Musical.ly was a platform that allowed users to create and share 15-second lip-sync videos set to popular songs (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical.ly). The app quickly became popular among teenagers and young people, gaining over 100 million users globally by 2017.
In late 2016, a similar Chinese app called Douyin (later known as TikTok internationally) was launched. Developed by ByteDance, TikTok retained Musical.ly’s core features while introducing additional creative tools and longer video lengths. By 2018, TikTok’s global growth was accelerating rapidly, and ByteDance acquired Musical.ly. The platforms were then merged, propelling TikTok to become one of the most downloaded apps worldwide (https://explain.ninja/blog/a-short-history-of-music-video-you-might-not-know-about/).
Seeing TikTok’s success, other musical video apps emerged as competitors. Triller launched in 2015 as a music video creation app and later pivoted to short form videos. Byte, created by the founders of Vine, debuted in 2020. Dubsmash, originally released in 2014, also remained popular for lip-syncing and dancing videos through the late 2010s.
The Rise of TikTok
TikTok began as the Chinese app Douyin in 2016. In August 2018, Douyin merged with Musical.ly, the popular lip-sync video app that had been active in the United States since 2014. This merger made Douyin globally accessible outside of China under the name TikTok. Over the next several years, TikTok saw meteoric growth, propelled in part by the app’s unique features that enabled users to create and share short-form videos set to music, create viral memes and challenges, and collaborate with others via duets.
In the next few years following the merger, TikTok grew at a breakneck pace. Usership exploded, with the app reaching over 1 billion monthly active users as of 2021. TikTok quickly became one of the most downloaded apps in Apple’s iOS App Store, and later on the Google Play Store as well. Much of this viral growth has been credited to TikTok’s algorithm, which is exceptionally good at serving users video content catered to their individual interests and likes.
TikTok’s Core Features
One of the key aspects that sets TikTok apart is its focus on creating and sharing short musical videos. Some of the core features that enable this include:
- Shoot short videos up to 3 minutes with music/sounds – TikTok allows users to record videos up to 3 minutes long while adding songs, sounds, and audio effects from an extensive built-in library (https://semidotinfotech.com/blog/tiktok-app-clone-cost-and-features/). This makes creating lip-syncing or dance videos simple and fun.
- Huge library of songs and sounds to use – With partnerships across the music industry, TikTok offers access to an ever-growing catalog of over 150,000 songs and a variety of sound effects to include in videos (https://www.softermii.com/blog/how-to-make-an-app-like-tiktok). The options span genres and eras, providing creators plenty to work with.
- Video effects and AR filters – Users can add colorful video effects and augmented reality filters to change the look and feel of their videos. New effects and filters are added regularly to keep content fresh.
- Duets and react videos – Creators can film reaction videos side-by-side with another user’s video or “duet” with their original video. This allows engaging back-and-forth interactions between creators.
By focusing specifically on tools for short, musical videos, TikTok carved out a unique niche that resonated widely.
Creating and Sharing TikToks
Creating content for TikTok is relatively easy thanks to its flexible editing tools. Users can trim, splice, and add effects to existing videos or photos in just a few taps (How to Make a TikTok Video: Everything You Need to Know). TikTok also allows adding background music and sounds to take videos to the next level. Hashtags and challenges like the #rainbowchallenge, #silhouettechallenge, etc. help creators gain more visibility and views on trending topics. Finally, downloading and sharing TikTok creations on other social platforms is straightforward. The app provides options to save to the Camera Roll or share directly to platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. In summary, TikTok offers a powerful and easy-to-use toolkit to put together compelling short-form videos.
TikTok Culture and Trends
TikTok’s fun, creative culture is defined by viral dances, memes, and challenges that spread across the platform. Popular dances like the Renegade, M to the B, and Savage have spawned millions of TikTok videos as users create their own takes. Silly face filters, effects, and memes like the Flip the Switch challenge also take off as trends. According to one report, the top TikTok trends in 2022 included branded hashtag challenges, dance challenges, oddly satisfying videos, personal brands, and more (source).
Influencers and collab houses are a big part of TikTok culture as well. Top creators like Charli and Dixie D’Amelio, Addison Rae, and others have gained massive followings from their viral dances, challenges, and other lighthearted content. Many creators live together in collab houses like Hype House and Sway House to make videos together and cross-promote each other.
TikTok serves as both a platform for fun viral trends and for influencer marketing and promotion. The app’s algorithm is very creator-centric, helping new influencers quickly gain followers and go viral with the right content. Short-form videos allow creators to experiment across multiple trends to engage their audience.
Monetization Opportunities
TikTok offers various ways for creators to monetize their content and earn an income. The most lucrative opportunities come through influencer sponsorships and brand deals. Popular creators with large followings can partner with brands to promote products or services in their videos. According to sources, these sponsorships and brand deals make up the majority of earnings for top TikTok creators.
