Musically, the social media platform for creating, sharing and discovering short music videos, was a huge hit in the United States and many other countries. It was launched in 2014 and quickly rose to fame, with millions of users signing up every month.
The platform allowed users to create their own videos and interact with others on the app. It also featured its own unique content, like challenges and live streams from popular influencers.
However, in 2018, the company was bought by Chinese tech giant ByteDance for an estimated $1 billion. ByteDance then decided to relaunch Musically as TikTok, a brand new social media platform focused on short-form videos.
TikTok quickly gained traction and quickly surpassed Musically in popularity. Today, it is one of the most popular social media platforms in the world.
So why did ByteDance decide to change Musically into TikTok? There are a few reasons why this transition made sense.
First, ByteDance wanted to make Musically more accessible and appealing to a wider audience. By rebranding it as TikTok and focusing on short-form videos instead of music-related content, they were able to reach out to users who might not have been interested in Musically’s content.
Second, ByteDance saw an opportunity in countries like India where there was already a large base of mobile users but no existing popular short-form video platform. By launching TikTok there first, they were able to capitalize on this untapped market before any other competitors could enter the fray.
Finally, ByteDance wanted to create a platform that was more than just music videos.
With its focus on short-form videos, TikTok allows users to share all kinds of content from jokes to dances to pranks. This broadened appeal has allowed it become one of the leading social media apps today.
Conclusion:
TikTok has been successful because it provided an accessible platform for people from all walks of life – from musicians looking for an audience to casual users looking for something fun – while also providing them with an opportunity for creative expression that wasn’t available before. This broadened appeal has allowed it become one of the leading social media apps today and explains why ByteDance decided to transition Musically into TikTok back in 2018.