TikTok’s Bryan Thoensen on Building the App’s Entertainment Future

Last month, the company said that it had more than one billion monthly active users, which makes it one of the fastest growing online services in history. Now, TikTok has been challenging the likes of incumbents on YouTube and Instagram for viewing time as this highly personalized app that brings together a stream of dances, memes, comedy bits, all kinds of content really and of course lip sync videos. Brian, thank you for joining us on Strictly Business Today. Tom,

thank you so much for having me. It's really great to be here. So let's start out. Can you describe what you do at TikTok, Well, Todd, I think I have the best job in the world. We get to help creators on TikTok really unlock their creative potential and and in a lot of cases help make their dreams a reality. And that's a pretty awesome thing for all of us. Now, we define a creator as any account

who publishes content on the platform. We have a direct one to one relationship with thousands of those creators, from some of the most followed household names like Addison Ray and Bella Porch to creators just starting their TikTok journey literally as we record this podcast. We also look after celebrities like Will Smith and Martha Stewart and athletes like Jimmy Butler, DeAndre Hopkins, and Gabby Douglas. But we we

don't stop with just those individual personalities. Were also here to support kind of a more corporate publisher community where we specialize in sports accounts like the NFL and ESPN, um brands and fashion and beauty like Conde Nast, lifestyle publishers like BuzzFeed, and all the big entertainment studios, networks and streamers like like MTV, Netflix, And we even have a group that helps nonprofits like the Aquarium of the Pacific and It Gets Better Project grow on TikTok Um.

So in addition to all that sort of one on one growth strategy and audience development support. We're leading things like creator marketing, creator monetization, creator education, and community development. All right, well that's uh, that's a lot to keep you busy. I guess, um, tell me what is it about TikTok that UM has really led to its rapid rise? Like this, what's the secret sauce? Yeah, the secret sauce is really about community and about entertainment value and entertainment quality.

When we think about UM, the perfect blend of serendipity and discover ability, that that serendipitous I didn't even know I wanted, that mixed with the customized content in your four you feed, that content that feels so uniquely for you. That's kind of what really sets this platform apart. The incredible opportunity to discover new content, uh, and for others to discover your videos. Right my my four you feed is different than yours, and I think no two feeds

are the same. And that's really what makes the platform special. So it's this artificial intelligence technology, this algorithm that knows what I want before I know that I wanted. In a sense, I think so again, it's it's the blend of of that perfect sort of for you quotient that takes everything that again you think you uh you want to see and everything you know you want and and blends it into that perfect user experience. Now, I describe TikTok as a social video app, but the company is

U positioning self is more of an entertainment destinations that right. Yeah, that's what's so unique about TikTok is that is that we're not a social network. We are an entertainment platform where cultural trends really start. You know, when you think about the trends that have begun in food, right the fed Aposta trend or Emily Morico's salmon bull trend, or that the TikTok made Me Buy It phenomenon, or you know rats at Tui the musical where the community really

galvanized the creation of something major in entertainment. It's again, it's that four you feed and that discovery that's able to really present the most entertaining and diverse content that you know, you might not have other otherwise experienced or seen. Uh, And that's something that a social graph, you know, isn't going to serve you. Up Um, that that one billion users around the world that you talked to out and and the fact that no two for you feeds are

the same. Uh, that's really the kind of that entertainment powerhouse that allows you to kind of experiment and find your voice and really deliver a great entertainment, you know, video by video. And I know that squid game means have been trending on TikTok of late. Uh They're they're pretty weird and hilarious at the same time. Um, talk to me about, you know, the case. How do you make the case to partners for how to best use the TikTok platform, whether that's for monetization or you know,

promoting their own brand. Well, the very first thing that we start with, Todd is is to experiment and to find your voice and to be authentic. Um. You know, the creator journey is is a long one. It can be a long one, and it's it's obviously different at every single stage along the way. And so in the beginning, again, it's really just about coming to TikTok and having fun and unlocking as much creativity as possible, finding that voice. And then along the way, as creators, you know, tend

