Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to Strictly Business Varieties podcasts featuring conversations
Speaker 1: with industry leaders about business of media and entertainment. Arm
Speaker 1: Todd Stegler, new York digital editor with Variety. Today, we're
Speaker 1: talking with Brian Thenson, head of content Partnerships at TikTok. TikTok,
Speaker 1: in case you didn't know, is the immensely popular social
Speaker 1: video app that has taken the world by a storm.
Speaker 1: Last month, the company said that it had more than
Speaker 1: one billion monthly active users, which makes it one of
Speaker 1: the fastest growing online services in history. Now, TikTok has
Speaker 1: been challenging the likes of incumbents on YouTube and Instagram
Speaker 1: for viewing time as this highly personalized app that brings
Speaker 1: together a stream of dances, memes, comedy bits, all kinds
Speaker 1: of content really and of course lip sync videos. Brian,
Speaker 1: thank you for joining us on Strictly Business Today. Tom,
Speaker 1: thank you so much for having me. It's really great
Speaker 1: to be here. So let's start out. Can you describe
Speaker 1: what you do at TikTok, Well, Todd, I think I
Speaker 1: have the best job in the world. We get to
Speaker 1: help creators on TikTok really unlock their creative potential and
Speaker 1: and in a lot of cases help make their dreams
Speaker 1: a reality. And that's a pretty awesome thing for all
Speaker 1: of us. Now, we define a creator as any account
Speaker 1: who publishes content on the platform. We have a direct
Speaker 1: one to one relationship with thousands of those creators, from
Speaker 1: some of the most followed household names like Addison Ray
Speaker 1: and Bella Porch to creators just starting their TikTok journey
Speaker 1: literally as we record this podcast. We also look after
Speaker 1: celebrities like Will Smith and Martha Stewart and athletes like
Speaker 1: Jimmy Butler, DeAndre Hopkins, and Gabby Douglas. But we we
Speaker 1: don't stop with just those individual personalities. Were also here
Speaker 1: to support kind of a more corporate publisher community where
Speaker 1: we specialize in sports accounts like the NFL and ESPN,
Speaker 1: um brands and fashion and beauty like Conde Nast, lifestyle
Speaker 1: publishers like BuzzFeed, and all the big entertainment studios, networks
Speaker 1: and streamers like like MTV, Netflix, And we even have
Speaker 1: a group that helps nonprofits like the Aquarium of the
Speaker 1: Pacific and It Gets Better Project grow on TikTok Um.
Speaker 1: So in addition to all that sort of one on
Speaker 1: one growth strategy and audience development support. We're leading things
Speaker 1: like creator marketing, creator monetization, creator education, and community development.
Speaker 1: All right, well that's uh, that's a lot to keep
Speaker 1: you busy. I guess, um, tell me what is it
Speaker 1: about TikTok that UM has really led to its rapid rise?
Speaker 1: Like this, what's the secret sauce? Yeah, the secret sauce
Speaker 1: is really about community and about entertainment value and entertainment quality.
Speaker 1: When we think about UM, the perfect blend of serendipity
Speaker 1: and discover ability, that that serendipitous I didn't even know
Speaker 1: I wanted, that mixed with the customized content in your
Speaker 1: four you feed, that content that feels so uniquely for you.
Speaker 1: That's kind of what really sets this platform apart. The
Speaker 1: incredible opportunity to discover new content, uh, and for others
Speaker 1: to discover your videos. Right my my four you feed
Speaker 1: is different than yours, and I think no two feeds
Speaker 1: are the same. And that's really what makes the platform special.
Speaker 1: So it's this artificial intelligence technology, this algorithm that knows
Speaker 1: what I want before I know that I wanted. In
Speaker 1: a sense, I think so again, it's it's the blend
Speaker 1: of of that perfect sort of for you quotient that
Speaker 1: takes everything that again you think you uh you want
Speaker 1: to see and everything you know you want and and
Speaker 1: blends it into that perfect user experience. Now, I describe
Speaker 1: TikTok as a social video app, but the company is
Speaker 1: U positioning self is more of an entertainment destinations that right. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that's what's so unique about TikTok is that is that
Speaker 1: we're not a social network. We are an entertainment platform
Speaker 1: where cultural trends really start. You know, when you think
Speaker 1: about the trends that have begun in food, right the
Speaker 1: fed Aposta trend or Emily Morico's salmon bull trend, or
Speaker 1: that the TikTok made Me Buy It phenomenon, or you
Speaker 1: know rats at Tui the musical where the community really
Speaker 1: galvanized the creation of something major in entertainment. It's again,
Speaker 1: it's that four you feed and that discovery that's able
Speaker 1: to really present the most entertaining and diverse content that
Speaker 1: you know, you might not have other otherwise experienced or seen. Uh,
Speaker 1: And that's something that a social graph, you know, isn't
Speaker 1: going to serve you. Up Um, that that one billion
Speaker 1: users around the world that you talked to out and
Speaker 1: and the fact that no two for you feeds are
Speaker 1: the same. Uh, that's really the kind of that entertainment
Speaker 1: powerhouse that allows you to kind of experiment and find
Speaker 1: your voice and really deliver a great entertainment, you know,
Speaker 1: video by video. And I know that squid game means
Speaker 1: have been trending on TikTok of late. Uh They're they're
Speaker 1: pretty weird and hilarious at the same time. Um, talk
Speaker 1: to me about, you know, the case. How do you
Speaker 1: make the case to partners for how to best use
Speaker 1: the TikTok platform, whether that's for monetization or you know,
Speaker 1: promoting their own brand. Well, the very first thing that
Speaker 1: we start with, Todd is is to experiment and to
Speaker 1: find your voice and to be authentic. Um. You know,
Speaker 1: the creator journey is is a long one. It can
Speaker 1: be a long one, and it's it's obviously different at
Speaker 1: every single stage along the way. And so in the beginning, again,
Speaker 1: it's really just about coming to TikTok and having fun
Speaker 1: and unlocking as much creativity as possible, finding that voice.
