The Sound of TikTok is an interactive sonic identity, with world-first sonic assets designed for our community to experiment with on the TikTok app—enhancing their content and their platform experience. We crafted a Sonic Logo that reflects the brand’s musical roots, and a DNA Track that incorporates reimagined user-generated content samples, authentically representing the brand while making it identifiable when adapted for any touchpoint. Validated by Kantar, with 80% of users globally recognizing our sonic identity and 84% associating it with positive attributes, the Sound of TikTok is one of the most rapidly recognized brand sounds ever.

We designed TikTok's sonic branding to resonate across all global brand touchpoints, addressing our diverse global audience of over 1 billion users. TikTok’s Music Impact Report revealed that users exhibit a stronger preference for international music compared to the average music listener. This led us to craft a sonic identity that mirrors our audience's eclectic taste in global sounds—from emerging K-pop tracks to Brazil's vibrant baile funk genre.

Our Sonic Logo and longer-form DNA Track are engineered to blend universal appeal with cultural specificity. They feature a distorted 808 sub-bass—a tribute to the hip-hop and bass music genres that thrive on our platform—and an ascending E Major 7th melody, which is emotionally inviting and designed to resonate universally. The UGC-inspired and genre-agnostic approach of our longer-form music ensures our sonic branding is adaptable to various cultural settings.

For example, during Brazil’s 2024 Carnival, we tailored our DNA Track to reflect the local festive spirit in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Salvador. This special edition incorporated traditional Brazilian instruments like the mandolin, tambourine and surdo drum, enhancing the Carnival atmosphere and ensuring deep cultural resonance. Such adaptations underscore our brand’s commitment to engaging with the diverse experiences of our users, making TikTok an integral part of their cultural landscapes.

88% of users say that sound is essential to the TikTok experience, and 72% of our audience associate specific songs with TikTok, but so far our brand identity was visually focused. As our reach expanded across audiences, we recognized an opportunity for a strategic branding shift through the creation of a sonic identity. Our objectives:

Brand recognition & off-platform attribution: With the rise in shortform video platforms, we needed to make sure our users' funny, heartfelt or informative videos were recognized as TikTok original content, even when they are shared to other platforms.

Brand perception: To dispel misconceptions about TikTok being about lip-sync and dance trends, we aimed to clarify and enrich our brand identity, ensuring people know TikTok as a trusted, inclusive space for diverse creativity.

Community engagement: Aligning to our mission to inspire creativity and bring joy, our sonic identity needed to fuel our community’s creative expression.

"The Sound of TikTok" is a sonic identity that embodies the platform’s vibrant creative spirit and diverse community. We leveraged TikTok's unique features to develop an interactive sonic brand, allowing creators to engage with our distinct sounds, fostering new content creation. This ensures our content is instantly recognizable as TikTok, distinguishing our brand on a global scale.

Our sonic identity amplifies the brand message through:

Universality: a sound that transcends genres, ages and regions, enhancing global resonance and inclusivity.

Raw & Unpolished: Incorporating user-generated sounds speaks to TikTok's ethos of authentic creative expression.

Onomatopoeia & Simplicity: The two-beat Sonic Logo reflects TikTok’s iconic name, designed for recognition and impact.

Remix-ability: We created Sonic Sticker assets specifically for community interaction, encouraging creators to explore and integrate our brand sound into their content.

These elements collectively strengthen TikTok’s brand identity, ensuring our message of creative freedom resonates worldwide.

TikTok’s sonic identity is a flexible system of sound. Nodding to TikTok’s name, the Sonic Logo is a two-beat onomatopoeic sound with a melodic twist. It opens with a detuned 808 sub-bass, echoing our hip hop and bass music roots, and concludes with a bright, unresolved E Major 7th arpeggio, sparking listener curiosity. Its timbre was designed to cut through and withstand high levels of exposure.

Our Sonic DNA Track is a long-form track, the brand's musical core. User-generated content (UGC) samples from TikTok’s community have been woven into the track’s distinct melody, hooks and beats. This makes it easily identifiable with TikTok and adaptable for various styles and campaigns.

Derived from the core DNA Track, adaptations offer stylistic flexibility for varying touchpoints and campaigns. For example, we created an adaptation for our Brazil Carnival 2024 campaign that incorporates local instruments such as the mandolin, tambourine and surdo drum to authentically capture the spirit of the celebration.

We also created world-first Sonic Stickers, shortform branded sounds enhancing the user experience, available in various styles and moods under "TikTok Sonic Collective" in app. These allow creators to experiment with TikTok's sonic identity and make it their own.

A diverse composer team crafted our sonic identity in a collaborative composition process, blending their influences to authentically represent our community. Rigorous consumer research, in-situ platform testing and stress testing ensured resonance among creators and consumers.

The rollout was meticulously planned:

Sonic Logo added to endcards of all shareable TikTok UGC videos and brand campaigns. Ensuring reach across all major social platforms and brand communications, further enhancing brand recognition.

Sonic Stickers available in-app pre-launch to boost interaction and community engagement.

Bespoke adaptations for global campaigns coinciding with major cultural events such as Carnival to maximize impact and reach.