to get a little bit bigger. Uh, you know, they've found their voice and they started to really build that audience. Then all of those additional layers we work with creators to really identify how to build a livelihood on the platform. You know, so many um small businesses that that really began you know, sort of creator lead have bubbled up, and so that's something that we think about a little further down the line, but it's it's full life cycle

consultation as we work with these creators. Now, isn't a big part of the appeal for TikTok is that it's a lower barrier to entry maybe than some other platforms in terms of creating content. You know, it's quick, it's easy. There are these tools that you can use to make your your videos look great. Um, you know, to what extent is TikTok appealing because of the format and the creator tools versus the kind of discovery mechanisms we want

to make it easy. Yeah, you nailed it. I think that when we think about all of the different UH product and platform innovations, everything is in service of our creators and our users. And so when creators are coming to TikTok and we want to make it as as low lift as possible. We want to be able to

unlock that that creativity and that expression. And so whether it's um, you know, utilizing music to tell a story, or it's it's working with these creators to find you know, kind of an innovative format that um, if you were to look over a creator's shoulder and the sound we're completely off, you know, could that content, could that story

be as easily translatable? These are I think the kinds of of tools and tips and tricks that we um really espousing all of our creators as we're talking with them about, you know, how to to to find their voice on the platform. Now, TikTok started with really short form videos and then went up to sixty seconds. Now you recently launched longer maximum video times up to three minutes,

and you're testing up to five minutes. What's the reason for that, bigger candles, Yeah, we launched longer videos so that creators could have an opportunity to create even richer storytelling and entertainment on the platform. When you think about all the different ways that the community has really redefined content,

you know, creativity, expression, and entertainment in under sixty seconds. Uh, it's it's a pretty exciting thing to see how people continue to really entertain and inspire with a few more seconds of narrative in a world of creative possibilities. You know, cooking has been this huge breakout category for us as creators can go much more in depth with recipes and

tutorials and things like that. And when you go back and sort of look at the growth of the cooking category in early two thousand twenty, um, creators like Flaky Salt and Cooking with Sharene and Eaton kind of set that blueprint for what a eight short video recipe video

could look like. And and I think, you know, it's been harder for chefs and cooking enthusiasts to really condense those complex recipes into less than sixty Now they're able to really extend, you know, that narrative to include more detail, and they're finding massive success. And we're seeing it beyond

cooking as well. Uh, these tutorials and story times. There's a wonderful creator named Mikhaela Nogara who does make up reviews and tutorials and so again it's just giving a little bit more breathing room to creator's ability to tell stories. You know, Frank Michael Smith is another one that uh

does sports recaps and commentary. And I think when even when you allow for some of the bigger, more established media entities, you know, when we're talking about clips from Comedy Central or top plays from the NBA, more more time to kind of let those stories unfold, really is is landing with our our user base, and and I think is really allowing the creators to think about more

experimentation and are telling as well. Okay, so the longer video segments that you're allowing now, I mean that does potentially put you more in competition with YouTube, um where content that might have only been shared on that kind of a platform is now committed TikTok. What again, is the difference is the way you explain it to content partners and creators of what TikTok is good for versus

you know, anything else that's out there. Yeah. Look, I think at the end of the day, we we think about you know, competition as as more of that kind of rising tide lifts all the boats adage. You know, there are platforms out there who are doing incredible things in their space. And and again, what we're looking to

do is really be an entertainment platform. That's what differentiates us UM and we know that, you know, creators and partners are are looking to be ubiquitous, but we're here to create the best content ecosystem to really push those innovative adic features forward and continue to support our users

in our community. Now, what's you're feeling about content created on another platform that's supposed to TikTok or the other way around TikTok videos that people share on I don't know, YouTube shorts or Instagram reels, is that is that okay with you guys. We're seeing a lot of that that

two ways sharing that's happening. I mean, we have a number of sharing features that allow for creators to make content on our platform and you know, use the ubiquity I was talking about before to really um you know, kind of amplify their content. And that's something that you know, we absolutely uh you know, talk to our creators about a lot and and that we uh stand behind. We want to make sure that you know, as many people

