What Potential Ban? As It Continues Spilling Out Viral Artist Successes, TikTok Is Testing 60-Minute Videos

TikTok is officially testing an increased 60-minute video-length limit. Photo Credit: Solen Feyissa

What U.S. ban? Having gradually embraced lengthier content amid intensifying competition in the short-form arena, TikTok is now testing 60-minute video uploads. Self-described social media consultant Matt Navarra spotted the corresponding TikTok notice and posted a screenshot to different social platforms. The ByteDance-owned service has for some time been pivoting to long-form media, as short-form rivals like YouTube’s Shorts and Instagram’s Reels continue to pick up steam.

That pivot has included increases to videos’ maximum length; back in January, reports pointed to tests of a 30-minute limit, which presumably met the desired performance benchmarks. And last year, upon unveiling its revamped Creator Fund, TikTok made clear that the involved compensation would reach eligible individuals who uploaded “high-quality, original content longer than one minute.”

Now, TikTok is evidently taking things a step further with the whopping 60-minute cap. According to TechCrunch, the SoundOn developer doesn’t have immediate plans to spearhead a wider rollout for the cap; as it stands, the 60-minute TikTok video length limit is available to certain users in select markets. Out of the gate, responses to the change appear mixed, with a number of observers expressing reservations about watching uploads featuring a runtime towards the limit’s upper end.

Nevertheless, the move underscores TikTok’s ongoing buildout efforts notwithstanding the initially mentioned possibility of a U.S. ban. (The platform is, of course, challenging the relevant law in court.) Regardless of whether the CTS Eventim partner ultimately shuts down in the States, it also has a significant presence in different nations around the globe.

Tying that point (and the broader strategic importance of TikTok’s continued expansion) back to the music space, the app is still fueling viral artist successes as well. And TikTok itself, now publishing a monthly “global music newsletter,” is emphasizing these commercial feats.

To be sure, TikTok’s U.K. office reached out today to recap the results turned in by Tommy Richman’s “Million Dollar Baby,” which debuted in late April. The work, which Richman previewed on TikTok for his north of 10 million followers, is still occupying the uppermost spot on Spotify’s Global Top 50. TikTok specifically noted a 571% week-on-week spike in video creations featuring the song as well as a 271% viewership jump.

This unimpaired ability to help popularize music and acts – an ability that prompted Taylor Swift to rejoin TikTok even before Universal Music did so – will be worth keeping front of mind as longer videos take center stage.

Beyond the discussion as to the app’s per-stream payments for music, artists including but not limited to Soulja Boy have touted their seemingly substantial compensation from TikTok videos and Live broadcasts.