What is the app where you can loop sounds?
TikTok is a rapidly growing video sharing social media app that allows users to create, watch, and share short video clips. As of 2023, TikTok has over 1 billion monthly active users globally, making it one of the most popular apps in the world.
According to TikTok statistics from Enterprise Apps Today, the app sees an average of over 2 billion mobile downloads per year. It is especially popular among younger generations, with about 60% of users being between the ages of 16 and 24.
Some key factors driving TikTok’s immense popularity include its algorithm that delivers personalized content to each user, easy-to-use video creation tools, and integration of trends through viral hashtag challenges. The app has become a platform to launch careers for influencers and musicians alike.
What is TikTok?
TikTok is a video sharing app owned by ByteDance, a Chinese internet technology company founded in 2012. TikTok was originally launched in China in 2016 under the name Douyin (“A Brief History Of TikTok And Its Rise To Popularity”). The app allows users to share short videos set to music and features options to interact with and follow other users.
ByteDance launched TikTok for the international markets in September 2017 and the app quickly became popular due to its focus on short clips and music. As of “The Evolution of TikTok: From Musical.ly to Global Phenomenon”, TikTok has over 800 million monthly active users worldwide, and has become one of the fastest growing social media platforms globally.
Key Features
Some of TikTok’s key features that set it apart from other social media platforms are:
- Short Videos – Videos on TikTok are limited to 60 seconds or less, encouraging creators to make short, snappy content that captures attention quickly. This format caters towards a faster-paced online experience.
- Duets – The duet feature lets users create reaction and collaboration videos by recording content alongside someone else’s video. This allows for more interactive content.
- Stitches – With stitches, users can clip shorter segments from other videos and “stitch” them together with their own recordings to create remixes or parodies. This facilitates derivative content and trends.
These innovative features cater towards bite-sized entertainment that keeps users hooked while seamlessly promoting viral content and trends (Source).
Sounds on TikTok
TikTok has an extensive library of sounds and music that users can add to their videos. This includes popular song clips, dialog from movies or TV shows, viral audio memes, and more. Creators on TikTok can browse this library to find the perfect sound for their video content.
In addition to this pre-existing sound library, TikTok users also have the option to upload and add their own sounds to their videos. Users can either record original sounds and vocals directly in the app or upload an external audio file from their phone library. This lets TikTok creators get more creative with unique sounds tailored to their specific video.
Looping Sounds
One of the most popular and iconic features of TikTok is the ability to loop short audio clips. This allows users to repeatedly play a few seconds of a song, sound effect, dialog clip, or other audio as the background sound for their videos.
To use the looping feature, simply tap the looping icon (a circular arrow) when adding background audio to your TikTok video. This will cause the selected clip to repeat in a loop for the duration of your video.
The looping functionality has enabled tremendously creative video ideas on TikTok. For example, users can repeat a funny sound effect to punctuate jokes or physical comedy bits. Popular songs with catchy hooks also work very well looped under dance trends and lip-sync routines. Even emotional dialog clips from movies can be impactfully looped to score heartfelt personal stories.
According to this article, some of the most iconic looping sounds on TikTok include the “Oh No” sound used for cringe moments, the squeaky “It’s Corn” sound for comedy, and emotional music clips from Euphoria for dramatic personal videos.
Popular Looping Sounds
Many of the most popular loops on TikTok are meme-inspired viral sounds that get used in hundreds of thousands of videos. These looped audio clips tend to have a catchy melody or beat that makes them highly “TikTokable” for dancing and reaction videos. Some examples of popular looping sounds recently include:
- “Monkeys Spinning Monkeys” – a tune featuring jungle animal noises that inspires creative visual interpretations
- “Aesthetic” by Kina Ft. Snow – An energetic dance beat frequently accompanied by images of soft pink, purple, and blue hues
- “Say It (to My Face)” – An emotional argument with a partner makes a dramatic backing track for acting out intense dialogue
- Creepy clown laughter from the video game Dead By Daylight which spawned countless scary and absurd comedy sketches
The viral nature of TikTok means new loops can emerge at any time, often from original content creators remixing and resharing audio. While the trending sounds are always changing, they reliably follow a clear pattern of requiring a catchy melody, heavy beat, or amusing vocal performance to captivate audiences.
Impact on Music Industry
TikTok has had a significant impact on the music industry, with the popularity of short looping videos helping propel songs to viral status. Many songs and music trends have seen massive spikes in streams and sales due to going viral on TikTok (Source).
A major part of this impact comes from TikTok’s looping sounds feature. Users can select short segments of songs to loop in the background of their videos. Catchy loops often prompt trends and dance challenges. As these sounds spread across the platform, interest in the full songs also increases dramatically. According to one study, a song being used in over 1,000 TikTok videos leads to a median increase of 2.1 million Spotify streams (Source).
Notable examples of songs that went viral via looping sounds on TikTok include “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X, “Say So” by Doja Cat, and “drivers license” by Olivia Rodrigo. The streams and success of these songs skyrocketed after TikTok trends featuring the hooks. Record labels have taken note, with many now focused on promoting songs specifically for the TikTok audience.
Controversies
TikTok has faced a number of controversies surrounding copyright issues, censorship from the Chinese government, and security concerns. One of the biggest controversies stems from allegations that TikTok censors content deemed politically sensitive by the Chinese government. There are concerns that the app could be used to spread propaganda or influence users (Washington Post). TikTok has also faced backlash over security concerns and fears that user data could be obtained by the Chinese government, though TikTok denies this (Forbes).
Additionally, TikTok has been involved in numerous copyright disputes, with artists and publishers arguing it allows unauthorized use of copyrighted music. In 2020, TikTok paid $60 million to settle a copyright lawsuit brought by music publishers (Billboard). Critics say stronger safeguards are needed to protect copyright on TikTok’s platform.
Competitors
TikTok has faced growing competition from other social media platforms offering similar short-form video features. Two of the biggest competitors are Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts.
Instagram Reels allows users to create and share 15-second multi-clip videos with audio, effects and creative tools. Reels has proven extremely popular, with some analytics firms reporting it has already surpassed TikTok in key markets like the United States.
YouTube Shorts is a video format integrated into YouTube allowing creators to record brief multi-clip videos using music from YouTube’s library. Though a relatively new TikTok competitor, YouTube Shorts has seen rapid growth, likely helped by YouTube’s massive existing user base.
Conclusion
In conclusion, TikTok has had a major cultural impact, especially among younger generations. With its addictively short videos set to music clips and creative video effects, TikTok has become a global phenomenon with over 1 billion monthly active users. While it has faced some controversies around data privacy and censorship, TikTok continues to rapidly grow and shape youth culture and the music industry. Looking ahead, TikTok is likely to further integrate ecommerce, expand its creator ecosystem, and solidify its place as a top social media platform. While competitors like Instagram Reels aim to chip away at TikTok’s dominance, TikTok’s unique format and algorithmic prowess give it an edge. As TikTok expands its demographics beyond Gen Z, its cultural imprint and influence on entertainment and marketing will only grow.
