Is TikTok About To Stream Concerts?

TikTok is set to trial 60-minute videos on its video-sharing social media platform, which raises the question of whether long-form TikTok videos will enter the increasingly lucrative live concert film business.

According to a recent TechCrunch report, TikTok plans to roll out the new 60-minute feature in select markets, with the long-form plan not immediately hitting broader markets.

TikTok has been slowly allowing its users to upload longer videos. What began as fun 15-second videos now offers the possibility of uploading ten-minute videos. With the ability to upload content up to 60 minutes long, TikTok could become a serious competitor to YouTube and encourage music videos and live concerts to move to TikTok rather than YouTube.

In addition to a broader space for music, the allowance of 60-minute videos could see full episodes of television shows uploaded to TikTok. TechCrunch reports that the video-sharing company is also testing horizontal full-screen mode, making it even easier to watch music videos and live music clips on the platform.

Earlier this month, Universal Music Group (UMG) and TikTok reached a new licencing deal less than three months after the former pulled its artist roster from the video-sharing platform. The joint agreement will see Universal Music Group’s recorded music return to TikTok.

TikTok revealed that it’s reached a deal with UMG that will “deliver improved remuneration for UMG’s songwriters and artists, new promotional and engagement opportunities for their recordings and songs and industry-leading protections with respect to generative AI.”

The two companies are working “expeditiously” to bring UMG’s artist roster back to soundtracking your TikTok videos.

UMG and TikTok renewed their relationship after Taylor Swift returned to the social media platform before the deal was struck.

The Music reported that TikTok’s ban on Universal, which muted the label’s artists’ music when users attempted to use songs on their videos, affected over 50% of the following week’s ARIA Chart.

Could TikTok be real competition for Disney+ and become the exclusive platform for the next Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour or Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry? With artists willing to collaborate with TikTok already, the platform just might take over the streaming game.