This new TikTok-Apple Music partnership hints at things to come

If you’re on TikTok, you know how addictive the platform can be. One frustration is the need to leave the app when you run across a clip of an interesting song. If you want to hear the whole thing, you have to exit TikTok and call it up on a streaming service.

TikTok knows this is a program, so the platform is testing a feature that integrates the app directly with streaming music services. If you’re part of the test, you’ll see an “Add Song” button that appears whenever a video featuring music comes up. Give it a tap and you’ll see window: “Add songs from TikTok to your preferred music app.” Right now, there’s only one option: Appple Music.

This is a first for TikTok and is a step towards integrating the two experiences. And given the way the instructions in the window are worded, it’s obvious that TikTok wants to include other streamers as well.

Here’s another interesting bit: ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, also owns a streaming music service called Resso, which, at the moment, is only available in Brazil, India, and Indonesia. ByteDance has been negotiating with rightsholders to expand Resso’s global footprint with the obvious goal of integrating it seamlessly with TikTok. It’s been a tough slog, so it looks like the company has reverted to Plan B–at least for now.

The music industry will be watching the TikTok-Apple experiment very closely. If the TikTok referrals result in spikes of streams on Apple Music, we’re into entirely new territory.