Speaker 1: And then along the way, as creators, you know, tend
Speaker 1: to get a little bit bigger. Uh, you know, they've
Speaker 1: found their voice and they started to really build that audience.
Speaker 1: Then all of those additional layers we work with creators
Speaker 1: to really identify how to build a livelihood on the platform.
Speaker 1: You know, so many um small businesses that that really
Speaker 1: began you know, sort of creator lead have bubbled up,
Speaker 1: and so that's something that we think about a little
Speaker 1: further down the line, but it's it's full life cycle
Speaker 1: consultation as we work with these creators. Now, isn't a
Speaker 1: big part of the appeal for TikTok is that it's
Speaker 1: a lower barrier to entry maybe than some other platforms
Speaker 1: in terms of creating content. You know, it's quick, it's easy.
Speaker 1: There are these tools that you can use to make
Speaker 1: your your videos look great. Um, you know, to what
Speaker 1: extent is TikTok appealing because of the format and the
Speaker 1: creator tools versus the kind of discovery mechanisms we want
Speaker 1: to make it easy. Yeah, you nailed it. I think
Speaker 1: that when we think about all of the different UH
Speaker 1: product and platform innovations, everything is in service of our
Speaker 1: creators and our users. And so when creators are coming
Speaker 1: to TikTok and we want to make it as as
Speaker 1: low lift as possible. We want to be able to
Speaker 1: unlock that that creativity and that expression. And so whether
Speaker 1: it's um, you know, utilizing music to tell a story,
Speaker 1: or it's it's working with these creators to find you know,
Speaker 1: kind of an innovative format that um, if you were
Speaker 1: to look over a creator's shoulder and the sound we're
Speaker 1: completely off, you know, could that content, could that story
Speaker 1: be as easily translatable? These are I think the kinds
Speaker 1: of of tools and tips and tricks that we um
Speaker 1: really espousing all of our creators as we're talking with
Speaker 1: them about, you know, how to to to find their
Speaker 1: voice on the platform. Now, TikTok started with really short
Speaker 1: form videos and then went up to sixty seconds. Now
Speaker 1: you recently launched longer maximum video times up to three minutes,
Speaker 1: and you're testing up to five minutes. What's the reason
Speaker 1: for that, bigger candles, Yeah, we launched longer videos so
Speaker 1: that creators could have an opportunity to create even richer
Speaker 1: storytelling and entertainment on the platform. When you think about
Speaker 1: all the different ways that the community has really redefined content,
Speaker 1: you know, creativity, expression, and entertainment in under sixty seconds. Uh,
Speaker 1: it's it's a pretty exciting thing to see how people
Speaker 1: continue to really entertain and inspire with a few more
Speaker 1: seconds of narrative in a world of creative possibilities. You know,
Speaker 1: cooking has been this huge breakout category for us as
Speaker 1: creators can go much more in depth with recipes and
Speaker 1: tutorials and things like that. And when you go back
Speaker 1: and sort of look at the growth of the cooking
Speaker 1: category in early two thousand twenty, um, creators like Flaky
Speaker 1: Salt and Cooking with Sharene and Eaton kind of set
Speaker 1: that blueprint for what a eight short video recipe video
Speaker 1: could look like. And and I think, you know, it's
Speaker 1: been harder for chefs and cooking enthusiasts to really condense
Speaker 1: those complex recipes into less than sixty Now they're able
Speaker 1: to really extend, you know, that narrative to include more detail,
Speaker 1: and they're finding massive success. And we're seeing it beyond
Speaker 1: cooking as well. Uh, these tutorials and story times. There's
Speaker 1: a wonderful creator named Mikhaela Nogara who does make up
Speaker 1: reviews and tutorials and so again it's just giving a
Speaker 1: little bit more breathing room to creator's ability to tell stories.
Speaker 1: You know, Frank Michael Smith is another one that uh
Speaker 1: does sports recaps and commentary. And I think when even
Speaker 1: when you allow for some of the bigger, more established
Speaker 1: media entities, you know, when we're talking about clips from
Speaker 1: Comedy Central or top plays from the NBA, more more
Speaker 1: time to kind of let those stories unfold, really is
Speaker 1: is landing with our our user base, and and I
Speaker 1: think is really allowing the creators to think about more
Speaker 1: experimentation and are telling as well. Okay, so the longer
Speaker 1: video segments that you're allowing now, I mean that does
Speaker 1: potentially put you more in competition with YouTube, um where
Speaker 1: content that might have only been shared on that kind
Speaker 1: of a platform is now committed TikTok. What again, is
Speaker 1: the difference is the way you explain it to content
Speaker 1: partners and creators of what TikTok is good for versus
Speaker 1: you know, anything else that's out there. Yeah. Look, I
Speaker 1: think at the end of the day, we we think
Speaker 1: about you know, competition as as more of that kind
Speaker 1: of rising tide lifts all the boats adage. You know,
Speaker 1: there are platforms out there who are doing incredible things
Speaker 1: in their space. And and again, what we're looking to
Speaker 1: do is really be an entertainment platform. That's what differentiates
Speaker 1: us UM and we know that, you know, creators and
Speaker 1: partners are are looking to be ubiquitous, but we're here
Speaker 1: to create the best content ecosystem to really push those
Speaker 1: innovative adic features forward and continue to support our users
Speaker 1: in our community. Now, what's you're feeling about content created
Speaker 1: on another platform that's supposed to TikTok or the other
Speaker 1: way around TikTok videos that people share on I don't know,
Speaker 1: YouTube shorts or Instagram reels, is that is that okay
Speaker 1: with you guys. We're seeing a lot of that that
Speaker 1: two ways sharing that's happening. I mean, we have a
Speaker 1: number of sharing features that allow for creators to make
Speaker 1: content on our platform and you know, use the ubiquity
Speaker 1: I was talking about before to really um you know,
Speaker 1: kind of amplify their content. And that's something that you know,
Speaker 1: we absolutely uh you know, talk to our creators about
Speaker 1: a lot and and that we uh stand behind. We
Speaker 1: want to make sure that you know, as many people
Speaker 1: see our creators content as possible. And you know, the
Speaker 1: the awesome thing about content that originates on TikTok is
Speaker 1: that it has that TikTok branding that watermark. So I
Speaker 1: think that's where, you know, we're really starting to see
Speaker 1: not only our creators content, but also the brand proliferated out,
Speaker 1: you know, and as many places as possible. Now, Brian,
Speaker 1: I wanted to ask you, you know, what are some
Speaker 1: common misconceptions that you hear from creators or you know,
Speaker 1: industry partners about TikTok, what it is and what it
Speaker 1: can do. Yeah, that's a great question, Todd. I think
Speaker 1: you know, we talked about this a little bit before.
