Photo Credit: YouTube Music
YouTube is testing a ‘TikTok button’ for creating short-form videos in-app, but it’s exclusive to India for now.
India’s ban on TikTok has provided a playground for YouTube, Instagram, Triller, and other competitors. Now YouTube is experimenting with a create button to allow users to make short-form videos inside its app.
The button appears under select music videos. It allows users to create a 15-second YouTube Short. After tapping the button, the camera opens to allow users to shoot a video with the currently playing music. It also allows users to import pre-recorded video from the gallery.
YouTube’s Create Button allows for many of the same editing features as TikTok.
You can adjust exactly which part of the song you want to play for the video you’ve created. Users can also completely change the song, choosing from a catalog of music. Annotations can add text to the video, just like TikTok. Once the video is edited and ready to be uploaded, it can be published to the user’s channel.
It’s worth noting that this feature appears to be in extreme beta testing right now. It’s only available in India for now and with a limited set of music videos. That’s likely because of licensing restrictions. If the feature gains widespread use, that could change.
Facebook did something similar with testing Reels, its TikTok clone feature. Reels debuted in Brazil in 2019 as a standalone app for creating short-form videos. After it caught on in Brazil under Facebook’s refining, the app started appearing in other parts of the world. The US, UK, Australia, and other countries got access to Reels amid rumors of a TikTok ban.
Despite the massive ripping off of its primary function, TikTok shows no signs of slowing down.
TikTok is eying Facebook’s grip on e-commerce and hoping to tackle the company out of its number one position. TikTok is also experimenting with ‘live-streamed’ shopping, similar to Facebook Live. It’s one of the fastest-growing platforms globally, which poses a serious risk to Facebook’s dominance.
Should the YouTube’s ‘Create Button’ roll out to more countries, you can expect more TikTok style videos. These short-form videos aren’t going anywhere, and you have Vine to thank for that. Fleetwood Mac’s resurgence in popularity has many record labels looking hungrily at TikTok to manufacture these viral moments. It creates a massive interest in music that the younger generation embraces happily, depending on the content.