TikTok’s ongoing friction with lawmakers and Universal Music Group isn’t stopping the social media platform from pushing forward as a major hub of music culture.
The company announced on Thursday (April 4) that it has been selected as the official entertainment partner of the Eurovision Song Contest for the third year running.
Held annually since 1956 (with the exception of 2020, due to the pandemic), Eurovision is billed as the world’s largest song contest. The 2024 edition will be held in Malmo, Sweden in May, with semi-finals on May 7 and 9, and the Grand Final on May 11.
This is the seventh time that Sweden, a seven-time winner of the contest, will be hosting, and the third time for the city of Malmo.
Out of 52 countries that have participated in the contest over the years, 37 will be competing this year, including some non-European ones, like Australia and Israel.
This year also marks the 50th anniversary of ABBA’s win in the contest. Their winning track, Waterloo, propelled the Swedish band to international stardom in 1974.
“With exclusive access and behind-the-scenes content, TikTok has reimagined the way the world’s biggest live music event is experienced and celebrated,” the company boasted in a press release.
TikTok says users can search for #Eurovision2024 to “unlock a treasure trove of exclusive content, taking them deeper into the heart of the contest.”
The company stresses the magnifying effect its platform has had on Eurovision’s musical acts. Last year’s winner, Sweden’s Loreen, reportedly saw an 836% increase in TikTok creations using her track Tattoo in the week following her win in May of 2023.
Last year’s runner-up, Finland’s Käärijä, saw a 697% spike for his track Cha Cha Cha in the week after the contest.
TikTok says the #eurovision hashtag has been used in 589,000 posts on its platform.
TikTok’s announcement follows the news of its licensing dispute with Universal Music Group.
Universal Music Group’s recorded music and publishing catalog has disappeared from TikTok over the past few months, as the two companies have failed to come to a new licensing agreement.
UMG has suggested the social media platform isn’t paying fairly for the use of copyrighted music, while TikTok has accused the music giant of “greed.”
At the same time, TikTok – which is owned by China’s ByteDance – has been facing heightened scrutiny in recent years amid growing tensions between China and Western countries.
The TikTok app has been banned from government-issued phones in numerous countries over privacy concerns, and some jurisdictions have attempted to ban the platform altogether.
Most recently, a bill that would force ByteDance to divest its holdings of TikTok or be banned from app stores in the US sailed through the US House of Representatives.
The bill has yet to make its way to the Senate. President Joe Biden has indicated he would sign the bill into law if passed by Congress, despite recently joining TikTok amid the 2024 presidential election.Music Business Worldwide