see our creators content as possible. And you know, the the awesome thing about content that originates on TikTok is that it has that TikTok branding that watermark. So I think that's where, you know, we're really starting to see not only our creators content, but also the brand proliferated out,

you know, and as many places as possible. Now, Brian, I wanted to ask you, you know, what are some common misconceptions that you hear from creators or you know, industry partners about TikTok, what it is and what it can do. Yeah, that's a great question, Todd. I think you know, we talked about this a little bit before. You know that that TikTok is a social network. Um. You know, we are in a social platform. Um, and you talked as well about you know, kind of lip

sync and dance. We really are an entertainment platform. You know, we're a place where culture starts. Uh. We're being connected across different cultures and communities. You know, when you look at at where musicals and Broadway have really found a home on TikTok, right, the rat tattoo and musical, the grocery store musical and and all these incredible trends and

hashtags hashtag Broadway and hashtag musical and theater. Kid, We're talking you know, billions of views in app um, so that's I think a really powerful way to you know, punctuate the fact that entertainments arts here, culture starts here. We're seeing partners that embrace the platform and really share you know, their brands and their messaging and entertaining ways. Benny the Bull, that's the Chicago Bulls mascot has become you know, as big as some of the teams and

even the leagues on the platform. The lions Gate Netflix are bringing content in sort of the traditional capacity to the TikTok platform almost to create that that sort of water cooler effect, and so it's redefining traditional entertainment in

a lot of ways. The Aquarium of the Pacific, I mean, who doesn't love acute hotter and being able to you know again really take watching animals and and and sort of learning about um, you know, water life and and and creatures you know, beneath all that stuff, I think really creates an entirely new entertainment quotient that you can only find here. Um, that diverse, you know, ecosystem of

content has evolved even beyond that fashion food. You know, there's book talk and clean talk and feda pasta and to talk maybe by it and again, I think that's that's the power of of our ecosystem in our community. Um, that goes well beyond a social network. My kids, by the way, they're teenagers and they tell me about I think it's dark talk, weird talk. There's there are these sub genres of uh content that that you can find if you if you're interested in in sort of strange

animation things like that. UM, So we can accompass, encompass just about everything. UM. You know on this point though, Brian, there's this idea that TikTok is mainly used by teenagers. It's the reality, and you know, are there specific things you and your team are doing to either counter that idea or you know, expand the audience. Yeah, I'm glad you asked, because I think that kind of fits into the common misconception bucket as well. We have a community

of of more than a billion users. They come from all backgrounds, all age groups, all walks of life. And I think the beauty of TikTok is really how it serves as a generational bridge, right. It connects people of all ages through fun and joy and creativity. And where I think, you know, we've seen a lot of millennials and gen z flock away from other platforms because you know, they don't want to see mom, dad, grandma or uncle Jimmy, you know, commenting on their feed and posting cringe e videos.

TikTok really feels like a welcoming platform for all ages. One of our favorite creator accounts to McFarland's is a dad with his two grown sons. And what you know, what Dan and Dylan and Colin have really shown is how multigenerational TikTok can be. You know, as much as we love Charlie and Dixie for for their success is individual creators. What I love most is when you can see how special and close knit a family they are. Right.

One of the most successful live streams from any Demelio account was Taco Night with with their entire family, and it's you know, it's it's parenting that we're seeing, uh, you know, really flood the platform. There's an awesome creator, dad Life Jason with eleven million followers, and you know, it's a lot of heartwarming videos of dad life and that's something that really resonates, you know, with me as

a as a parent. He's foster with three children, and I think he's showing kind of the um, you know, the the the in depth detail of of what being a dad is all about. And I think that's something again that really speaks to our diversity, uh, in terms of creators and users. We've got teachers on TikTok. You know,

