TikTok has officially launched an artist-promotion program called Elevate. Photo Credit: TikTok
Two months after expanding its “New Music” hashtag into “a global music discovery hub,” TikTok has debuted Elevate, which higher-ups are billing as the “first-ever program to identify, amplify and celebrate emerging artists.”
The highly controversial video-sharing app announced the formal rollout of Elevate today. Now touting itself as “the ultimate platform for music discovery and promotion,” TikTok has indicated that the newly minted program will afford participating artists “meaningful support both in-app and out in the world” – with an emphasis on developing their “careers beyond a single trending hit.”
Time will tell exactly what this meaningful support entails; the ByteDance subsidiary’s Elevate announcement message is relatively light on concrete details. However, TikTok disclosed plans to deliver “unique artist experiences to fans” as part of the campaign, “including exclusive performances” in the enrolled acts’ hometowns.
Of course, these creators are likewise set to chart their careers on (and receive a potentially significant promotional push from) TikTok, which is now operating a distribution platform and, in Brazil and Indonesia, a namesake music streaming service.
Shifting to the actual artists involved with the first Elevate iteration – which is only scheduled to run “through October,” suggesting that many creators could join the program before long – TikTok noted that CHINCHILLA, Sam Barber, Omar Courtz, Isabel LaRosa, Kaliii, and Lu Kala had been selected.
Meanwhile, TikTok intends “to release more details on upcoming Elevate cohorts in the coming months,” and the service’s North America artist partnerships lead, Rachel Dunham, in a statement underscored the app’s perceived status as a leading “destination for music discovery.”
“Elevate speaks to the heart of TikTok and our commitment to honor and empower the diverse talent on the platform,” communicated the former Live Nation artist services exec Dunham. “As the destination for music discovery, we are so excited to provide artists with meaningful support on and off TikTok to help them find long-term success in the music industry.”
Despite grappling with ample regulatory scrutiny, a number of government-level bans (as well as the adjacent threat of an outright prohibition in some nations), and multiple lawsuits, TikTok has during the past year plowed ahead with more than a few music-centered initiatives.
Among these many efforts and agreements (besides those mentioned above as well as an AI song generator from ByteDance) are a music-collaboration tool called StemDrop, a Ticketmaster tie-up, a “talent manager portal,” high-profile licensing pacts, exclusive music, featured-artist campaigns, and a “Work With Artists” option.