“New Home” is a pensive, wordless piano ballad— not the type of song that’s typically thought of as viral trend material on TikTok. But last month, Austin Farwell, who wrote and performed the track, noticed it appearing in a wave of videos. Many of these featured the actor Pedro Pascal munching peacefully on a sandwich — a snippet from the YouTube series Snack Wars — next to a block of text, something along the lines of “when you catch up with your friends and they’re all complaining about their trash men but you can’t relate cos your man is perfect and treats you like a princess every day.”
“I didn’t understand,” Farwell says. “I don’t know Pedro Pascal; I didn’t know why he was eating a sandwich. But if that’s the trend that people want to promote my music with, great.”
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The Pascal videos were created using the program CapCut, which is owned by TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance. CapCut, which marketers joke is the new version of Apple’s Final Cut Pro, makes more advanced video editing techniques accessible to the masses, allowing clips like those with Pascal to be easily replicated and adjusted effectively with the click of a button. Chopping his calm chewing footage out of one video and into another is beyond many users’ technical ability. With CapCut, “you’re really not even editing, you’re choosing a template, adding something of your own, and the program is just generating this video for you,” says Abbey Fickley, a TikTok creator.
“They give you these slow motion effects, or make it go from blurry to super clear, or these glitchy cuts, which make the videos more dramatic,” Fickley continues. “That in turn makes the viewer more inclined to stay and watch it. It spices up your content — those editing features really do attract the viewer, instead of them just scrolling past it.”
Songs can be hitched to CapCut templates, so as they have proliferated on TikTok, they have become an important new area of focus for music marketers. “If you can match one of those [templates] to a sound that amplifies the video, or makes it more dynamic, then you suddenly have something that can act as a vessel for the sound to go viral,” explains Sanu Hariharan, co-head of music partnerships at Creed Media, a marketing company focused on Gen Z. “It’s been a really strong facilitator of user-generated content,” which is typically the metric that artist teams use to evaluate the success of marketing campaigns, especially on Tiktok but also on Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts.
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A major label executive who spoke on the condition of anonymity went further: “If you want to break a song on TikTok right now” — and everybody with commercial aspirations does — “you have to attach it to something from CapCut.” In recent months, these trends have helped drive listeners to “New Home,” Luke Combs’ cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” (currently No. 32 on the Billboard Hot 100), a mash-up of Ice Spice’s “In Ha Mood” (peaked at No. 58 on the chart dated March 22), Deftones’ “Change (In the House of Flies),” Hollywood Undead’s “Everywhere I Go,” and more.
CapCut launched globally in 2020, and it topped the app charts as early as 2021. Much in the same way that new music production tools like BandLab’s SongStarter have made it simple for those with minimal experience to create credible-sounding tracks, CapCut “makes it a lot easier for your everyday user to be able to create more polished videos,” says Jen Darmafall, director of marketing at ATG Group. “You don’t have to have a particular skill set when it comes to editing — there are templates on the platform for you to go and plug in what you want, whether it’s photos or videos or text overlays or transitions. That’s helped it skyrocket.”
In October, ByteDance made it even easier to jump between TikTok and CapCut: When users encountered a video on the former made with the latter, a new button allowed them to quickly start playing with the template on their own. Partly as a result of that change, “over the last six months or so,” clips made with CapCut are “in your face every day, non-stop, no matter what side of TikTok you’re on,” Darmafall says. CapCut clips are also peppering Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts, further amplifying ByteDance’s influence in the social media market at a time when the company is facing intense scrutiny from the U.S. government.
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Jess Keifer, director of digital strategy for Sony Music Nashville, noticed a CapCut trend set to “Fast Car” — a blurry scene, often accompanied by heart-warming text, that snaps into focus just as the singer up-shifts into the chorus — gain traction during the last week of March, leading to an “explosion” of similar TikTok clips. “It’s an easy source of inspiration for fans,” she says. Fickley hopped on the Combs trend and amassed a million views within two hours. “I’ve never had a video go viral that fast,” she says.
@amjadd_ New trend 😂 insta : tiir_eex /#CapCut
♬ Joro by Wiskid – gabi
Much of TikTok’s appeal from the start has been that anyone can go viral, no matter how many followers you have or how long you’ve been using the platform. But to replicate the dance trends that were popular in the app’s early days, for example, a user either had to be good at dancing or comfortable with embarrassment. Neither are required to adjust a CapCut video template that riffs on Stranger Things‘ Finn Wolfhard or the cartoon Tom and Jerry.
“As you hop on the trending templates, you’re gonna get more views and visibility, which is what we all want,” explains Tim Gerst, CEO of digital marketing agency Thinkswell. “And so it becomes about, how can you find ways to take your own music or the things that you’re working on and implement it into templates that are trending?”
