Music video app makes waves overseas

A Chinese music video platform has become popular overseas at the World Cup 2018, especially after some famous foreign soccer players shared videos on the platform.

Experts said that some leading global IT companies may face stiff competition from their Chinese counterparts as Chinese IT companies seek a larger share of the overseas market.

Mesut Ozil, a popular German soccer player, opened a Douyin account, known internationally as Tik Tok, on June 11 and his account attracted more than 1.3 million followers within 10 days, with his videos viewed more than 2.93 mil-

lion times.

Similar to the former American app Musical. ly, Tik Tok users can upload and watch self-created videos on the platform.

Tik Tok opened overseas in May 2017 and has rapidly overtaken Google Play and the App Store, reaching over 10 million downloads within a year.

Aside from soccer players, more foreigners have shared their lives on Tik Tok. The platform is available in over 150 countries and regions, including Japan, Malaysia and Thailand, with more than 100 million active overseas users per month, according to a release Tik Tok sent to the Global Times.

“Tik Tok has become a hit for combining music with domestic and overseas scenes, and the World Cup is a global carnival, which encourages people from all over the world to record and share the great moment on the platform,” Wang Sixin, a professor at Communication University of China (CUC), told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Wang said there are no cultural barriers on music-sharing platforms like Tik Tok, and such platforms could help “spread Chinese culture to the world.”

Industry analyst Ma Shicong told the Global Times that the video-sharing platform is developing well overseas and more capital is being input into Chinese IT companies, and apps like Tik Tok are now gaining a greater share of the global market.

Wang said it is possible that Chinese companies could challenge large international platforms like Youtube and Snapchat.

Since Tik Tok was launched in Japan in the summer of 2017, it has topped the “downloading list” of the App Store three times. In February this year, Tik Tok won Forbes Japan’s App Ape award 2017.

The influence of Tik Tok has extended to TV shows. Popular shows like SUKKIRI!!, MUSIC STATION and Downtown DX have introduced Tik Tok as a new trends in pop culture.

Not a copycat

“Chinese companies which have acquired the core technologies no longer copy the business model of foreign companies but turn to independent innovation. Excellent Chinese companies, like their competitors, are born to be global,” Zhang Yiming, CEO of Bytedance, an IT company, which runs the Tik Tok platform, told the Global Times.

However, despite their promising developments, analysts also warned that Chinese IT companies with internet platforms should carefully study different overseas market environments.

A mosque in Malaysia banned tourists after a video showing two women dancing outside in skimpy outfits went viral, the Independent reported on June 26. The two women were reportedly making a Tik Tok video.

Ma said that as Tik Tok grows overseas, giving it a local touch in different countries and regions is a critical step in its global development.