Speaker 1: You know that that TikTok is a social network. Um.
Speaker 1: You know, we are in a social platform. Um, and
Speaker 1: you talked as well about you know, kind of lip
Speaker 1: sync and dance. We really are an entertainment platform. You know,
Speaker 1: we're a place where culture starts. Uh. We're being connected
Speaker 1: across different cultures and communities. You know, when you look
Speaker 1: at at where musicals and Broadway have really found a
Speaker 1: home on TikTok, right, the rat tattoo and musical, the
Speaker 1: grocery store musical and and all these incredible trends and
Speaker 1: hashtags hashtag Broadway and hashtag musical and theater. Kid, We're
Speaker 1: talking you know, billions of views in app um, so
Speaker 1: that's I think a really powerful way to you know,
Speaker 1: punctuate the fact that entertainments arts here, culture starts here.
Speaker 1: We're seeing partners that embrace the platform and really share
Speaker 1: you know, their brands and their messaging and entertaining ways.
Speaker 1: Benny the Bull, that's the Chicago Bulls mascot has become
Speaker 1: you know, as big as some of the teams and
Speaker 1: even the leagues on the platform. The lions Gate Netflix
Speaker 1: are bringing content in sort of the traditional capacity to
Speaker 1: the TikTok platform almost to create that that sort of
Speaker 1: water cooler effect, and so it's redefining traditional entertainment in
Speaker 1: a lot of ways. The Aquarium of the Pacific, I mean,
Speaker 1: who doesn't love acute hotter and being able to you
Speaker 1: know again really take watching animals and and and sort
Speaker 1: of learning about um, you know, water life and and
Speaker 1: and creatures you know, beneath all that stuff, I think
Speaker 1: really creates an entirely new entertainment quotient that you can
Speaker 1: only find here. Um, that diverse, you know, ecosystem of
Speaker 1: content has evolved even beyond that fashion food. You know,
Speaker 1: there's book talk and clean talk and feda pasta and
Speaker 1: to talk maybe by it and again, I think that's
Speaker 1: that's the power of of our ecosystem in our community. Um,
Speaker 1: that goes well beyond a social network. My kids, by
Speaker 1: the way, they're teenagers and they tell me about I
Speaker 1: think it's dark talk, weird talk. There's there are these
Speaker 1: sub genres of uh content that that you can find
Speaker 1: if you if you're interested in in sort of strange
Speaker 1: animation things like that. UM, So we can accompass, encompass
Speaker 1: just about everything. UM. You know on this point though, Brian,
Speaker 1: there's this idea that TikTok is mainly used by teenagers.
Speaker 1: It's the reality, and you know, are there specific things
Speaker 1: you and your team are doing to either counter that
Speaker 1: idea or you know, expand the audience. Yeah, I'm glad
Speaker 1: you asked, because I think that kind of fits into
Speaker 1: the common misconception bucket as well. We have a community
Speaker 1: of of more than a billion users. They come from
Speaker 1: all backgrounds, all age groups, all walks of life. And
Speaker 1: I think the beauty of TikTok is really how it
Speaker 1: serves as a generational bridge, right. It connects people of
Speaker 1: all ages through fun and joy and creativity. And where
Speaker 1: I think, you know, we've seen a lot of millennials
Speaker 1: and gen z flock away from other platforms because you know,
Speaker 1: they don't want to see mom, dad, grandma or uncle Jimmy,
Speaker 1: you know, commenting on their feed and posting cringe e videos.
Speaker 1: TikTok really feels like a welcoming platform for all ages.
Speaker 1: One of our favorite creator accounts to McFarland's is a
Speaker 1: dad with his two grown sons. And what you know,
Speaker 1: what Dan and Dylan and Colin have really shown is
Speaker 1: how multigenerational TikTok can be. You know, as much as
Speaker 1: we love Charlie and Dixie for for their success is
Speaker 1: individual creators. What I love most is when you can
Speaker 1: see how special and close knit a family they are. Right.
