In the latest push to further engrain itself in the music industry, TikTok is launching a new "Artist Account" option that will give artists more tools for building their presence within the app.

Dubbed "Artist Account," perhaps it would be better termed "Musician," as all the features are geared toward assisting musicians to promote in-stream content. Perhaps, however, TikTok will build on this going forward to help highlight a much broader group of artists and creators.

As TikTok explains:

The Artist Account is a toolbox of features and promotional tools designed to build a closer relationship between artist and fan on TikTok. The service is available to every artist or musician that has released music, as the shop window for fans to learn more about your music, your creative process and to discover the latest releases.

Options for TikTok's Artist accounts will include a new "Artist" tag for the profiles and will also consist of a dedicated music tab showing your latest tracks.
Artist account holders will also be able to highlight their newest tracks for up to 14 days before release, and for 30 days after with a "New" tag, while they'll also be able to pin a favorite post to the top of the discovery page for their music. There's also other stuff, like capacity to create "Behind the Song" explainer clips that will show up in search streams, and other music highlight features.

It's a smart update, especially given the app's rising value as a source for music discovery, which increasingly witnesses more and more musicians looking to establish themselves in the app.

Indeed, TikTok is becoming an integral part considered in the strategy of record labels regarding the promotion of new artists and new music. The platform was already an inspiration for certain artists to take on new careers and reactivate older ones, and now even rename songs to fit trendy in-app trends.

In March, TikTok will host its first-ever live concert event: another indication of how the platform intends to double down on its music discovery power and stake a claim in the music industry.

Another step toward that goal is offering emerging artists new promotional tools that can help TikTok cash in on its position as the natural destination for music promotion and discovery.