Photo by BoliviaInteligente on Unsplash
As short‑form video continues to dominate the online landscape, TikTok has once again doubled down on tools that serve the creative community—this time turning its spotlight squarely on songwriters. Recognizing that behind every viral track there’s a composer whose work often goes unnoticed, the platform has unveiled a dedicated feature to help writers of lyrics and melodies showcase their contributions and build their personal brands.
In developing this feature, TikTok’s product team didn’t rely on guesswork. They reached out to over 870 songwriters—spanning emerging independent writers to seasoned hitmakers—to understand their needs on a social platform and explore how TikTok could help them monetize their craft. Through surveys and in‑depth interviews, these creators voiced two primary desires:
Armed with this feedback, TikTok built a new “Songwriter” profile label and a companion tab specifically for listing written works—ensuring that every time a writer’s music catches fire, the person who gave it life isn’t lost in the shuffle.
When you visit a TikTok creator’s page now, certified songwriters will sport a clear badge identifying their role. Tapping that badge leads to a streamlined gallery of full track titles, collaborators, and release dates—all curated in one place. From there, curious A&R reps, fellow artists, or licensing scouts can listen, follow, and reach out without the usual scavenger hunt across external sites.
This feature isn’t merely cosmetic. By raising a songwriter’s profile:
Jordan Lowy, TikTok’s Global Head of Music Publishing Licensing and Partnership, explains the philosophy driving the rollout:
“We are passionately committed to supporting songwriters at TikTok, which is why we built these tools to celebrate and elevate songwriters and their work on our platform. TikTok is unique in its ability to offer songwriters a way to highlight their musical works alongside their own content, helping them to tell stories about their music, their craft, and their lives, and to raise their profile and build their audience.”
Lowy emphasizes that while artists have long used TikTok to promote finished recordings, this new songwriter feature bridges a gap, reflecting a deeper respect for the creative origins of every song.
TikTok’s history of music‑focused products has been a mixed bag. Last year the company shuttered TikTok Music, a standalone streaming service aimed at directly challenging other platforms. Despite its brief life, lessons learned there helped refine TikTok’s approach to supporting creators.
Meanwhile, TikTok for Artists—launched to help performers track how their songs perform across the app—remains in active use. Although its primary audience has been singers and producers, the insights it provides—streams, geographic performance, trending sounds—are equally valuable to songwriters eager to see which hooks or lyrical themes resonate most with listeners.
By folding songwriter recognition directly into the main TikTok ecosystem, the company signals that compositional talent matters just as much as on‑camera charisma.
Short‑form video platforms have repeatedly shown their power to revive decades‑old tracks. Songs from the ’80s or ’90s, once relegated to dusty record bins, find new life when paired with a clever challenge or viral dance. Yet, the fans who take those music snippets as inspiration rarely know who penned the original melody or lyric.
This new label and tab corrects that oversight. Every time a viral trend reuses a songwriter’s riff or chorus, native credit follows. Songwriters no longer watch anonymously as their tunes climb into the charts—they get a front‑row seat to their own success, complete with branded recognition and direct connection to a global audience.
Consider a hypothetical: a budding writer uploads a homemade demo. A forward‑thinking TikTok user samples it in a comedic skit. Within days, dozens of creators riff on the same melody. With the new feature, the original writer’s profile automatically aggregates these re‑uploads, showing a track record of rapid‑fire trends and shares. That visibility can spark offers to co‑write with established artists, or invitations to sync the song in ads and films—tangible career boosts available only because the songwriter’s name is on display.
While the immediate focus is empowering creators on smartphones, TikTok’s parent company ByteDance is already eyeing the future. Insider reports suggest ByteDance is exploring a mixed‑reality headset that could blend short‑form video with immersive experiences. Imagine walking through a virtual studio, browsing a writer’s entire discography playlist‑style, or clicking on a lyric in mid‑air to view behind‑the‑scenes videos of its creation.
Though still speculative, such innovations hint at a world where songwriters won’t just be credited—they’ll be able to weave their narratives into multi‑sensory environments, connecting with fans in unprecedented ways.
This songwriter spotlight is more than a nicety—it’s a potential game‑changer for the music business:
By lowering the barriers to professional visibility, TikTok could accelerate the growth of a new generation of writers who see social media not just as a marketing tool but as the launching pad for their careers.
For songwriters eager to take advantage, the steps are clear:
(*Availability may roll out regionally over the coming weeks.)
Beyond songwriting, TikTok’s investment in creator tools underscores a larger strategy: to become the de facto home for every type of artist—whether dancers, filmmakers, podcasters, or comic writers. By giving each community bespoke features, TikTok keeps its platform fresh, relevant, and indispensable to those who fuel its content engine.
Songwriters have long labored in relative obscurity as their melodies and lyrics power global hits. TikTok’s new “Songwriter” label and tab bring those hidden architects of music into the limelight. By formalizing credit, nurturing visibility, and offering a direct line to fans and industry players alike, TikTok isn’t just helping creators shine—it’s rewriting the rules of music discovery for the digital age. As the platform and its potential mixed‑reality evolutions mature, the next wave of songwriting talent will find in TikTok not just a stage, but a fully featured career portal—one that celebrates the power of a well‑crafted song in every form it takes.