@janeerzz #CapCut i love <3 deftones
♬ original sound – davesgrohll(Video) TikTok in China versus the United States | 60 Minutes
CapCut templates are especially useful for music marketers because they often come with songs attached to them. “Some people are having these templates created specifically for their sound or for the artist’s song that they are promoting,” Darmafall says. “And some of them are scouring TikTok for CapCuts every single day, finding the most popular templates, and putting their song to it” — seeing if they can sway a trend in their direction. “It’s so easy to unlink a sound and link a new sound to it,” Darmafall notes.
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A common critique of TikTok is that it elevates songs but not artists: Millions of users might get obsessed with a snippet of a track but not bother to even figure out what the singer looks like. One advantage of CapCut templates is that artists can quickly jump on a trend that might otherwise take off without them. “It’s great for artists because it saves them time,” says Cassie Petrey, founder of the digital marketing company Crowd Surf. “We try to encourage our artists to use them as it makes sense for their brand,” Keifer adds.
@ragnboneman Happens to the best of us.. 👀 #ragnboneman #ragnbone #imonlyhuman #imonlyhumanafterall #capcut #foryou #fyp
♬ Human – Rag’n’Bone Man(Video) What is ByteDance? | CNBC Explains
Hariharan points to a recent video from Rag’n’Bone Man, where the gravel-voiced balladeer posted his own version of a CapCut template that was both set to his track “Human” and also included footage of the singer spinning in place. The Rag’n’Bone Man video earned more than 12 million views, easily outstripping any of his other recent clips. “This is a way that artists themselves can get in on the action,” Hariharan says. “It allows them to kind of unlock another layer, feed themselves in, increase their overall recognizability.”
“This is just going to become more and more important for us to pay attention to,” Keifer adds.
FAQs
Which TikTok's Chinese parent has another wildly popular app in the US? ›
TikTok's Chinese Parent Has Another Wildly Popular App in the U.S. One of the hottest apps in the U.S. right now is CapCut, a video-editing tool that, like TikTok, is owned by China-based ByteDance.
Is CapCut owned by ByteDance? ›In 2020, ByteDance rebranded the app to CapCut and made it available globally.
Is CapCut owned by Chinese? ›CapCut is the Chinese version of ByteDance's JianYing. It was the fourth-most downloaded app globally in 2022, behind TikTok, Instagram and WhatsApp, according to Statista, which analyses market and consumer data.
What is the point of TikTok? ›TikTok is a social media platform for creating, sharing and discovering short videos. The app is used by young people as an outlet to express themselves through singing, dancing, comedy, and lip-syncing, and allows users to create videos and share them across a community.
What is the new Chinese app TikTok? ›Douyin and TikTok are essentially the same app. They allow users to create, share, and view short videos. However, they operate on different servers to comply with China's internet laws, such as the cybersecurity law, which came into effect on June 1 2017.
Who is the parent company of TikTok in China? ›TikTok, which has over 150 million American users, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Chinese technology firm ByteDance Ltd., which appoints its executives. ByteDance is based in Beijing but registered in the Cayman Islands, as is common for privately owned Chinese companies.
What apps are under ByteDance? ›- Toutiao.
- TikTok.
- BuzzVideo.
- Vigo Video.
- Helo.
- Resso.
- Mobile Legends.
- CapCut.
Instead, there's a different version of TikTok — a sister app called Douyin. Both are owned by Beijing-based parent company ByteDance, but Douyin launched before TikTok and became a viral sensation in China. Its powerful algorithm became the foundation for TikTok and is key to its global success.
Who is behind ByteDance? ›Zhang Yiming is the main founder of Chinese tech giant ByteDance, best known for its insanely popular app TikTok, which has more than 1 billion users worldwide.
Is CapCut available in USA? ›CapCut is a free and simple-to-use video editing app for iOS and Android. CapCut is suitable for short-length videos. CapCut is available for free to download on iOS and Android devices.
Did CapCut get banned? ›
CapCut along with several other Chinese apps are banned in India.
Why was CapCut banned? ›Answer (1 of 5): Many countries are banning chinese products and people are boycotting the chinese apps and products. As i have mentioned earlier in the article, Capcut is owned by chinese menufacturer and developers ByteDance, Maybe your government has banned the capcut app too.
What is the weakness of TikTok? ›Complex video editing tools
Even though TikTok provides numerous video editing tools, some of these are too complicated for the average user. It requires someone to be highly tech-oriented to use some of the tools available.
TikTok's main selling point is that it features built-in recording and editing capabilities that make it easy for content creators to quickly record, edit, and post video content on the platform–and have them go viral when done right.
