ByteDance, the tech giant behind the popular short-form video app TikTok, is reportedly ramping up its efforts in the music creation and audio editing space.
According to a recent article from Music Business Worldwide (MBW), ByteDance has posted several job ads seeking highly-skilled specialists in machine learning and AI music creation for its Los Angeles and Beijing offices.
In one of the job ads, ByteDance revealed that it is seeking a Product Manager in Los Angeles to join a team that is “working on an AI-powered tool that provides intelligent music creation and audio editing capabilities.” The app’s vision is to “significantly lower the music creation barrier and inspire musical creativity and expression, further enriching the music content.”
It remains unclear exactly what ByteDance is building, but the company is expected to compete with music creation platforms like Singapore-based BandLab and US-based Splice, both of which offer their own AI-powered music creation tools. BandLab recently confirmed that it now boasts 60 million registered creators on its service, generating 17 million new songs per month, or about 204 million tracks per year.
ByteDance has previously launched a machine-learning-driven music-making app called Mawf and a music creation app in China called Sponge Band, both of which feature AI tools to improve audio effects and background music for short videos. The new job ads suggest that ByteDance is planning to expand its offerings in the US market, potentially leveraging TikTok’s 1 billion monthly active users worldwide.
Additionally, MBW has reported that TikTok is hiring for a “Music Creator Operations Manager” in Los Angeles. The job posting notes that the successful candidate will join TikTok’s Music Creation Department, which “develop[s] music production tools and AI-generated music compositions.” The department consists of skilled music experts dedicated to pushing the boundaries of music creation, according to the job description.
The rise of AI-generated music on music platforms is a growing trend, with MENA-focused Spotify rival Anghami claiming in December that it will soon become the first platform to host over 200,000 songs generated by AI. In November, it was reported that Tencent Music Entertainment (TME) had created and released over 1,000 tracks containing vocals created by its own AI tech that mimics the human voice. French-based Deezer has also used AI to generate content on its recently-launched wellbeing app, Zen by Deezer, according to its CEO Jeronimo Folgueira during the company’s Q1 2023 earnings call.
