TikTok is a popular short-form video sharing app that allows users to create and share 15 to 60 second videos. It was launched in 2016 by the Chinese company ByteDance and quickly gained popularity worldwide. As of 2023, TikTok has over 1 billion monthly active users globally, with over 140 million monthly active users in the United States alone (Source).
A key part of TikTok’s success has been its algorithm that quickly learns users’ interests and preferences, serving them highly tailored and engaging video content. This creates an addictive, hard-to-stop scrolling experience that keeps users coming back. TikTok has also become a launchpad for viral internet challenges, memes, and popular creators. All of these factors have contributed to TikTok becoming one of the fastest growing and most popular social media platforms in the world today.
The TikTok Default Sound
The recognizable “TikTok sound” refers to the short branded audio clip that plays before videos on the platform. This iconic jingling sound opens every TikTok video, becoming closely associated with the app and its content. The clip features a xylophone playing a short four-note melody, backed by a snare drum. The notes ascend in an upbeat, catchy pattern that grabs attention within the first second of a video. This branded sound bite provides a consistent auditory introduction on the platform, a “sonic logo” unique to TikTok.
Where the Sound Came From
The sound that has become ubiquitous on TikTok originated from the music track “Gummy beating heart” by composer Dan Heath. The track was released in 2017 as production music, intended for use in films, commercials, and other media projects.
As described on the production music website, “Gummy beating heart” features pizzicato strings and throbbing synth pads to create a tense, unsettling atmosphere. It’s an intriguing, catchy instrumental that grabs listeners’ attention.
TikTok likely licensed this production track directly from the music publisher. They then set it as their default sound for new users as TikTok was rapidly growing in popularity in 2018. Since then, the track has been used in over 10 million TikTok videos.
Why This Track Was Chosen
The TikTok default sound is an upbeat, energetic track that immediately grabs the listener’s attention. The driving beat and catchy melody create a sense of anticipation and excitement, making it the perfect accompaniment for short, eye-catching videos. TikTok likely selected this particular track because of its ability to energize users and add a lively backing to video clips.
The song has an infectious, danceable groove with a pulsing synth rhythm that encourages movement. These musical qualities give it broad appeal and make it easy for users to dance or lip-sync along with their videos. The track’s high energy signifies fun and creativity, reflecting the spirit of TikTok. Its catchiness provides an instant boost of vibrancy to liven up video content.
Overall, the joyful, spirited nature of the TikTok default sound makes it a motivational and engaging choice to enhance the app experience. The upbeat track quickly grabs attention while setting the tone for amusing, entertaining video content that users can’t help but enjoy.
Popularity of the Sound
The default TikTok sound quickly became extremely popular and widely used on the platform. According to Statista, it was the most played sound on TikTok worldwide in the first half of 2022, racking up over 38 billion plays.[1] The addictive, catchy beat lent itself well to TikTok’s short-form videos, making it a perfect accompaniment for trends and challenges. TikTok itself has highlighted the track’s viral success, listing it as a top trending sound creatives should use for promotions and ads.[2] The simple, repetitive sound bite was brief enough to loop continuously behind videos without getting irritating. This frequent repetition only increased its recognizability, cementing it as *the* quintessential TikTok sound.
Use in TikTok Videos
The TikTok default sound became extremely popular for use in dance and comedy videos on the platform. The energetic beat gave videos a lively momentum that paired well with the 15 second limit. It provided continuity between quick video clips, tying together transitions and creating a cohesive flow in longer videos. Dancers utilized the uptempo track to emphasize high-energy choreography in their performances. The catchy loop added excitement and rhythm to dance trends and challenge videos. Overall, the default sound’s energizing qualities made it the perfect musical backdrop for the short, entertaining videos TikTok is known for.
In addition to its energy, the simplicity of the default sound allowed it to combine seamlessly with other audio clips. The tack could fade into the background behind dialogue or other prominent sounds. This layering capability enabled greater creativity in stitching together videos. The neutral quality of the beat complimented most audio pairs without clashing. As a result, the default TikTok sound found its way into all sorts of innovative and humorous videos.
According to Iconosquare, adding an engaging sound can increase views on a TikTok video. The infectious default track’s high energy and utility for combining audio helped make videos more compelling. So it follows that the default sound played a role in the viral popularity of many early TikTok videos.
Spread to Other Platforms
The popularity of the TikTok default sound has led it to spread beyond just TikTok to other social media platforms. As TikTok videos using the sound went viral, the sound itself became iconic and widely recognizable. Users of platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat began using the sound in their own videos to tap into its familiarity.
Apps like Snaptik made it easy for people to extract just the audio track from TikTok videos to use elsewhere. This enabled seamless migration of the sound from TikTok over to other apps. The sound was especially popular for things like Instagram Reels, where creators wanted that recognizable TikTok vibe in their short video content.
The default TikTok sound permeating other social platforms demonstrates its cultural grip and resonance. The sound has become an audio callback emblematic of the short-form video style popularized by TikTok. Its spread cemented its status as one of the most ubiquitous viral sounds in recent internet history.
Cultural Significance
The TikTok default sound has had a significant cultural impact, helping drive TikTok’s rapid growth and becoming ingrained in internet culture. According to a TikTok newsroom article, the familiar tune helped make TikTok feel welcoming and easy for new users. Its catchiness and memetic nature led to it spreading widely across the platform in dances, jokes, trends and more.
As TikTok took off in popularity, the sound became symbolic of the app and its culture. It has been referenced in YouTube videos analyzing TikTok trends and memes. The sound is now strongly associated with TikTok and internet culture in the late 2010s and early 2020s. It has become part of the cultural zeitgeist, with the average internet user likely recognizing the tune as the quintessential TikTok sound.
Backlash and Criticism
While the default TikTok sound has achieved widespread popularity, its repetitive nature has also garnered some backlash. Many TikTok users have expressed annoyance at hearing the “Love you so” clip in video after video, finding it grating and overused (1). There are numerous comments on Reddit complaining about the track, with some begging for a way to block or mute it (2). Even the musician behind the song, Muni Long, has acknowledged fan frustration, joking that people must be sick of her voice at this point (3).
Some have accused TikTok of intentionally promoting the sound to an excessive degree in order to make it go viral (4). However, the app’s algorithmically generated recommendations are likely the main driver of the sound’s ubiquity. While divisive, the “Love you so” song represents TikTok’s ability to transform an obscure track into a cultural phenomenon through its viral sounds feature. The backlash also demonstrates the difficulty of escaping sounds once they reach a certain popularity threshold on the platform.
Conclusion
The mysterious sound heard across TikTok videos has become an instantly recognizable audio cue. While its origins were unclear at first, it has since been identified as a beat created by music producer Antoine Hertz. Though simple, the infectious track was hand-picked by TikTok as its default notification sound and has been used widely on the platform ever since.
The ubiquity of the “TikTok sound” demonstrates the power of viral audio in the age of social media. A short, catchy beat can quickly become a sensation when shared across millions of videos. Even without lyrics, this instrumental track has taken on a cultural meaning and status. For many TikTok users, hearing those familiar notes immediately evokes a connection to the platform’s content and trends. Though some critics have called it annoying, the sound has cemented its place as a quintessential piece of the TikTok landscape. Its significance now extends far beyond just a stock notification chime, as a recognizable brand asset for one of the most popular apps in the world.