kem teacher Phil is teaching science. Uh you know, he teaches high school ers you know as his day job, but he's teaching you know again everybody on our TikTok platform, um, you know, how to do experiments and and really um, you know, bringing that science to life in a in a in a meaningful way. And if that's not enough,

we've got grandparents as well. We're coming up on one of my favorite times of year, the holidays, Thanksgiving and Christmas, where you know, uh again, multigenerational families are all you know together and they're they're participating in trends and just having a heck of a lot of fun. And I think that's again what um, you know, we are doing to to bring more of that type of content to the platform every day and really balance out the experience

for everyone. Good all right, UM, now you talk to that TikTok supporting creators I guess, first of all, what is the revenue sharing model with creators and how has that changed over time. Yeah, we have a number of of monetization solutions for our creators. It kind of falls into three buckets. Uh, they're sort of platform the creator, there's brand creator, and then there's fan too creator. Um. Today, right, there are ways through the Creator Fund for the platform

to creator uh solution to be delivered. Um. You know that's more of a kind of a performance based solution.

Brand Creators is thriving, alive and well. Our business Solutions team, you know, work with with some of the biggest brands on the planet, and those brands are are are looking to work with our creators, you know, day in and day out, and I think we're seeing so much more wonderful collaboration that's really paying off that you know, don't make ads, make TikTok's mantra and and obviously you know driving livelihood and you know, monetization for our creators and

then you know, things like live are again ways for fans to really lean into the creators they love. And um, you know, creators are are finding real, really meaningful revenue opportunities through those avenues. As well. Uh, now it's TikTok is matured here. I mean, I guess you're still sort of um young, you're early teens in terms of life of the company, maybe even less than that. But um, you know, you become this way for creators to be to really hit it big and you know, sign with

music labels. You build a PORTU started out on, got notoriety on TikTok and she's now got a record label deal. Um. You mentioned the damelios who are doing projects and all kinds of the different media. How is that changing the complexion of you know, the creator ecosystem on TikTok, creators are are growing uh in in fame and notoriety every day. Um,

you know, the ability to have their careers really catapulted. Um, you know from being on TikTok and and gaining you know again that notoriety, that that fandom is only growing. We've seen you know, incredible Hollywood success Addison Ray starring and he's all that. You know again, a movie deal is about as big as it gets. And Netflix just

uh or another movie they did, yeah they did. Um, It's it's it's one of those things I think where you know, creators can really come onto the TikTok platform and and start out, you know, as kind of known for one thing, and and over the course of their journey again that experimentation really helps to unlock these other avenues, these passion points. And that's that's what my team, you know and I are really here to do, is to help cultivate those passions and you know, make connections and

and help elevate the creators. You mentioned the Demelios with their Hulu deal. I think though, you know, one of the most amazing stories is uh Kabi Lama, who you know as an Italian creator who's a factory worker, and he's now the second most followed person on TikTok, you know,

global sensation. And that's just a story that I don't think happens, you know, anywhere else in in in any you know, corner of the world where you know, someone like Cobby Um just by simplifying you know, the the uh, the overly um complicated can become you know, such a unifying force around the world. The Korean vegan quitter job you know, as a partner in a law firm to become a full time creator. She's gonna be releasing a

cookbook soon. We just wrapped Fashion Week in New York City and Milan and in Paris, seeing creators like Wisdom you know, on the runway, and especially knowing where his journey began with some of the world's biggest fashion icons. Brian Boy, you know, it's it's a true testament to the springboard that the platform can offer. You know, agency deals are are are as big and as frequent as ever before. Taylor Cassidy, Brittany Broski, you know, c a a getting in on the act with folks like Julian

Bass and Battle and Turner and Bowman Martinez read. It's really incredible and and I think small businesses as well, Todd Like these these businesses like Penoli, Blue Tortilla chip Um in Kansas, they saw their sales increase like five times after one viral TikTok video. So it's not just happening to you know, the traditional kind of entertainment space.

