TikTok’s Distribution Deal With UnitedMasters Propels Independent Creators Forward

UnitedMasters music distribution company has just become TikTok’s first fully-integrated distributor. The companies recently signed a music distribution deal that will give users of the Chinese short-form video social networking service the option of distributing their music directly from the app to streaming platforms including Amazon Music
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, Apple Music, Google Play Music, Pandora and Spotify. 

Considering UnitedMasters’ existing status as a brand partnership incubator for independent creators, the new deal makes TikTok, owned by Chinese social media brand ByteDance, an even more powerful platform for aspiring artists to accelerate their careers–especially now as more independent creators turn to distribution platforms to grow their careers during the pandemic. 

“If you are a musical artist, TikTok is the best place for your music to go viral and UnitedMasters is the best place to sustain it while retaining full ownership of your work,” Steve Stoute, founder and CEO of UnitedMasters said in a statement. “By combining the two, we create the platform for tomorrow’s stars who will be famous, fiercely independent and wealthy.”

Since launching in 2018, TikTok has quickly proven its ability to lead unknown creators to stardom. American rapper Lil Nas X credits the app for the Billboard chart-topping success of his hit “Old Town Road.” In March, Business Insider named 15-year-old Charli D’Amelio of Connecticut TikTok’s biggest star with 72.5 million followers and a cameo appearance in a Super Bowl commercial after launching her channel in June 2019. 

Despite personal data privacy concerns that have led President Trump to sign an executive order banning the app, TikTok maintains more than 1 billion users in 154 countries around the world. According to Influencer Marketing Hub, about 14.3 million U.S. adults used the app in March 2019, and it was the second most popular free apps download in the world during 2019 (Apple App Store and Google Play combined). Tik Tok has also averaged higher follower engagement rates per post than Instagram and Twitter.

If TikTok is ultimately banned in the U.S., video apps Byte and Triller stand ready to win over the app’s sizable user base and the lucrative advertising opportunity that comes with it. Instagram is also competing with a new Reels video feature that launched this month in the U.S. Another possibility is that Microsoft
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, currently in talks with ByteDance about the purchase of North America, Australia and New Zeeland TikTok operations, could take over and steer TikTok users in its own unique direction.

“TikTok artists who are creating music in their bedrooms today will be featured in the Billboard charts tomorrow,” Ole Obermann, Global Head of Music at TikTok, said in a statement. “Our mission is to help those artists achieve their creative potential and success. This partnership with UnitedMasters gives us a turn-key solution to help artists who are born on TikTok to reach their fans on every music service.”

Music distribution companies in general are reporting growth this year, especially since social distancing began. UnitedMasters reported in July that 400,000 artists joined the platform and generated more than 5 billion streams over the past 18 months. Roy LaManna, co-founder and CEO of Vydia, says that he has watched his company’s streaming activity increase almost 40% during the past few months, growth that he attributes to a significant increase in content consumption and creation.

While LaManna says that it makes sense for TikTok to enter the distribution space, he sees room for the new deal to better help artists navigate their careers.

“YouTube became the number one destination for artists early on because of their development of the multi-channel network (MCN) model, which trained and supported the communities around the artists,” LaManna says. “It was only after several years, once (YouTube) had more robust mechanisms for training, policies and best practices did they push deals directly with the creators.”

Andrew Spalter, founder of East Goes Global digital management and branding agency spearheading the globalization of Chinese multimedia and brand development, considers the new deal another step forward in the world of music accessibility and distribution.

“At East Goes Global, we help artists, actors and brands navigate a difficult, and oftentimes, unknown market on a daily basis.​ ​For artists, navigating the world of music distribution also can be a completely unknown landscape,” Spalter says. “For UnitedMasters to make this ‘unknown’ accessible and easy to use for artists, on one of the fastest growing apps of the decade, is groundbreaking.”