ByteDance merged Musically and TikTok into a single app under the TikTok name on August 2, 2018. This came after ByteDance bought Musically in November 2017 for somewhere between $800 million and $1 billion.

Musical.ly had built a strong user base of more than 200 million users before the merger. Most users were pre-teen and teenage girls who created short lip-syncing and dance videos. The switch to TikTok took the platform to new heights. The app’s monthly active users quickly jumped past 750 million after the merger. TikTok beat Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat in monthly App Store installs by September 2018. Users downloaded the app more than a billion times in 2018 alone.

TikTok kept Musical.ly’s core features like the short video format. The way people used the platform changed by a lot though. The updated platform stuck with the TikTok name and brought in a unified user experience. It also added a new logo and better video creation tools. TikTok became the world’s top destination for short-form video content creation and viewing.

This piece is about how social media disrupts the scene, why the merger happened, and how this change created the global phenomenon we know today.

When did Musically become TikTok?

Musical.ly became TikTok on August 2, 2018. This change marked a pivotal moment in social media history. The merger created a global platform that changed how people watch and make short videos worldwide.

The official merger date: August 2, 2018

Musical.ly users got a surprise when they opened their apps on August 2, 2018. The Musical.ly logo and name had changed to TikTok. This wasn’t just a new brand – it was a complete merger of two major platforms. ByteDance, the Chinese tech company, had bought Musical.ly for about $1 billion in November 2017. The company decided to unite these similar platforms into one global powerhouse.

Musical.ly had just hit 100 million monthly active users when the merger happened. TikTok was already bigger with 500 million monthly active users globally. ByteDance’s decision to combine these platforms created a social media giant with massive global reach.

What users saw when the app changed

Musical.ly users barely noticed the switch to the new platform. Their accounts, videos, and followers moved automatically to TikTok after the update. Creators kept all their followers and content in the new app.

Users noticed these new changes:

  • A new logo and fresh user interface
  • Better video creation tools that combined features from both platforms
  • A customized “For You” feed based on viewing priorities
  • New interactive features like reaction options and green-screen effects

The original Musical.ly features stayed at first. Users could still make 15-second videos, though TikTok added more creative options. Musical.ly’s “crowns” verification system and page categories lasted a while on TikTok before check marks and newer features took over.

How the transition was announced

ByteDance revealed the merger at a special Musical.ly event on August 1, 2018, right before the switch. The company presented this change as natural growth rather than a takeover.

Alex Zhu, Musical.ly’s co-founder and new Senior Vice President of TikTok, said in the announcement: “Musical.ly recently reached a new milestone of 100 million monthly active users and we are excited to enter into a new chapter”. He added, “Combining musical.ly and TikTok is a natural fit given the shared mission of both experiences—to create a community where everyone can be a creator”.

ByteDance showed how the merger would help users reach more people worldwide. They promised that TikTok would take the best parts of both platforms to create an “effortless, compelling, and personalized viewing experience”.

The new TikTok added a helpful feature that told users when they’d spent two hours on the app. This showed ByteDance cared about screen time concerns.

The rise of Musically before the merger

TikTok’s rise to global fame has an interesting backstory. Its predecessor Musical.ly began a remarkable experience that built the foundation for what later became one of the world’s most influential social media platforms. The story of how this struggling startup became a billion-dollar acquisition helps us learn about Musical.ly’s transformation into TikTok.

Founders and early vision

Two friends Alex Zhu and Luyu Yang met while working at eBaoTech and founded Musical.ly Inc. in Shanghai, China in 2014. Zhu earned his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Zhejiang University and worked in tech industry roles in China and the US. His role as a project manager at enterprise software giant SAP earned him the title “education futurist”.

These founders didn’t plan to create a music video platform. They wanted to build an educational social network where people could teach and learn different subjects through short videos lasting 3-5 minutes. This idea helped them secure $250,000 in seed funding from Hong Kong-based venture capital firm ChinaRock Capital Management. The team spent six months building their product.

Pivot from education to entertainment

Their educational platform Cicada didn’t work out. Users found the content boring because it showed static pictures with voice recordings. The team had only 8% of their funding left and faced failure, so Zhu and Yang needed a new direction quickly.

Everything changed during a train ride between San Francisco and Mountain View. Zhu noticed teenagers’ behavior on the train. Half of them listened to music while others took selfies and videos. They added music through their phone speakers. This observation led to an idea that combined social media, photos/videos, and music into one app.