We're seeing this incredible growth, you know, across the board from you know, so many different creator accounts and and uh, you know kind of cohort types that are all finding different levels and and uh, you know, types of success just from from growing on TikTok. Yeah, I mean, I guess the best way to um sell TikTok as a as an ad platform is just to point to the engagement that you guys experienced. Um. By the way, I

have to correct myself. Netflix actually did a multi picture deal with Addison, right, so fans of Addison where you can look forward to more of that. But let me ask you this, um, and this has been a question, you know for other platforms to like YouTube, how do you keep you know, these mega successful creators on the platform. How do you keep them from you know, going elsewhere.

What's really incredible about this company are it is the interest level that that exists on the product and innovation side to really work closely with the creators to make the things that will allow for creator's creativity to be unlocked. So I think it's it's continuing to innovate and and build you know, kind of the platform of the future for creators that really echoes the things that they're looking for.

And that's again those are creative tools. There's monetization solutions as well that allow for creators to think about how do I build a livelihood on this platform? And you know, take uh, you know, those monetization benefits and reinvest that back into more content. I think, you know, the work that we're doing to elevate uh and and really push creators um, you know into other areas or help you know them uh in ways that you know, businesses that they want to build, our areas that they want to

push into. These are all ways. I think that again, our value proposition continues to pay dividends, um, you know for the creator community. And then you know, I think the creator community itself like that idea of community bringing creators together. One of the you know, the pillars of our business is the development and and thinking about you know, diverse identity communities. We recently built and stood up our black TikTok community, our Latin X TikTok for Latin X

Creatives initiative. Our partnership with Macro was something that was was just launched. These are ways that we can again bring creators that sort of identify under the you know, the umbrella of of community together to make more content, to share stories, and and ultimately to grow as as creators, as creatives and as individuals. Um. Now you mentioned um black TikTok creators there has been something of a backlash

from that community. I mean, was this group started for you to address, um, some of the concerns from Black TikTokers, the Black TikTok community that we we stood up and that we started was something that um, you know, was was in the works and we were developing, um you've

been developing for years. I think the fact that you know so much has happened culturally, Uh that obviously have brought you know a lot of our black creator voices to the fore for hunt is you know, it gives us an opportunity to really listen and hear some of the concerns that um, you know that our Black TikTok creators and and really I mean that's that's kind of the idea of community in general, is to really be able to listen and hear the things that creators want

and the you know, the things that creators want more of. UM. So I would say that you know, what our Black TikTok community gives us the ability to do is to is to listen and to learn and to hear you know, all the things that um, you know, our creators want out of a platform like ours, so that we can address that. We can you know, work with our product teams to build a better product. We can work with our marketing teams to you know, do a better job

of elevating and UH and marketing creators. So yeah, that's that's the idea of community and nutshell ry Um. Now, you know, like any other Internet creator platform, UM, you know, TikTok has issues with misinformation and you know, harassment, things like that. I know the company has invested a lot in trying to combat this. What are creators asking for?

And I mean, I guess this is just an ongoing part of UH life in the Internet video world, where you know, the development of protecting users and their fans is never done. It's true. Yeah, I mean safety and well being. These are the things that creators are asking us for, and these are the things that are you know, of utmost important importance to us. The safety and well being of our users is our number one top priority. Um. You know that's true of of our creators across the board.

You know, we we look at digital well being resources that our safety team have built for the community. UM. You know, we we have in app resources that obviously are are there for the mental health of all of our users, but especially our creators to kind of you know, take a time out and um. You know, we talk with our creators often about uh, just the hard work it takes to to make you know, not on this platform, but on any platform, and to continue to tap into

that creativity. And so we're here to provide you know, again tools and resources to unlock creativity, but to do that, you know, with a mindfulness toward mental health, uh and safety and so um. You know, we have in apt tools as well that that address harassment. That whether it's in the live environment or you know, in in feed we're working towards ensuring that we can identify h those behaviors in app that you know may tend to um, you know, hurt our our users, hurt our creators, or

stifle creativity. And again, you know, our our mission is to unlock that creativity, uh, inspire that creativity and bring joy. Um. And you know, I think the idea that we think the New Yorker article years ago said we're the you know, the last sunny corner of the Internet, and everything that we're doing for creators is intended to keep it that way. Brian, you've been with TikTok a little more than two years now.

