TikTok has become a global sensation in a relatively short space of time. The short form video format is certainly working well, and others want to cash in. YouTube will soon compete with TikTok with their own short-form platform called Shorts.
According to reports, Shorts will exist inside the YouTube mobile app and not as a standalone application.
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The viral lip-syncing videos on TikTok is what’s help it grow to its current level of prominence, mostly because of its creating editing tools that help users create these short clips. There is a catalogue of music on TikTok that can be used to create these videos, but it is still relatively limited. YouTube will take advantage of its massive library of licenced music to assist its Shorts users with a wider range of options. Of course, it will need to include innovative features to differentiate itself from TikTok and other competitors.
Vine could be credited with starting the short-form video content revolution (which ultimately failed after being bought by Twitter), but its creator recently launched a follow-up, called Byte. Facebook tried to compete with Lasso, although it hasn’t garnered any traction yet. Other platforms that already had similar features like Instagram and Snapchat added features that helped TikTok excel but aren’t showing the same take-up rates.
If anyone can take on TikTok it is Google. The YouTube platform has all the content and licencing it would need to build a similar product Shorts would also be able to be monetised extremely quickly through YouTube with its steady flow of advertising revenue, currently sitting at around $15 billion. This will enable creators to make a comparable living to on the likes of TikTok if their following transfers.
We expect the Shorts feature to launch sometime before the end of the year.