Speaker 1: One of the most successful live streams from any Demelio
Speaker 1: account was Taco Night with with their entire family, and
Speaker 1: it's you know, it's it's parenting that we're seeing, uh,
Speaker 1: you know, really flood the platform. There's an awesome creator,
Speaker 1: dad Life Jason with eleven million followers, and you know,
Speaker 1: it's a lot of heartwarming videos of dad life and
Speaker 1: that's something that really resonates, you know, with me as
Speaker 1: a as a parent. He's foster with three children, and
Speaker 1: I think he's showing kind of the um, you know,
Speaker 1: the the the in depth detail of of what being
Speaker 1: a dad is all about. And I think that's something
Speaker 1: again that really speaks to our diversity, uh, in terms
Speaker 1: of creators and users. We've got teachers on TikTok. You know,
Speaker 1: kem teacher Phil is teaching science. Uh you know, he
Speaker 1: teaches high school ers you know as his day job,
Speaker 1: but he's teaching you know again everybody on our TikTok platform, um,
Speaker 1: you know, how to do experiments and and really um,
Speaker 1: you know, bringing that science to life in a in
Speaker 1: a in a meaningful way. And if that's not enough,
Speaker 1: we've got grandparents as well. We're coming up on one
Speaker 1: of my favorite times of year, the holidays, Thanksgiving and Christmas,
Speaker 1: where you know, uh again, multigenerational families are all you
Speaker 1: know together and they're they're participating in trends and just
Speaker 1: having a heck of a lot of fun. And I
Speaker 1: think that's again what um, you know, we are doing
Speaker 1: to to bring more of that type of content to
Speaker 1: the platform every day and really balance out the experience
Speaker 1: for everyone. Good all right, UM, now you talk to
Speaker 1: that TikTok supporting creators I guess, first of all, what
Speaker 1: is the revenue sharing model with creators and how has
Speaker 1: that changed over time. Yeah, we have a number of
Speaker 1: of monetization solutions for our creators. It kind of falls
Speaker 1: into three buckets. Uh, they're sort of platform the creator,
Speaker 1: there's brand creator, and then there's fan too creator. Um. Today, right,
Speaker 1: there are ways through the Creator Fund for the platform
Speaker 1: to creator uh solution to be delivered. Um. You know
Speaker 1: that's more of a kind of a performance based solution.
Speaker 1: Brand Creators is thriving, alive and well. Our business Solutions team,
Speaker 1: you know, work with with some of the biggest brands
Speaker 1: on the planet, and those brands are are are looking
Speaker 1: to work with our creators, you know, day in and
Speaker 1: day out, and I think we're seeing so much more
Speaker 1: wonderful collaboration that's really paying off that you know, don't
Speaker 1: make ads, make TikTok's mantra and and obviously you know
Speaker 1: driving livelihood and you know, monetization for our creators and
Speaker 1: then you know, things like live are again ways for
Speaker 1: fans to really lean into the creators they love. And um,
Speaker 1: you know, creators are are finding real, really meaningful revenue
Speaker 1: opportunities through those avenues. As well. Uh, now it's TikTok
Speaker 1: is matured here. I mean, I guess you're still sort
Speaker 1: of um young, you're early teens in terms of life
Speaker 1: of the company, maybe even less than that. But um,
Speaker 1: you know, you become this way for creators to be
Speaker 1: to really hit it big and you know, sign with
Speaker 1: music labels. You build a PORTU started out on, got
Speaker 1: notoriety on TikTok and she's now got a record label deal. Um.
Speaker 1: You mentioned the damelios who are doing projects and all
Speaker 1: kinds of the different media. How is that changing the
Speaker 1: complexion of you know, the creator ecosystem on TikTok, creators
Speaker 1: are are growing uh in in fame and notoriety every day. Um,
Speaker 1: you know, the ability to have their careers really catapulted. Um,
Speaker 1: you know from being on TikTok and and gaining you
Speaker 1: know again that notoriety, that that fandom is only growing.
Speaker 1: We've seen you know, incredible Hollywood success Addison Ray starring
Speaker 1: and he's all that. You know again, a movie deal
Speaker 1: is about as big as it gets. And Netflix just
Speaker 1: uh or another movie they did, yeah they did. Um,
Speaker 1: It's it's it's one of those things I think where
Speaker 1: you know, creators can really come onto the TikTok platform
Speaker 1: and and start out, you know, as kind of known
Speaker 1: for one thing, and and over the course of their
Speaker 1: journey again that experimentation really helps to unlock these other avenues,
Speaker 1: these passion points. And that's that's what my team, you
Speaker 1: know and I are really here to do, is to
Speaker 1: help cultivate those passions and you know, make connections and
Speaker 1: and help elevate the creators. You mentioned the Demelios with
Speaker 1: their Hulu deal. I think though, you know, one of
Speaker 1: the most amazing stories is uh Kabi Lama, who you
Speaker 1: know as an Italian creator who's a factory worker, and
Speaker 1: he's now the second most followed person on TikTok, you know,
Speaker 1: global sensation. And that's just a story that I don't
Speaker 1: think happens, you know, anywhere else in in in any
Speaker 1: you know, corner of the world where you know, someone
Speaker 1: like Cobby Um just by simplifying you know, the the uh,
Speaker 1: the overly um complicated can become you know, such a
Speaker 1: unifying force around the world. The Korean vegan quitter job
Speaker 1: you know, as a partner in a law firm to
Speaker 1: become a full time creator. She's gonna be releasing a
Speaker 1: cookbook soon. We just wrapped Fashion Week in New York
Speaker 1: City and Milan and in Paris, seeing creators like Wisdom
Speaker 1: you know, on the runway, and especially knowing where his
Speaker 1: journey began with some of the world's biggest fashion icons.
Speaker 1: Brian Boy, you know, it's it's a true testament to
Speaker 1: the springboard that the platform can offer. You know, agency
Speaker 1: deals are are are as big and as frequent as
Speaker 1: ever before. Taylor Cassidy, Brittany Broski, you know, c a
Speaker 1: a getting in on the act with folks like Julian
Speaker 1: Bass and Battle and Turner and Bowman Martinez read. It's
Speaker 1: really incredible and and I think small businesses as well,
Speaker 1: Todd Like these these businesses like Penoli, Blue Tortilla chip
Speaker 1: Um in Kansas, they saw their sales increase like five
Speaker 1: times after one viral TikTok video. So it's not just
Speaker 1: happening to you know, the traditional kind of entertainment space.
