The social media giant is rolling out a fresh feature dubbed “Sound Search,” rivaling YouTube Music and Shazam. This nifty tool allows users to track down tunes by vocalizing, humming, or playing a snippet. TikTok has confirmed it’s currently testing this feature in select regions.
Sound Search offers a novel approach to music exploration on the platform. Given the rapid shifts in musical trends on the app, this tool could prove invaluable for users keen to stay in the loop. Once available, accessing it is a breeze: tap the search bar, hit the mic icon, then opt for “Sound Search.”
While Shazam dominates the song identification arena, TikTok and YouTube Music take it up a notch by incorporating voice-based searches. Shazam requires the actual track to be played, but TikTok’s offering goes beyond mere identification, showcasing videos featuring the recognized audio.
However, the feature is still in its infancy and has some quirks to iron out. It excels at pinpointing popular or trending tracks on TikTok, along with their associated videos, but stumbles with more obscure selections.
In trials conducted by a tech news outlet, the tool successfully identified Hilary Duff’s “Fly” but struggled to locate popular videos using the track. TikTok clarified that the tool is primarily designed for song discovery, not TikTok-specific sounds. Interestingly, tests revealed it could also recognize famous TikTok audio clips, such as the “Oh my gosh, she’s bald” sound from “Totally Spies” and the “Nobody’s gonna know” clip.
As this feature continues to evolve, it promises to reshape how users interact with and discover music on the platform, potentially setting a new standard in social media audio search capabilities.
