Tech

A TikTok device for playing music? There’s now a patent application, so…

If you think our world needs another device for playing music, listen up. ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, has filed for a patent in the United States for a device that plays music. MBW uncovered an application from this past December that describes a “method and device for music play.” It seems to build on a 2022 Chinese patent for something similar.

I quote: “Users may play music through electronic devices” but “the music play mode of the conventional music apps [offer a] lack of flexibility, and therefore the play effect is unsatisfied” [sic].”

There are other phrases in the patent application worth noting.

  • …a “target application for playing music”
  • …“operation control for enhancing a play effect of the music through at least one processing, the processing being used for representing music content in a way more than sound.”
  • …an “electronic device comprising at least one processor and memory.”

Reading further, this thing seems to flash and vibrate while the colour of the screen changes, something that “may relate to the beat point in the music, a change point of a voice in the music, and a change point of an instrument sound in the music.”

In summary, this looks like an iPod-like thing that accesses or comes loaded with TikTok Music (the company’s nascent streaming music service) that displays lyrics and gives you a light show. Do we really need something like this? We’ll

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 39671 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

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