TikTok has launched a brand new international music competitors concentrating on rising artists and music creators on TikTok LIVE.
“Music On Stage ’25,” introduced Tuesday (August 19), spans 23 areas and can culminate in finals hosted from Seoul and London in September.
The brand new contest builds on TikTok’s push into dwell music programming. Final month, the corporate partnered with iHeartRadio on “The Subsequent Up: Dwell Music” competitors for unsigned US artists with at the least 50,000 followers. That contest additionally runs by way of September and requires contributors to personal rights to authentic songs whereas remaining unsigned by main labels.
Contestants for The Subsequent Up: Dwell Music contest will advance primarily based on a mixture of likes, views and feedback, and judges’ scores.
Music On Stage ’25 takes a unique method, with contestants going head-to-head in “Take the Stage” battles. Contestants will advance by way of viewers votes, small items, and judges’ bonus factors, then head into the Regional Finals between August 29 and 31. The International Finals will probably be held on September 19 for the APAC leg of the competitors and September 27 for the EMEA & AMS leg.
The competitors will probably be hosted by British singer-songwriter Sam Ryder.
“Music On Stage is all about giving that very same spark of alternative to the subsequent wave of expertise, and I can’t wait to observe their journeys unfold!”
Sam Ryder
The competitors will probably be hosted by Ryder who turned well-liked on TikTok through the pandemic earlier than representing the UK at Eurovision.
Ryder mentioned: “TikTok modified my life as an artist and I’m stoked to see the way it can form the lives of others. Music On Stage is all about giving that very same spark of alternative to the subsequent wave of expertise, and I can’t wait to observe their journeys unfold!”
International winners will obtain manufacturing help, publishing and promotional backing from SoundOn, TikTok’s music distribution platform launched in 2022. Winners additionally get efficiency alternatives at TikTok Dwell Fest in 2026. Final 12 months’s occasion in London featured Swedish pop singer Zara Larsson and was hosted by Jason Derulo.
The initiative highlights TikTok’s efforts to bolster its LIVE streaming capabilities.
“TikTok LIVE is among the most enjoyable areas for artists proper now as a launchpad for musical expertise. It’s the place followers can join with music in actual time, share moments, and help their favourite performers immediately.”
Shen Gao, TikTok Dwell
Shen Gao, Head of LIVE Operations at TikTok LIVE, mentioned: “TikTok LIVE is among the most enjoyable areas for artists proper now as a launchpad for musical expertise. It’s the place followers can join with music in actual time, share moments, and help their favourite performers immediately.”
“Music On Stage takes that vitality international, and with Sam Ryder and Jeon Somi as our hosts, we’re so excited to be bringing inspiration and alternative to creators all over the place.”
Nichal Sethi, Head of SoundOn EMEA at TikTok, added: “Music On Stage is about greater than a contest – it’s about giving gifted creators the platform, instruments, and viewers to construct long-lasting careers.”
“At SoundOn, we’re obsessed with supporting rising artists from their very first launch by way of to international recognition, and we will’t wait to see the unbelievable expertise that takes the stage this 12 months.”
“Music On Stage is about greater than a contest – it’s about giving gifted creators the platform, instruments, and viewers to construct long-lasting careers.”
Nichal Sethi, TikTok
TikTok has been doubling down on its music discovery and artist promotion choices. Earlier this 12 months, TikTok launched its second annual Music Influence Report, carried out along side market monitor Luminate. The report exhibits that 84% of the songs that reached Billboard’s International 200 final 12 months went viral first on TikTok. One other 12% went viral on TikTok after hitting the International 200 chart, and solely 4% of tracks on the chart didn’t expertise a viral second on TikTok.
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