Speaker 1: We're seeing this incredible growth, you know, across the board
Speaker 1: from you know, so many different creator accounts and and uh,
Speaker 1: you know kind of cohort types that are all finding
Speaker 1: different levels and and uh, you know, types of success
Speaker 1: just from from growing on TikTok. Yeah, I mean, I
Speaker 1: guess the best way to um sell TikTok as a
Speaker 1: as an ad platform is just to point to the
Speaker 1: engagement that you guys experienced. Um. By the way, I
Speaker 1: have to correct myself. Netflix actually did a multi picture
Speaker 1: deal with Addison, right, so fans of Addison where you
Speaker 1: can look forward to more of that. But let me
Speaker 1: ask you this, um, and this has been a question,
Speaker 1: you know for other platforms to like YouTube, how do
Speaker 1: you keep you know, these mega successful creators on the platform.
Speaker 1: How do you keep them from you know, going elsewhere.
Speaker 1: What's really incredible about this company are it is the
Speaker 1: interest level that that exists on the product and innovation
Speaker 1: side to really work closely with the creators to make
Speaker 1: the things that will allow for creator's creativity to be unlocked.
Speaker 1: So I think it's it's continuing to innovate and and
Speaker 1: build you know, kind of the platform of the future
Speaker 1: for creators that really echoes the things that they're looking for.
Speaker 1: And that's again those are creative tools. There's monetization solutions
Speaker 1: as well that allow for creators to think about how
Speaker 1: do I build a livelihood on this platform? And you know,
Speaker 1: take uh, you know, those monetization benefits and reinvest that
Speaker 1: back into more content. I think, you know, the work
Speaker 1: that we're doing to elevate uh and and really push
Speaker 1: creators um, you know into other areas or help you
Speaker 1: know them uh in ways that you know, businesses that
Speaker 1: they want to build, our areas that they want to
Speaker 1: push into. These are all ways. I think that again,
Speaker 1: our value proposition continues to pay dividends, um, you know
Speaker 1: for the creator community. And then you know, I think
Speaker 1: the creator community itself like that idea of community bringing
Speaker 1: creators together. One of the you know, the pillars of
Speaker 1: our business is the development and and thinking about you know,
Speaker 1: diverse identity communities. We recently built and stood up our
Speaker 1: black TikTok community, our Latin X TikTok for Latin X
Speaker 1: Creatives initiative. Our partnership with Macro was something that was
Speaker 1: was just launched. These are ways that we can again
Speaker 1: bring creators that sort of identify under the you know,
Speaker 1: the umbrella of of community together to make more content,
Speaker 1: to share stories, and and ultimately to grow as as creators,
Speaker 1: as creatives and as individuals. Um. Now you mentioned um
Speaker 1: black TikTok creators there has been something of a backlash
Speaker 1: from that community. I mean, was this group started for
Speaker 1: you to address, um, some of the concerns from Black TikTokers,
Speaker 1: the Black TikTok community that we we stood up and
Speaker 1: that we started was something that um, you know, was
Speaker 1: was in the works and we were developing, um you've
Speaker 1: been developing for years. I think the fact that you
Speaker 1: know so much has happened culturally, Uh that obviously have
Speaker 1: brought you know a lot of our black creator voices
Speaker 1: to the fore for hunt is you know, it gives
Speaker 1: us an opportunity to really listen and hear some of
Speaker 1: the concerns that um, you know that our Black TikTok
Speaker 1: creators and and really I mean that's that's kind of
Speaker 1: the idea of community in general, is to really be
Speaker 1: able to listen and hear the things that creators want
Speaker 1: and the you know, the things that creators want more of. UM.
Speaker 1: So I would say that you know, what our Black
Speaker 1: TikTok community gives us the ability to do is to
Speaker 1: is to listen and to learn and to hear you know,
Speaker 1: all the things that um, you know, our creators want
Speaker 1: out of a platform like ours, so that we can
Speaker 1: address that. We can you know, work with our product
Speaker 1: teams to build a better product. We can work with
Speaker 1: our marketing teams to you know, do a better job
Speaker 1: of elevating and UH and marketing creators. So yeah, that's
Speaker 1: that's the idea of community and nutshell ry Um. Now,
Speaker 1: you know, like any other Internet creator platform, UM, you know,
Speaker 1: TikTok has issues with misinformation and you know, harassment, things
Speaker 1: like that. I know the company has invested a lot
Speaker 1: in trying to combat this. What are creators asking for?
Speaker 1: And I mean, I guess this is just an ongoing
Speaker 1: part of UH life in the Internet video world, where
Speaker 1: you know, the development of protecting users and their fans
Speaker 1: is never done. It's true. Yeah, I mean safety and
Speaker 1: well being. These are the things that creators are asking
Speaker 1: us for, and these are the things that are you know,
Speaker 1: of utmost important importance to us. The safety and well
Speaker 1: being of our users is our number one top priority. Um.
Speaker 1: You know that's true of of our creators across the board.
Speaker 1: You know, we we look at digital well being resources
Speaker 1: that our safety team have built for the community. UM.
Speaker 1: You know, we we have in app resources that obviously
Speaker 1: are are there for the mental health of all of
Speaker 1: our users, but especially our creators to kind of you know,
Speaker 1: take a time out and um. You know, we talk
Speaker 1: with our creators often about uh, just the hard work
Speaker 1: it takes to to make you know, not on this platform,
Speaker 1: but on any platform, and to continue to tap into
Speaker 1: that creativity. And so we're here to provide you know,
Speaker 1: again tools and resources to unlock creativity, but to do that,
Speaker 1: you know, with a mindfulness toward mental health, uh and
Speaker 1: safety and so um. You know, we have in apt
Speaker 1: tools as well that that address harassment. That whether it's
Speaker 1: in the live environment or you know, in in feed
Speaker 1: we're working towards ensuring that we can identify h those
Speaker 1: behaviors in app that you know may tend to um,
Speaker 1: you know, hurt our our users, hurt our creators, or
Speaker 1: stifle creativity. And again, you know, our our mission is
Speaker 1: to unlock that creativity, uh, inspire that creativity and bring joy. Um.
