R.I.P., TikTok Music: Social media video platform TikTok has announced plans to cease operations in the US on January 19 unless the Supreme Court blocks or delays its ban.
The White House has shared a statement saying that the social media platform will remain available to those living in the States. “TikTok should remain available to Americans, but simply under American ownership or other ownership that addresses the national security concerns identified by Congress in developing this law ” .
ByteDance-owned TikTok confirmed its streaming service’s cessation of operations via a statement as well as an update on the appropriate website. The latter underscores the permanent nature of the move; users’ “account information and personal data will be automatically deleted following the closure of TikTok Music,” per the text.
Said users have until October 28th to transfer their playlists to different services and until November 28th to request refunds for any unused subscription time. Absent from TikTok Music’s website is any mention of the precise cause(s) of the shutdown. Similarly, TikTok global head of music business development Ole Obermann in a statement confirmed the cessation of operations but didn’t provide much insight into the decision.
“Our Add to Music App feature has already enabled hundreds of millions of track saves to playlists on partner music streaming services,” relayed the longtime ByteDance/TikTok exec Obermann. “We will be closing TikTok Music at the end of November in order to focus on our goal of furthering TikTok’s role in driving even greater music listening and value on music streaming services, for the benefit of artists, songwriters, and the industry.”