TikTok also features a LIVE streaming functionality where viewers can purchase and gift virtual items to creators during a live broadcast. Sources state that creators earn between 1-5 cents per “diamond” gifted to them during LIVE videos. While the amounts are small individually, popular live streams with many concurrent viewers can result in substantial earnings.
Additionally, TikTok launched the TikTok Creator Fund which provides monthly payouts to creators for their top-performing videos. The amount varies based on factors like viewership and engagement, but reportedly pays the most to creators with higher post frequencies and consistent viewership. According to reports, acceptances are limited to traditionally underrepresented creators to bolster diversity in the program.
Controversies and Concerns
There have been numerous controversies surrounding Tiktok, with two of the most notable related to moderation and censorship.
In terms of moderation and safety issues, critics have raised alarms about the large number of young users on TikTok and the risks that can emerge from insufficient content moderation. There have been reports of disturbing videos slipping past filters, cyberbullying, and predators targeting minors. In response, TikTok has expanded its moderation efforts, adding more reviewers and strengthening restrictions, but concerns persist about protecting younger audiences (https://vpnoverview.com/privacy/social-media/tiktok-privacy/).
When it comes to censorship tied to China, the company has faced accusations of removing politically sensitive content about China and suppressing posts by vulnerable groups like the Uyghur minority. Critics argue TikTok’s ownership by Chinese firm ByteDance leads it to censor issues deemed unacceptable by China’s authoritarian government, despite TikTok claiming it stores international user data outside of China. There are worries China could potentially access or pressure TikTok to manipulate content to advance its geopolitical interests (https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/resrep26120.7).
The Competition
While TikTok has clearly dominated the short-form video space, major social media platforms have taken notice and launched their own TikTok competitors. One of the biggest is Instagram adopting TikTok-style short videos through Instagram Reels. Launched in 2020, Reels allows users to record 15-60 second multi-clip videos with audio and effects very similar to TikTok. Reels videos appear in a separate section in the app and can also be shared to the main Instagram feed. Reels has grown rapidly, with some metrics suggesting it has already surpassed 1 billion monthly users.
YouTube launched a TikTok rival called YouTube Shorts in 2020 as well. Shorts are 60 seconds or less and can be edited with music, effects and more. YouTube has integrated Shorts prominently into its mobile app, including a entire feed dedicated to Shorts. Early data indicates strong growth and engagement for Shorts. YouTube already has over 2 billion monthly logged-in users, giving Shorts a huge built-in potential audience.
Snapchat also got into the short-form video game with Spotlight in November 2020. Videos can be up to 60 seconds and include popular TikTok features like music and augmented reality lenses. Snapchat aims to differentiate with Spotlight by paying creators for top-performing videos through a $1 million per day fund. Spotlight highlights have received over 2.5 billion daily views on average.
While competitors have gained some traction in the space, TikTok still dominates short-form video sharing for now. However, major platforms leveraging their existing user bases poses a real threat. TikTok will need to continue innovating and expanding its features to maintain its lead.
Sources:
Top 20 TikTok Alternatives For Video Sharing 2022
The Future of TikTok
TikTok has big plans for further international expansion in the future. According to The Economic Times, TikTok plans to expand its global operations by opening more data centers around the world. This expansion will help TikTok manage its international growth and comply with regulations in various countries.
TikTok is also testing ecommerce features that will allow creators to sell products directly through their TikTok profiles. As reported by Digiday, this new feature will take advantage of TikTok’s massive user base and transform creators into online influencers and merchants. The ecommerce capability may help TikTok compete with platforms like Instagram and YouTube that already enable shopping.
Additionally, TikTok has been experimenting with support for longer videos beyond the standard 15 second limit. As highlighted by TechCrunch, longer videos could enable educational content, cooking tutorials, and other instructional videos to thrive on TikTok. This expanded video length also sets the stage for TikTok to potentially compete in streaming and long-form video against platforms like YouTube.
Why TikTok Took Off
Several key factors propelled TikTok’s rapid growth and helped it take off as a leading social media platform:
Short videos were ideal for the mobile format. TikTok videos are limited to 15 or 60 seconds, making them easy to film, edit, and consume on a smartphone. This aligns with shortening attention spans and the rise of bite-sized mobile content.
The power of music, dance, and memes made creating and engaging with videos highly entertaining. Users are inspired to join trends, showcase talent, or remix content through duets or stitching videos. Catchy songs help make videos go viral.
The algorithmically personalized feed keeps users endlessly scrolling. TikTok’s AI learns user preferences to deliver a tailored stream of amusing, interesting videos. This creates a highly addictive experience.
Together, these elements tapped into the desire for lighthearted, digestible entertainment in a mobile-first environment. By leveraging the creative expression enabled by short videos and music, TikTok built a fun and engaging platform that appealed widely to young users.