Speaker 1: And you know, I think the idea that we think
Speaker 1: the New Yorker article years ago said we're the you know,
Speaker 1: the last sunny corner of the Internet, and everything that
Speaker 1: we're doing for creators is intended to keep it that way. Brian,
Speaker 1: you've been with TikTok a little more than two years now.
Speaker 1: You joined in July. Before that, you were at full Screen,
Speaker 1: so you worked in the creator economy business for a
Speaker 1: little bit of time. Um, you know, how was the
Speaker 1: industry itself changed over the years and in your time
Speaker 1: at TikTok. What's changed about TikTok. Yeah, I mean a
Speaker 1: lot has changed. I think the very first thing that
Speaker 1: we point to is, you know the fact that, um,
Speaker 1: the exponential growth has been undeniable. Right just this month,
Speaker 1: you know, as we talked about, we surpassed a billion
Speaker 1: users around the world. I think in the last year plus,
Speaker 1: the pandemic really changed the way that you know, as
Speaker 1: human beings we connect with one another. And we saw
Speaker 1: so many people come to TikTok for joy and connection,
Speaker 1: a bit of levity entertainment during a difficult time. And
Speaker 1: I think that what has really changed in in entertainment
Speaker 1: is you know a little bit of that that disintermediation. Right,
Speaker 1: There's there's so much more fan too entertainment connectivity that
Speaker 1: exists no matter what medium you're talking about. And I
Speaker 1: think that's a really interesting and unique competitive advantage for
Speaker 1: us because you know, on TikTok Uh, the walls are
Speaker 1: broken down a little bit, and and there does feel
Speaker 1: like more interaction, more authenticity, more connection between the entertainment
Speaker 1: you're watching and um you know, and and the creator
Speaker 1: who's creating it. So I think as we continue to
Speaker 1: see those changes in you know, in Hollywood for example,
Speaker 1: take shape, and you know, I think again, you know,
Speaker 1: as as a as a byproduct of the pandemic, you know,
Speaker 1: we saw more entertainment um come, you know, direct to consumer.
Speaker 1: And I think direct to consumer is something that we're
Speaker 1: going to continue to see as well in in entertainment,
Speaker 1: in commerce across the word, you know, where these these
Speaker 1: fantastic creators that we work with and and who tell
Speaker 1: you know, stories on our platform every day are going
Speaker 1: to be able to get even closer to the fans
Speaker 1: that love them. Um right. I'm curious to get your
Speaker 1: thoughts on vine right, which was maybe the original super
Speaker 1: short form video app. Twitter bought them and then you know,
Speaker 1: after a couple of years shut it down. I guess
Speaker 1: they couldn't find a business in that. What's what's different
Speaker 1: about TikTok? Was it just uh, right time, right place?
Speaker 1: Was it you know, a better mass trap? I think
Speaker 1: it's a little bit of everything. Um, you know, the
Speaker 1: creator elevation, peace and and really fostering and nurturing the
Speaker 1: relationships with our creators is something I know that our
Speaker 1: platform you know does differently than than than most that
Speaker 1: community building, Um, you know, certainly monetization is a big
Speaker 1: part of it as well. Um you know, I I
Speaker 1: know enough to be dangerous maybe about you know, kind
Speaker 1: of the rise and fall of Vine, but I know
Speaker 1: that a lot of creators you know, wanted to sort
Speaker 1: of understand what's next, and you know, as they were
Speaker 1: again spending a considerable amount of time, you know, bringing
Speaker 1: content to that platform, you know, understanding how how do
Speaker 1: I make this a longer term sustainable endeavor. And that's
Speaker 1: again I think when we think about you know, those
Speaker 1: three buckets of monetization, the platform to to creator, the
Speaker 1: brand of creator, and the fan to creator, those are
Speaker 1: three things that you know, we're only going to continue
Speaker 1: to build and grow so that you know, creators, small businesses,
Speaker 1: etcetera can really you know, um invest in in building
Speaker 1: a livelihood on our platform. So those two things I
Speaker 1: think just you know, supporting creators being you know, much
Speaker 1: closer to the content creation experience and really helping to
Speaker 1: cultivate and develop you know them along their journey and
Speaker 1: and you know, figuring out where monetization fits along that
Speaker 1: journey and having you know, great solutions that continue to
Speaker 1: evolve and innovativer time. Are I think where you know,
Speaker 1: we are able to really step up and and fill
Speaker 1: that white space. Okay, now I'm going to ask you
Speaker 1: about this weird thing that happened last year. I know
Speaker 1: you can't talk a lot about it, but you know
Speaker 1: Donald Trump wanted to force your parent company by Dance
Speaker 1: too sell TikTok to you know, American owners have that
Speaker 1: that control change hands. Um, that's kind of old history now,
Speaker 1: but you know, how did this effect the folks working
Speaker 1: at TikTok and the creators. I mean there was some
Speaker 1: uncertainty at the time, but you know, I assume you
Speaker 1: guys just we're heads down, business as usual as much
Speaker 1: as you could be. Yeah, I mean, it is old history.
