Messaging app plans to challenge TikTok

When Snapchat first crossed our consciousness in May of 2012, its claim to fame was self-deleting photo messages that would disappear after 10 seconds. Eventually, Snapchat invented the “Stories” feature that Instagram and other social media apps copied. Today, Snapchat is known for its AR Lenses which can turn you into a sunglasses-wearing motorcycle cop, a dog sticking out his long tongue, and more.

And now Snapchat is planning on going head-to-head against TikTok. The latter, with over 2 billion installs from the App Store and the Google Play Store, is one of the most popular apps in the U.S. as it allows users (mostly teens, pre-teens, and a smattering of adults) to create short-form videos of 15 and 60 seconds in length. Content includes lip-syncing, dancing, comedy bits and more. Snapchat announced today that it will be testing a new feature that will allow users to have their Snaps play with music in the background. Sound familiar?

This is the perfect time for Snapchat to explore adding TikTok-esque features to the app. President Donald Trump has made it clear that the U.S. will not allow companies with possible ties to the communist Chinese government to operate in the states, and while he is allowing Microsoft to negotiate with TikTok parent ByteDance (a company based in China) to acquire the app in the U.S. and several other countries, such a transaction comes with a pretty high price tag which means that there is no guarantee that it will get done. If a deal isn’t agreed to, TikTok could get banned in the states and its 800 million global active users (100 million in the U.S.) will be searching for an alternative to the app, something that we’re sure that Snapchat understands.

Snapchat parent SNAP has licensing deals with a number of music publishers including Warner Music. The music will be available for Snapchat users to add before recording a video, or afterward. When one of the new Snaps with music is shared, the person on the receiving end will swipe up to see album art, the title of the song being played, and the name of the artist. A “Play this song link” will send the user to Linkfire’s website or to the user’s preferred streaming music platform where the entire song can be played. That could be considered an improvement over what TikTok offers; tap the “sound” link on the latter app and you’ll see other clips that use the same song. Snapchat says that the new feature is designed for sharing music with your “real friends.”