BEN Group, the leading entertainment AI company that empowers brands and creators to capture human attention across social media, streaming, TV, music, and film content, today has joined TikTok’s Marketing Partner Program as an official Sound Partner. The TikTok Sound Partner program connects brands of all sizes to trusted partners who can help leverage the unique potential of TikTok’s sound-on environment at scale. Through this partnership, TikTok will connect brands on the platform directly to industry titan BEN Group to help marketers build successful, sound-on strategies for TikTok.
“Sound has this unique ability to spark infectious creativity and unite communities across the globe”
TikTok has made music and audio a foundational part of digital culture and creative expression. With 430 songs surpassing 1B views on TikTok in 2021, and over 1B monthly users, TikTok is upending the music industry – and the broader creator economy – with artists and creators going from obscurity to global stardom. This partnership now enables brands of all sizes to tap into music and sound on TikTok – creating, licensing, and distributing audio that embodies a brand’s ethos while building authentic engagement with audiences.
“Sound has this unique ability to spark infectious creativity and unite communities across the globe,” said Ricky Ray Butler, CEO of BEN Group. “TikTok is an unmatched leader in creating digital trends and cultural moments with its sound-on ecosystem. We’re thrilled to build upon our long-standing relationship with TikTok and empower brands to invest in successful, authentic sound-centric campaigns across the platform.”
BEN Group has been a global leader in the music industry for over 30 years and continues leading brands into the heart of digital culture with a sound-first mentality. TikTok’s new Sound Partners fall within two sub-specialties – custom sound and subscription sound – which provide additional flexibility and options for marketers looking to leverage sound and music on the platform at scale. With this partnership, BEN Group will not be pushing any one music catalog, but rather working with brands on sourcing songs that will serve them best.
“Sound is the universal language of TikTok, and brands need to embrace music and sound in order to show up authentically on the platform,” said Melissa Yang, Head of Ecosystems at TikTok. “Our new Sound Partners have a proven track record of helping marketers develop strategies for TikTok and offer scalable options for brands of all sizes. We’re excited to see more brands tap into sound on TikTok and make meaningful connections with the community through creative, sound-on strategies.”
To date, BEN Group has helped brands like HP and Steve Madden launch successful, soundtracked TikTok campaigns. This year, BEN Group worked with Steve Madden to secure all clearances and licenses for the use of Us3’s 90s hit “Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)” for a widespread influencer campaign across TikTok and Instagram. Creators made “outfit of the day” videos to the tune of this track while showing off Steve Madden’s summer sandal collection, amassing 70+ million views and 2+ million likes to-date across their videos.
BEN Group saw the influence TikTok had on creator economy trends from the very beginning. BEN Group partnered with ByteDance in 2018 to help with the rebranding and launch of Musical.ly, then into TikTok today. As ByteDance was launching and rebranding as TikTok in the U.S., BEN Group worked from an evolving list of the 100 best-performing songs on the app to target budget-conscious clearances that ultimately soundtracked songs for in-theater advertising and #YearOnTikTok promotional packages. BEN Group also launched TikTok’s #gaming channel helping them to attract and onboard creators to the platform. Looking ahead, BEN Group will continue to work with TikTok’s creator and brand partnerships teams to find the best creators and sound-on strategies to infuse brand storylines directly into digital culture.