Speaker 1: We're laser focused on delivering the best product experience, the
Speaker 1: best creator experience, and and ultimately you know, the platform
Speaker 1: the world over, and and that remains our focus. It's
Speaker 1: it's easy, you know to get distracted by you know,
Speaker 1: lots of things that happened out in the world, and certainly,
Speaker 1: you know, as I talked a bit before about, you know,
Speaker 1: some of the cultural influences that have really, um, you know,
Speaker 1: helped to build some of the most important pieces of
Speaker 1: our business, like uh, you know, our our sort of
Speaker 1: community architecture. UM. You know, we certainly are not closed
Speaker 1: off to the things that happened around the world. But again,
Speaker 1: our focus is on building the absolute best experience for
Speaker 1: our users and for our creators, and nothing's going to
Speaker 1: deter us from that mission. Kevin Mayer had been hired
Speaker 1: to UH to run tick Talk last year. He left
Speaker 1: after three months. I think, Um, what did you think
Speaker 1: of that? I mean, he was a great executive, came
Speaker 1: from Disney, had a lot of success. I mean, I
Speaker 1: guess that sort of that sort of thing is just
Speaker 1: part of the course. Kevin's a great guy and a
Speaker 1: really mare executive. You know, I had the good fortune
Speaker 1: of of working with him a little bit when I
Speaker 1: was at Hulu and he was at Disney, and you
Speaker 1: know we worked together for a brief time here as well. Um,
Speaker 1: that that is what it is. We again, you know,
Speaker 1: continue to just focus on our mission for our creators
Speaker 1: and our platform and um, you know, are really excited
Speaker 1: for the future. Now, what are the next big strategic
Speaker 1: content initiatives or product initiatives for TikTok. Yeah, Well, I
Speaker 1: can't you know, go too far into specifics. I can
Speaker 1: say that, you know, we're constantly experimenting with new formats
Speaker 1: and solutions that make it seamless for the community, the creators,
Speaker 1: the partners, etcetera to make entertaining videos. Uh. You know,
Speaker 1: we talked a little bit about you know, content going
Speaker 1: a bit longer form um. You know, that's I think
Speaker 1: one great example of of where the platform is headed
Speaker 1: in terms of um, you know, long term content you know,
Speaker 1: bets and and and initiatives and things like that. As
Speaker 1: an entertainment platform, you know, we're going to continue to
Speaker 1: foster that diverse content ecosystem and continue to push from
Speaker 1: you know, more content genres and you know, different types
Speaker 1: of content to be really prevalent on the platform. Our
Speaker 1: Creative Learning Fund that we launched UM about a year
Speaker 1: year and a half ago was really meant to bring
Speaker 1: you know, more educational instructional content to the platform. So
Speaker 1: whether you know, we're working with Discovery, Uh, you know,
Speaker 1: as they cover, um, you know, Elon Musk's rocket launch
Speaker 1: into space, or we're talking about uh, you know, small businesses,
Speaker 1: you know, kind of teaching you how to would work
Speaker 1: or uh, you know, how to how to sort of
Speaker 1: hack excel. These are all areas I think that we're
Speaker 1: going to continue to invest in. Is just bringing that
Speaker 1: that diversity of content, more creators, more voices, more storytelling
Speaker 1: and narrative to the platform so that no matter who
Speaker 1: you are, you know, what walk of life you're from,
Speaker 1: what your interest level is when you fire up the
Speaker 1: TikTok app, there's something for you and that you see
Speaker 1: your interests, your culture, your people reflected back at you. Um. So,
Speaker 1: big picture, Brian, how would you how do you see
Speaker 1: TikTok Um evolving in the bigger picture ecosystem of media
Speaker 1: and entertainment at large. Is this synergistic with you know,
Speaker 1: traditional film, TV, music, or is TikTok you know, becoming
Speaker 1: a major kind of media that people consume independent of
Speaker 1: traditional entertainment. Yeah. I love this question. I think it
Speaker 1: speaks to you know, so much of that entertainment DNA
Speaker 1: that that we've talked about our community and you know,
Speaker 1: their ability to really spark these global trends is unmatched.
Speaker 1: You know, We've become a destination for our community not
Speaker 1: only to to be entertained, but to really express themselves
Speaker 1: in ways that they haven't been able to on on
Speaker 1: other platforms. And because that community is so engaged, you know,
Speaker 1: it's it's like a few seconds of creativity into run
Speaker 1: into these these major cultural moments. Um. You know again,
Speaker 1: I think when you look at Ratatui the musical and
Speaker 1: the fact that you know, this this sort of theater
Speaker 1: nerd community that is so passionate and so creative and
Speaker 1: so just incredibly committed to you know, telling stories and
Speaker 1: and doing so through uh you know, that kind of
Speaker 1: musical theater genre. This guy's the limit in terms of
Speaker 1: new entertainment that can be created that is born of
Speaker 1: our community. So I think, you know, anyways, um, we're
Speaker 1: kind of a talent discovery mechanism, like you know, the
Speaker 1: likes of which has never been seen. I think a
Speaker 1: lot about Lauren Michael's for some odd reason, and you know,
Speaker 1: and and just the SNL kind of talent cultivation machine
Speaker 1: that Lauren has been for so many years decades, And
Speaker 1: I think about you know that that sort of idea
Speaker 1: that comedians and chefs and entertainers and musicians and you know,
Speaker 1: just talented, amazing creative people get their start on this
Speaker 1: platform and go on to become you know, the movie
Speaker 1: stars or the music artists or you know, the Broadway
Speaker 1: stars of tomorrow. So I think there's a ton in
Speaker 1: that kind of crowdsourced community casting and discovery of talent
Speaker 1: that really again sets us apart and puts us in
Speaker 1: a unique space. Um. We talked about Charlie and and
Speaker 1: Addison becoming prominent in in Hollywood with you know, their
Speaker 1: their shows and their films. Um, we talked about fashion
Speaker 1: trend setters again, like the fact that you have creators
Speaker 1: like Wisdom, um, you know, and and Brian Boy that
Speaker 1: are now you know, standing on on runways in Milan
Speaker 1: and in Paris. I think shows you that we are
Speaker 1: a springboard in that conversation. And even I think traditional
Speaker 1: entertainment companies are starting to think a little differently about
Speaker 1: how to program for a platform like ours. You know,
Speaker 1: they're they're gonna have their shows and their films, but
Speaker 1: what's the the ecosystem, what's the this sort of um,
Speaker 1: you know, second screen experience is such a challenging word
Speaker 1: that I don't always love, but it really is like
Speaker 1: that water cooler narrative, that that community centric um, you know,
Speaker 1: way to tell that story, and and building out characters
Speaker 1: more and going into fan theory and just really thinking
Speaker 1: about ways to dimensionalize that entertainment that you're already seeing
Speaker 1: through traditional channels. Is where TikTok again occupies a really
Speaker 1: unique whites space and I think it is the future
Speaker 1: of our platform. You what you mentioned Saturday Night Live
Speaker 1: they have they have a channel on TikTok. It has
Speaker 1: right now three point four million followers. I guess they
Speaker 1: got a little bit to go to get to get
Speaker 1: the one billion m a use that you guys have.
