The event, called TikTok In the Mix, is the natural progression to the company’s seismic impact on the music industry.
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TikTok is taking its viral sounds offline and hosting an in-person music festival in December, the company announced today. And of course, the entire thing will be livestreamed via TikTok Live.
The event, called TikTok In the Mix, will feature top artists like Cardi B, Anitta, Charlie Puth, and Niall Horan — as well as the lesser-known artists behind the soundtracks to hundreds of thousands of videos.
The company describes TikTok In the Mix as the For You page come to life, with performances, small business pop-ups, and “creator activations” happening at the event. The festival will take place in Mesa, Arizona on December 10th, and fans will be able to purchase presale tickets via the TikTok app on Friday.
An in-person musical event is hardly surprising — TikTok has expanded its reach to nearly every corner of the music industry. Unexpected viral hits from unknown artists have resulted in record deals overnight, while trending audio and challenges have given older songs a resurgence. This summer the company expanded TikTok Music, its own subscription-based streaming service. In August, TikTok announced a music competition happening over livestreams. TikTok and Billboard have even go so far as to make up a new chart to capture what music is being used the most on the platform.
But the nature of TikToks — the use of just a small portion of a song, or inexplicably sped-up versions of tracks — has led to funny IRL moments in the past. Who can forget the Steve Lacy performance of “Bad Habit” where the only lyrics the crowd knew where the lines looped endlessly in TikToks? Hopefully the crowd at the live event will listen to full songs ahead of time and come prepared.