Why is TikTok so addicting? ›"Because TikTok videos are short and sweet, they keep your attention going from one to another," she said. "The way it becomes addictive - when things make us feel good - is the release of dopamine in the brain and you want more and more.
Is there a TikTok for adults only? ›TikTok has announced that it's expanding its audience controls feature, giving creators the ability to restrict their videos to adult viewers. Prior to this expansion, the adult-only audience controls feature was only available for TikTok Live. Now the company is bringing the feature to its short-form videos as well.
Who is CEO of TikTok? ›TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew got his start in tech at Facebook—now his app is its biggest competitor. Prior to running the most popular social media app in the world, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew was an intern for one of his largest competitors.
Is there an app like TikTok for adults? ›Triller, the “Adult Version” of TikTok, Looks to Make Its Move.
How many countries banned TikTok? ›More than a dozen countries around the world have introduced full, partial or public sector bans on TikTok amid heightened national security concerns.
Does the Chinese government own TikTok? ›“ByteDance is not owned or controlled by the Chinese government. It is a private company,” TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew said during the March 23 hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Which country invented TikTok? ›
The app was launched in 2016 by the Chinese technology company ByteDance.
Who are ByteDance competitors? ›Tencent, Alibaba, Bytedance, Baidu, and SenseTime, were ranked as the top five AI contenders to OpenAI's ChatGPT according to Bernstein analyst.
What are the most successful apps in ByteDance? ›As of February 2023, ByteDance's flagship product TikTok had amassed more than four billion global downloads since its release in 2016.
How many users does ByteDance have on TikTok? ›Bytedance's TikTok has 715 million monthly active users. Bytedance owned not only Douyin, but also the famous short video platforms Xigua and Huoshan.
Is ByteDance bigger than Facebook? ›TikTok and parent ByteDance Ltd. is shaping up to be the most serious threat to that chokehold since the pair rose to power over the past two decades. With a billion monthly active users, TikTok is still smaller than Facebook (2.9 billion) and Instagram (2 billion), also part of Meta.
Is TikTok separating from ByteDance? ›TikTok has discussed separating from Chinese parent ByteDance, but it's a last resort amid escalating US pressure | South China Morning Post.
Is TikTok considering splitting from ByteDance? ›TikTok's leadership is discussing the possibility of separating from ByteDance Ltd., its Chinese parent company, to help address U.S. concerns about national security risks.
What is ByteDance used for? ›ByteDance is a global incubator of platforms at the cutting edge of commerce, content, entertainment and enterprise services - over 2.5bn people interact with ByteDance products including TikTok. Creation is the core of ByteDance's purpose. Our products are built to help imaginations thrive.
Is ByteDance doing well? ›ByteDance reported an operating profit in the first quarter of 2022, “indicating one of the world's most valuable startups could be turning a corner after years of incurring large losses,” the report said.
Why is ByteDance so valuable? ›Bytedance uses its SSP platform differently from most companies. The company's product teams or units don't control their own operating resources. Instead, many common business, technology, and operating functions (among them HR and legal) are centralized and organized into corresponding teams.
Who owns CapCut app? ›
CapCut is a video-editing tool owned by ByteDance, the Chinese parent company that also owns TikTok, and has more than 200 million monthly active users.
How much money is CapCut? ›| Title | Duration | Price |
|---|---|---|
| capcut cloud space (Monthly) | Monthly | $5.99 |
| Monthly Subscription | Monthly | $7.99 |
| Monthly Subscription | Monthly | $7.99 |
| One-year PRO | One-Time | $44.99 |
5.2 If I delete CapCut will I lose everything? If you delete CapCut, you may lose the app's cached data, which includes any edits or projects that you have not yet saved or exported. However, if you have saved your projects to your device's storage or the cloud, they will not be lost if you delete the app.
Is CapCut harmful? ›Yes, CapCut is safe if you download it in authorized applications such as on its website, PlayStore, and AppStore.
Is CapCut a spyware? ›CapCut is not a malicious app but does collect your personal data.
Is CapCut age appropriate? ›CapCut - Video Editor 12+
What did CapCut used to be called? ›CapCut, formerly Jianying in China, is a free video-editing app.
Is CapCut allowed on TikTok? ›Yes! You can use CapCut to edit any video, for free, and upload it to TikTok. You can edit existing TikToks, or upload a fresh video and resize it for TikTok with just one click. It's super easy.
Why are people against TikTok? ›The popular app is under pressure amid concerns over the handling of users' data. Efforts to Ban TikTok: In recent months, lawmakers in the United States, Canada and Europe have escalated efforts to restrict access to the app, citing security threats.