Speaker 1: But you know, the clip the party something, second clip
Speaker 1: of Kim Kardashian's monologue. You know it's got six million views.
Speaker 1: So that's you know, just enhanced reach and you know,
Speaker 1: re forcing their business. I mean that's think I think
Speaker 1: content owners are, to some extent arms dealers. You know,
Speaker 1: they don't care where it goes as long as it
Speaker 1: doesn't disrupt their existing business models. Right, They're not put
Speaker 1: in the full show of s and L on TikTok,
Speaker 1: and I guess you wouldn't support the full show of
Speaker 1: TikTok in terms of the length. But anyway, well, look
Speaker 1: look at the Olympics, I mean the Olympics. I think
Speaker 1: we're another great example of a way that you know,
Speaker 1: this big cultural moment, which obviously has its traditional distribution
Speaker 1: set in in very kind of traditional broadcast channels. It
Speaker 1: you know, TikTok became the place to see what was happening,
Speaker 1: to follow along with you know, the metal count and
Speaker 1: to see these amazing moments of athleticism and you know,
Speaker 1: just like feats of acrobatic and and again the TikTok
Speaker 1: platform was a place where the conversation started. And that's
Speaker 1: I think that you know, the other unique thing about
Speaker 1: TikTok is that there's a conversation that's happening round all
Speaker 1: of that entertainment that you just can't get, you know,
Speaker 1: from kind of the traditional art on a wall, you know,
Speaker 1: kind of more passive experience. Um, we compliment that in
Speaker 1: such a unique way and create that community conversation that goes,
Speaker 1: you know and spreads virally around the world. Yeah, and
Speaker 1: I mean what you mentioned that the conversation happens around
Speaker 1: the content, but that's sort of uh, ancillary to the
Speaker 1: video first visual approach. That's right, It's complimentary for sure.
Speaker 1: Last question Brian for you is, um, what do you
Speaker 1: watch on TikTok? What's what kinds of videos does the
Speaker 1: person say you like? Yeah? I love that, um My
Speaker 1: four you feed is is unique, It's different, I think. Um,
Speaker 1: I am deep into voice actor TikTok. There is a
Speaker 1: creator named Joe Goddet who does the most spot on
Speaker 1: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ryan an Olds. He does like a Marty McFly,
Speaker 1: Michael J. Fox, like nobody's business. I I just love
Speaker 1: that stuff. It just amazes me that that people can
Speaker 1: you know, uh can be that uncanny. Um. You know,
Speaker 1: I have I have two boys who are you know,
Speaker 1: very active in sports and in baseball in particular, and
Speaker 1: so baseball coach TikTok. There's a creator called coach ball
Speaker 1: Game that I absolutely adore and I see a lot
Speaker 1: of that, you know where where it allows for again
Speaker 1: that relativity, you know, seeing what other parents are going
Speaker 1: through on the platform, anything parenting really, anything that will
Speaker 1: help me better relate to my kids, to my wife
Speaker 1: and just to you know, this experience that I think
Speaker 1: all of us as parents are going through to some
Speaker 1: extent no matter how old you know our kids are. UM,
Speaker 1: and then really like anything d I Y I mean
Speaker 1: as much as you know, my team and I were
Speaker 1: really behind this educational instructional content push. It's really like
Speaker 1: a personal passion of mine as well. So anything you
Speaker 1: can teach me, especially I'm a little bit uh d
Speaker 1: I y challenged. Um, I'm embarrassed to say I'm not
Speaker 1: I'm not the best around the house. Anywhere I can
Speaker 1: pick up tips and tricks on how to you know,
Speaker 1: better fix something in my home or you know, learn
Speaker 1: how to make something. Uh. It's just incredible the way
Speaker 1: that you know, that step by step tutorial format both
Speaker 1: in the shorter form you know kind of sub one minute,
Speaker 1: but now in the one to three minute can really
Speaker 1: like you know, get your your frame of mind around
Speaker 1: how to dig in when it's not something that might
Speaker 1: be your your core skill set. So that's what my
Speaker 1: for you feed looks like. How about yours? What does
Speaker 1: yours look like? Yeah? You know, TikTok thinks that I
Speaker 1: like a lot of talking cat videos and Jack Black
Speaker 1: uh comedy bits, which you know happens to be true.
Speaker 1: So there's that, and they're also there's this genre of
Speaker 1: like really cool, rude Goldberg type things that people set
Speaker 1: up to play music. It's just it's really fascinating, and
Speaker 1: there's so much creativity out there, Todd. It's it's unbelievable
Speaker 1: that folks are are you know, presumably just sitting around
Speaker 1: with all of this amazing talent, you know, kind of
Speaker 1: locked up. And the fact that we came along as
Speaker 1: a platform to really give people an outlet to be,
Speaker 1: you know, their their their best and brightest creative selves,
Speaker 1: I think is a really special thing and something that
Speaker 1: you know, our world really needs right now, because again,
Speaker 1: there's just so much creativity out there, and I want
Speaker 1: to be able to, you know, to unlock that and
Speaker 1: share it with everybody. Bryan, Thencent, thank you so much
Speaker 1: for joining us on the podcast today. Really great to
Speaker 1: chat with you. Thank you, Todd. Likewise, and that's this
Speaker 1: episode of Strictly Business Right these podcasts featuring conversations with
Speaker 1: media and entertainment leaders. Tune in next week for a
Speaker 1: and new episodes. Thanks for listening. M m hmmmmmmmmmm hm