Most Tik Tok regulars can tell which videos and jokes are currently trending just by hearing the distinctive audio clips. Users of the TikTok platform are able to make videos using a wide range of audio, including professionally recorded music and original compositions.
Even though popular songs occasionally make their way into viral trends, TikTok’s platform is largely dominated by original tracks.
Sounds that are labelled as “original audio” on the TikTok app can be anything from new arrangements of popular songs to people just talking or making noises.
What are the distinctions between original sounds and licenced ones?
Official sounds are drawn from TikTok’s internal music library, while user-created sounds are uploaded by the community. Out of the over 6 million sounds stored in Trendpop’s elastic search index, roughly 3.5 million are completely unique to the platform. The app’s potential is increased when its users are given freedom of expression in the form of audio editing. It’s possible that those who make new sounds will reap similar benefits from doing so.
Engagement
Choosing the right sound is important for content creators and influencers looking to maximise engagement metrics; the novelty of making a completely new sound may win over a creator’s audience and pique their interest in the associated video. Using Trendpop’s elastic search, we find that sounds labelled as original audio have significantly higher engagement rates than those without; for example, out of over 6 million sounds, the average novel sound has 10 times as many views as the average officials sound (3,942,000), indicating much higher use and thus more opportunity for engagement. According to Trendpop’s platform, which uses a system that assigns different weights to various metrics based on their perceived importance, original audio consistently outperforms official audio by about 0.1% across all TikTok sounds.
Initiating new developments
A creator who wants to increase their impact can also benefit from having a sound that they’ve produced go viral. As a result of their historical significance, sounds can often transport listeners back to the moment they were first heard, bringing back memories of a specific time and place. Then, other users can take these audio cues and use them in their own videos, either as is or with their own spin on it. When subsequent videos with the same audio are uploaded, the username of the original creator will appear at the end of the title. A quick look at Trendpop’s main platform confirms these tendencies; nine of the top ten weekly sounds ranked by the total number of videos made using them on TikToks (week of 06/12/22) are original creations. This week’s number five most popular original sound is titled “why are famous people using this LMAO,” which ironically demonstrates the influence of these sounds on major media outlets and well-known artists.
Advertising
Sound manipulation is not limited to the creative process. Marketers and businesses of all sizes can use original sounds for branding purposes because they can be given any name (like “stream DLOURDES and you’re cool,” a sound created by the artist). Together with the aforementioned increases in engagement and popularity, the messages of an audio can spread rapidly, with the original advertiser viewing the sound’s repeated use by different creators over time as a potentially infinite source of marketing. Mega-influencers’ use is particularly potent because the most popular content creators receive millions of views per day.
And where do we go from here?
After experiencing the impact of authentic sound, why not create some for yourself? TikTok’s in-app editing capabilities make this process more streamlined. If you record a new sound effect, you can use it in any number of your videos without worrying about someone else stealing your idea.
TikTok users can use the app to make their own sounds or import them from other sources, such as their camera roll. You can require to achieve this:
- Make a brand new video and accompanying audio.
- Modify your audio with the app’s built-in effects (optional): TikTok lets you record your own voice overs and features a plethora of pitch and speed modifications to give your music a truly unique sound
- Share your video with the world!
- Put that tune in your playlist!
- Identify the Noise by Its Proper Title
- This is it, folks! At least in terms of TikTok, the world is your oyster.