The team left their educational concept behind and built the first version of Musical.ly in 30 days. The app launched in August 2014. American teenagers loved the app even though it was available in both Chinese and American markets. This made the small team focus on the U.S. market.

Explosive growth and user base

Musical.ly made a breakthrough after some design changes in April 2015. The team moved their logo position in videos so it stayed visible when shared on Instagram and Twitter. This small change brought big results. Musical.ly reached #1 in the iOS App Store by July 6, 2015. The app became the most-downloaded free app in more than 30 countries including the US, Canada, UK, Germany, Brazil, the Philippines and Japan.

Musical.ly’s growth continued impressively. By May 2016, it had 70 million downloads and users uploaded more than 10 million new videos daily. The app stayed in the top 40 in the App Store after its initial success. The company raised another $133.5 million in June 2016 and reached a valuation of about $550 million.

The numbers just before ByteDance’s acquisition in 2017 were staggering. Musical.ly had more than 200 million registered users, and half of U.S. teens used the platform actively. This success made Musical.ly a major social media player and set up its eventual merger with TikTok.

Why did Musically become TikTok?

ByteDance transformed Musical.ly into TikTok to match its global business vision. The change became official on August 2, 2018, after ByteDance bought Musical.ly for around $800 million to $1 billion in November 2017. This major move was part of a well-planned strategy with several goals in mind.

ByteDance’s global expansion strategy

ByteDance’s founder Zhang Yiming had a simple vision. “China is home to only one-fifth of Internet users globally. If we don’t expand on a global scale, we are bound to lose to peers eyeing the four-fifths. So, going global is a must”. Musical.ly’s acquisition became ByteDance’s biggest international step, which brought 60 million North American users to its platform.

ByteDance pushed TikTok hard in the global market after buying Musical.ly. The company spent big on marketing:

  • $1 billion just on Facebook advertisements
  • About $3 million each day on social media ads

The bold move worked well. TikTok became the world’s most downloaded short-video app by 2018, with 660 million downloads – four times more than the previous year.

Complementary user bases

The merger made sense geographically. TikTok’s head of global marketing, Stefan Heinrich, explained it simply: “Musical.ly and TikTok currently operate in complementary geographies without much overlap”. Musical.ly was huge among teenagers in the Americas and Europe, while TikTok ruled Asia.

This perfect match created a great chance. Musical.ly’s 100 million monthly active users joined TikTok’s 500 million monthly active users in Asia. The platform gained 30 million new users within three months of the merger.

Reducing overlap and resource duplication

ByteDance wanted to focus on one app instead of running two similar ones in different markets. Heinrich put it clearly: “Supporting one platform will allow us to expand our on-the-ground presence more quickly and easily—building local teams to support each market”.

The company picked the name TikTok over Musical.ly because it “better reflects the breadth of content created on our platform that extends beyond music to comedy, performance art, and more”. The rebrand helped shed Musical.ly’s teen-focused image.

The merger let ByteDance use its recommendation algorithms across the whole platform – maybe its biggest competitive edge. The company excels at creating middleware and uses these technologies in all its apps.

What changed after the merger?

ByteDance merged Musical.ly with TikTok on August 2, 2018. The platform went through several substantial changes that shaped it into the global phenomenon we know today.

New features introduced in TikTok

ByteDance boosted TikTok by combining features from both platforms. The upgraded app let users react directly to their friends’ videos. Users could now use interactive gesture filters and fun-house mirror camera effects. VR-type filters activated with a simple blink. The platform added green-screen-like background effects that expanded creative possibilities beyond Musical.ly’s original features.

The platform added a digital wellbeing feature that alerted users after spending more than two hours on the app. This helped address growing concerns about screen time.

Changes in user interface and experience

The rebranded app came with a fresh logo and user interface. TikTok’s biggest improvement was its dual-feed system. Users could see content from their networks in a community feed along with a personalized “For You” feed that showed content based on viewing priorities. This algorithm-based content discovery reshaped how users found videos.

Shift in content trends and creator culture

Musical.ly started with lip-syncing and dance videos. TikTok expanded to include comedy, education, and challenges. The platform started dedicated creator programs that gave technical support, performance insights, and guidance about growth strategies. This promoted a more reliable creator ecosystem.