You joined in July. Before that, you were at full Screen, so you worked in the creator economy business for a little bit of time. Um, you know, how was the industry itself changed over the years and in your time at TikTok. What's changed about TikTok. Yeah, I mean a lot has changed. I think the very first thing that we point to is, you know the fact that, um, the exponential growth has been undeniable. Right just this month, you know, as we talked about, we surpassed a billion

users around the world. I think in the last year plus, the pandemic really changed the way that you know, as human beings we connect with one another. And we saw so many people come to TikTok for joy and connection, a bit of levity entertainment during a difficult time. And I think that what has really changed in in entertainment is you know a little bit of that that disintermediation. Right, There's there's so much more fan too entertainment connectivity that

exists no matter what medium you're talking about. And I think that's a really interesting and unique competitive advantage for us because you know, on TikTok Uh, the walls are broken down a little bit, and and there does feel like more interaction, more authenticity, more connection between the entertainment you're watching and um you know, and and the creator

who's creating it. So I think as we continue to see those changes in you know, in Hollywood for example, take shape, and you know, I think again, you know, as as a as a byproduct of the pandemic, you know, we saw more entertainment um come, you know, direct to consumer.

And I think direct to consumer is something that we're going to continue to see as well in in entertainment, in commerce across the word, you know, where these these fantastic creators that we work with and and who tell you know, stories on our platform every day are going to be able to get even closer to the fans that love them. Um right. I'm curious to get your thoughts on vine right, which was maybe the original super short form video app. Twitter bought them and then you know,

after a couple of years shut it down. I guess they couldn't find a business in that. What's what's different about TikTok? Was it just uh, right time, right place? Was it you know, a better mass trap? I think

it's a little bit of everything. Um, you know, the creator elevation, peace and and really fostering and nurturing the relationships with our creators is something I know that our platform you know does differently than than than most that community building, Um, you know, certainly monetization is a big

part of it as well. Um you know, I I know enough to be dangerous maybe about you know, kind of the rise and fall of Vine, but I know that a lot of creators you know, wanted to sort of understand what's next, and you know, as they were again spending a considerable amount of time, you know, bringing content to that platform, you know, understanding how how do

I make this a longer term sustainable endeavor. And that's again I think when we think about you know, those three buckets of monetization, the platform to to creator, the brand of creator, and the fan to creator, those are three things that you know, we're only going to continue to build and grow so that you know, creators, small businesses, etcetera can really you know, um invest in in building

a livelihood on our platform. So those two things I think just you know, supporting creators being you know, much closer to the content creation experience and really helping to cultivate and develop you know them along their journey and and you know, figuring out where monetization fits along that journey and having you know, great solutions that continue to evolve and innovativer time. Are I think where you know, we are able to really step up and and fill

that white space. Okay, now I'm going to ask you about this weird thing that happened last year. I know you can't talk a lot about it, but you know Donald Trump wanted to force your parent company by Dance too sell TikTok to you know, American owners have that that control change hands. Um, that's kind of old history now, but you know, how did this effect the folks working

at TikTok and the creators. I mean there was some uncertainty at the time, but you know, I assume you guys just we're heads down, business as usual as much as you could be. Yeah, I mean, it is old history. We're laser focused on delivering the best product experience, the best creator experience, and and ultimately you know, the platform

the world over, and and that remains our focus. It's it's easy, you know to get distracted by you know, lots of things that happened out in the world, and certainly, you know, as I talked a bit before about, you know, some of the cultural influences that have really, um, you know, helped to build some of the most important pieces of our business, like uh, you know, our our sort of community architecture. UM. You know, we certainly are not closed

