SoundCloud Joins TikTok’s Add to Music App Feature
Users can save tracks directly to SoundCloud, making it easier for Indie artists to grow their fanbase.
Last year, TikTok quietly shut down its standalone music streaming platform, TikTok Music, after it failed to gain traction despite launches in countries like Brazil, Australia, and Indonesia. The move signalled that while TikTok is a dominant force in music discovery, it couldn’t quite go head-to-head with streaming giants like Spotify and Apple Music, at least not directly.
So instead of competing, TikTok has taken a smarter route: collaboration. It rolled out a feature called “Add To Music App”, which lets users save tracks they discover in TikTok videos directly to their preferred music streaming service. Initially, this worked with Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music. But as of this week, SoundCloud has joined the party.
Louis Eriakha
How it works is simple. When you tap on a song in a TikTok video, you’ll see an “Add Song” button. Hit that, and the track gets saved to your Liked Songs on SoundCloud. Since launching globally in 2024, TikTok says the feature has already led to over a billion song saves.
This is big news, especially for indie artists. TikTok has been a proven launchpad for musicians. From Lil Nas X to Ice Spice, viral TikTok moments have turned unknown artists into chart-toppers.
Kelechi Edeh
SoundCloud, meanwhile, has long been a haven for emerging talent. With over 40 million artists and 400 million tracks, it’s helped kickstart careers for stars like Billie Eilish, Juice WRLD and Post Malone. The reason for this is that it's just way easier (and cheaper) to upload music to SoundCloud. Platforms like Spotify and Apple Music require a paid distributor, often costing $20–30 per release. On SoundCloud, many artists can upload for free.
This low barrier to entry has made SoundCloud a hotspot for unsigned artists, indie rappers, and genre experimenters. And now, with the TikTok integration, artists can convert casual TikTok listeners into engaged SoundCloud followers—and possibly lifelong fans. It’s a win for users, too, who now have a seamless way to keep track of the songs they love and explore more from the artists behind them.
In a way, this partnership is a natural fit. TikTok and SoundCloud have always been about what’s next, platforms where music trends are born and artists are discovered. Together, they’re making sure no good song gets lost in the algorithm.
Henry Chikwem
