In a significant development for music enthusiasts, Apple Music has officially partnered with TikTok, allowing users to play full songs directly within the popular social media platform. This integration aims to streamline the transition from discovering music on TikTok to enjoying complete tracks on Apple Music, enhancing the overall user experience.
Subscribers of Apple Music can now easily access full-length songs when they encounter a track they like on their TikTok feed. By simply tapping the ‘Play Full Song’ button, users are redirected to the Apple Music player, where they can listen to the entire song without leaving the TikTok app. This feature is a part of TikTok’s ongoing efforts to facilitate music discovery and deepen listener engagement.
Notably, this new functionality is powered by Apple’s MusicKit, ensuring that full-length playback is exclusive to Apple Music. Currently, TikTok does not support full song playback from other streaming services, such as Spotify, making this partnership particularly advantageous for Apple Music subscribers.
The collaboration builds on TikTok’s previous initiative, the ‘Add to Music App’ feature, which allowed users to save songs they discovered on TikTok into playlists on various streaming platforms, including Apple Music. Ole Obermann, who previously led music initiatives at TikTok and now works with Apple Music, emphasized the importance of seamless music discovery. He stated, “Tapping into the music you love should feel effortless,” highlighting the integration’s potential to enhance fan engagement and artist connection.
In addition to the ‘Play Full Song’ feature, TikTok and Apple Music are introducing ‘Listening Party,’ a new feature that enables fans to listen to music together in real-time, interact with one another, and engage directly with artists during these sessions. Tracy Gardner, Global Head of Music Business Development at TikTok, remarked on the significance of this collaboration, stating that it aims to foster closer relationships between artists and fans.
Both features are set to roll out globally in the coming weeks, marking an exciting new chapter in the intersection of social media and music streaming.