What happened to Musical.ly accounts

Users experienced a smooth transition process. TikTok automatically moved all Musical.ly accounts, content, and followers. Users just needed to update their app to access the new platform. The original Musical.ly features like “crowns” (the platform’s verification system) and page categories stayed at first. These were later replaced by check marks and other TikTok-specific features.

TikTok kept Musical.ly’s core features while substantially expanding its capabilities. This became the foundation for its unprecedented global growth.

The impact of the merger on social media

The Musical.ly-TikTok merger revolutionized social media and sent waves through digital culture, content creation, and marketing strategies worldwide.

TikTok’s global growth post-merger

TikTok’s growth since the 2018 merger has been remarkable. The platform now serves 1.6 billion users in 2024, showing a 6.1% jump from last year. This rapid growth has made TikTok the fifth most popular social platform globally, a feat accomplished faster than any competitor. Users have downloaded the app more than five billion times. Nine out of ten users check TikTok daily—a user retention rate that app developers rarely see.

How the algorithm changed content discovery

TikTok’s groundbreaking algorithm powers its success story. The platform’s “For You” page stands apart from other social networks that focus on follower counts. It uses a smart system that suggests content based on how users interact with videos. Small creators can now reach massive audiences overnight through this democratic approach. The system tracks which videos users watch fully, like, share, or comment on, then serves similar content. This strategy delivers higher engagement rates than Instagram, YouTube, or Facebook, and has altered the map of content distribution.

Rise of influencer culture and monetization

A new influencer ecosystem emerged from this merger. TikTok gave creators multiple ways to earn through its Creator Rewards Program, Effect Creator Rewards, branded content deals, LIVE rewards, and TikTok Shop. These opportunities will help propel development of the creator economy to $480 billion by 2027.

This radical alteration created new paths to stardom. Content creators can now build massive followings through algorithm-driven exposure rather than traditional media channels. U.S. advertisers recognized this potential and spent $12.34 billion on TikTok in 2024. In fact, 86% of consumers make purchase decisions based on creator recommendations. Influencers have become trusted guides in our increasingly digital marketplace.

Conclusion

ByteDance merged Musical.ly with TikTok on August 2, 2018, creating a single global platform. This move came after ByteDance bought Musical.ly for about $1 billion in November 2017.

The merger made perfect sense. ByteDance wanted to grow globally, and both apps had their own strong user bases. Musical.ly was huge with teenagers in the Americas and Europe. TikTok ruled the Asian markets. Together, they created a social media giant with global reach.

Users barely noticed the switch. Their Musical.ly accounts, videos, and followers moved smoothly to TikTok. The new platform gave them better creative tools, customized content discovery, and more options beyond lip-syncing and dancing videos.

The merger changed everything about how content reaches people. TikTok’s revolutionary algorithm doesn’t care about follower counts. Small creators can now reach huge audiences overnight. This approach led to much higher engagement rates than other platforms.

Numbers tell the story. TikTok quickly passed Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat in monthly App Store downloads. Today, it has over 1.6 billion users worldwide. Nine out of ten users check TikTok daily – a retention rate that’s rare in the app world.

This small educational app concept has grown into one of social media’s most powerful platforms. The Musical.ly-TikTok merger shows how smart business moves can revolutionize the digital world and open new doors for creators everywhere.

TikTok keeps growing fast. The platform will shape digital culture, content creation, and marketing strategies as it adds new features in the coming years.

FAQs

Q1. When exactly did Musical.ly transform into TikTok?

Musical.ly officially became TikTok on August 2, 2018, following ByteDance’s acquisition of Musical.ly in November 2017.

Q2. Why did ByteDance decide to merge Musical.ly with TikTok?

ByteDance merged the platforms to expand globally, combine complementary user bases, and streamline resources. The merger created a unified app with broader appeal and enhanced features.

Q3. What happened to existing Musical.ly accounts after the merger?

All Musical.ly accounts, content, and followers were automatically migrated to the new TikTok platform. Users simply needed to update their app to access their transferred profiles.

Q4. How did the content focus change after Musical.ly became TikTok?

While Musical.ly primarily featured lip-syncing and dance videos, TikTok expanded to include a wider variety of content such as comedy, education, and challenges, appealing to a broader audience.

Q5. What impact did the merger have on TikTok’s growth?

The merger catapulted TikTok’s growth, leading to over 1.6 billion users by 2024. It became the fifth most popular social media platform globally and revolutionized content discovery with its unique algorithm.