Is TikTok a threat? ›No evidence of TikTok national security threat but reason for concern, experts say. App faces a potential U.S. ban as bipartisan hostility grows. Social media app TikTok faces mounting bipartisan hostility in Washington D.C., where Biden administration officials and lawmakers are weighing a possible ban of the platform ...
What is one negative thing about TikTok? ›
Mental Health: Constantly comparing oneself to others on TikTok can lead to low self-esteem and negative body image, and exposure to negative comments or cyberbullying can also negatively impact mental health.
What is the most successful type of TikTok? ›And according to TikTok statistics, “entertainment” is the most popular content category on the platform worldwide. This particular hashtag has amassed 535 billion hashtag views. The next most popular categories include dance, pranks, fitness/sports, and home renovations/DIY.
Why do people make money on TikTok? ›The TikTok Creator Fund is TikTok's program that pays users for creating engaging content. The more engagement your videos get, the more TikTok pays you. TikTok wants users to stick around (to make advertising money), and they'll pay creators who help in that mission.
Who owns TikTok? ›TikTok, which has over 150 million American users, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Chinese technology firm ByteDance Ltd., which appoints its executives.
Is TikTok manipulative? ›In an article shared on UX Collective in July 2022, PhD researcher and founder of Implement Privacy, Luiza Jarovsky, wrote about her 30-day experience on TikTok, calling the platform "manipulative, addictive and harmful to privacy". Luiza claimed TikTok's User Experience (UX) designs keep people glued to it.
What Chinese apps are owned in the US? ›They include Temu, SHEIN, TikTok, and CapCut. The demand for a TikTok ban has been spurred by the app's close connection to Chinese regulators, but these other popular apps have not met the same resistance.
What is the sister app to TikTok in China? ›It later rebranded the app and reconstructed it to mirror Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok. Lemon8 has a somewhat similar story. While it didn't acquire any U.S. apps to grow its presence in the U.S., it has modeled some of its features off of a popular ByteDance e-commerce app called Xiaohongshu.
What is the difference between Douyin and TikTok? ›Douyin and TikTok are both made in China and are the two versions of the same giant social media application. While Douyin is the original version of the app, the rest of the world only talks about the international version: the triumphant TikTok.
How do I get Chinese TikTok in America? ›...
Here's how:
- Open the app store.
- Click on your profile icon in the top right corner.
- Next, click on your name/email to open your profile.
- Click 'Country/region'
- Click 'China Mainland' from the list of countries.
Baidu is China's largest and most widely used search engine, much like Google in the U.S.
What app does China use instead of Facebook? ›
WeChat is the closest thing to Facebook that China has, and at nearly 1.2 billion users – including at least 100 million registered users outside of China – WeChat should be your top priority for your Chinese social media marketing.
What is China number 1 app? ›WeChat is a multi-functional app beyond messaging and social networking. From mobile payment and taxi-hailing to making appointments and holiday planning, it provides almost everything to every mobile user in China.
Is TikTok different for kids in China? ›TikTok announced a one-hour daily limit for users under 18, but authorities in China have pushed the domestic version, Douyin, much further. China Report is MIT Technology Review's newsletter about technology developments in China.
Why is TikTok different in China? ›TikTok is different in China due to its focus on Chinese markets and user demographics. As the original version of the app, Douyin has a larger presence in China compared to TikTok.
Can Americans get on Douyin? ›Unless you're in Mainland China, there is no way that you can find Douyin on your App Store or Play Store. For this reason, you need to go to Douyin's official website and get the installation files there.
Does Douyin work in the US? ›Douyin is only available in the China mainland version of the App Store. So, if you are not in China, you won't be able to find the Douyin app on your default App Store.
Why are there two versions of TikTok? ›In fact, it's never existed there. Instead, there's a different version of TikTok — a sister app called Douyin. Both are owned by Beijing-based parent company ByteDance, but Douyin launched before TikTok and became a viral sensation in China.
Can foreigners use Douyin? ›Signing up an account on Douyin for Android users. Users who are not located in China will not be possible to start the process through Google play. But there is a solution. Go type douyin.com on your browser and open the official Douyin app website.
What is the difference between TikTok in China and us? ›While TikTok has become the most popular app in the rest of the world, a domestic version called Douyin is available to Chinese consumers. The apps are nearly identical — but with one critical difference: users under 14 are required to use Douyin in healthy moderation on “teenage mode.”
How do I get USA Tiktoks? ›In this case, VPN is the best option to access your wanted content. VPN changes your IP address and hides your location. So, let's say, you connect to a server that is located in the US. Your initial IP address is no longer recognized and, according to the given IP, you are enjoying TikTok from the US.