TikTok has announced its latest venture, Gimme the Mic, a music contest resembling talent shows like The Voice and The X Factor, allowing aspiring musicians to showcase their talent on TikTok’s livestreams, with live voting by fans determining the winners.
The company said it seeks to “discover new musical talent and support aspiring music creators” through the contest.
The video-sharing platform is also offering up to 500,000 ‘Diamonds,’ TikTok’s in-app currency, to the winner.
While the real-world value of Diamonds remains undisclosed, Axiom Alpha says TikTok currently has two types of Diamonds: (i) Those received during a livestream and redeemable for $0.005 and; (ii) Diamonds received on a standard video that are redeemable for $0.01
However, it notes that TikTok parent company Gimme the Mic consists of three stages: audition, semifinal, and grand finale.
Participants can submit a 30-second audition video using the hashtag #GIMMETHEMIC between August 7 and August 16.
@tiktoklive_us This one is for all music lovers! ? Join the upcoming #GimmeTheMic contest and become the next LIVE music star to win a global stage. Create short videos with the hashtag to participate!
The top 30 submissions will advance to the semifinal, which is scheduled from September 1 to September 3. During the semifinal, they will perform in pairs in livestreamed events on the @tiktoklive_us account. Viewers will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite performances in real-time, earning votes by registering for LIVE events and more.
The US finale on September 10 will feature the top 10 performers, with one winner receiving 50,000 Diamonds and earning a spot in the global competition alongside winners from other countries to win 500,000 Diamonds.
“Gimme the Mic is a chance for contestants to showcase their talent to a wider community. Not only that, global contest winners will receive a trophy, have the opportunity to be featured on official TikTok channels, and receive up to 500,0000 Diamond rewards,” TikTok said in a press release.
The contest represents another effort by the platform to support budding musicians, beef up its livestream offering and expand its music strategy.
“Gimme the Mic is a chance for contestants to showcase their talent to a wider community. Not only that, global contest winners will receive a trophy, have the opportunity to be featured on official TikTok channels, and receive up to 500,0000 Diamond rewards.”
TikTok
Last month, TikTok launched a premium music streaming service in Brazil and Indonesia after unveiling a beta version of an AI-powered music-making app in the United States in June. TikTok Music has since expanded to Australia, Mexico and Singapore.
To support artists, TikTok launched a new program for emerging artists, called Elevate, less than a mongh ago, through which it plans to “identify the next wave of emerging stars poised to break out in the music industry”.
At the time, Rachel Dunham, North America Artist Partnerships Lead at TikTok, said: “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.”
Music Business Worldwide
Read More: TikTok launches ‘Gimme the Mic’ music contest to discover new talent – and pay