off to the things that happened around the world. But again, our focus is on building the absolute best experience for our users and for our creators, and nothing's going to deter us from that mission. Kevin Mayer had been hired to UH to run tick Talk last year. He left after three months. I think, Um, what did you think of that? I mean, he was a great executive, came from Disney, had a lot of success. I mean, I guess that sort of that sort of thing is just

part of the course. Kevin's a great guy and a really mare executive. You know, I had the good fortune of of working with him a little bit when I was at Hulu and he was at Disney, and you know we worked together for a brief time here as well. Um, that that is what it is. We again, you know, continue to just focus on our mission for our creators and our platform and um, you know, are really excited for the future. Now, what are the next big strategic

content initiatives or product initiatives for TikTok. Yeah, Well, I can't you know, go too far into specifics. I can say that, you know, we're constantly experimenting with new formats and solutions that make it seamless for the community, the creators, the partners, etcetera to make entertaining videos. Uh. You know, we talked a little bit about you know, content going

a bit longer form um. You know, that's I think one great example of of where the platform is headed in terms of um, you know, long term content you know, bets and and and initiatives and things like that. As an entertainment platform, you know, we're going to continue to foster that diverse content ecosystem and continue to push from you know, more content genres and you know, different types

of content to be really prevalent on the platform. Our Creative Learning Fund that we launched UM about a year year and a half ago was really meant to bring you know, more educational instructional content to the platform. So whether you know, we're working with Discovery, Uh, you know, as they cover, um, you know, Elon Musk's rocket launch into space, or we're talking about uh, you know, small businesses, you know, kind of teaching you how to would work or uh, you know, how to how to sort of

hack excel. These are all areas I think that we're going to continue to invest in. Is just bringing that that diversity of content, more creators, more voices, more storytelling and narrative to the platform so that no matter who you are, you know, what walk of life you're from, what your interest level is when you fire up the TikTok app, there's something for you and that you see

your interests, your culture, your people reflected back at you. Um. So, big picture, Brian, how would you how do you see TikTok Um evolving in the bigger picture ecosystem of media and entertainment at large. Is this synergistic with you know, traditional film, TV, music, or is TikTok you know, becoming a major kind of media that people consume independent of

traditional entertainment. Yeah. I love this question. I think it speaks to you know, so much of that entertainment DNA that that we've talked about our community and you know, their ability to really spark these global trends is unmatched. You know, We've become a destination for our community not only to to be entertained, but to really express themselves in ways that they haven't been able to on on

other platforms. And because that community is so engaged, you know, it's it's like a few seconds of creativity into run into these these major cultural moments. Um. You know again, I think when you look at Ratatui the musical and the fact that you know, this this sort of theater nerd community that is so passionate and so creative and so just incredibly committed to you know, telling stories and and doing so through uh you know, that kind of

musical theater genre. This guy's the limit in terms of new entertainment that can be created that is born of our community. So I think, you know, anyways, um, we're kind of a talent discovery mechanism, like you know, the

likes of which has never been seen. I think a lot about Lauren Michael's for some odd reason, and you know, and and just the SNL kind of talent cultivation machine that Lauren has been for so many years decades, And I think about you know that that sort of idea that comedians and chefs and entertainers and musicians and you know, just talented, amazing creative people get their start on this platform and go on to become you know, the movie stars or the music artists or you know, the Broadway

stars of tomorrow. So I think there's a ton in that kind of crowdsourced community casting and discovery of talent that really again sets us apart and puts us in a unique space. Um. We talked about Charlie and and Addison becoming prominent in in Hollywood with you know, their their shows and their films. Um, we talked about fashion trend setters again, like the fact that you have creators like Wisdom, um, you know, and and Brian Boy that are now you know, standing on on runways in Milan

and in Paris. I think shows you that we are a springboard in that conversation. And even I think traditional entertainment companies are starting to think a little differently about

how to program for a platform like ours. You know, they're they're gonna have their shows and their films, but what's the the ecosystem, what's the this sort of um, you know, second screen experience is such a challenging word that I don't always love, but it really is like that water cooler narrative, that that community centric um, you know, way to tell that story, and and building out characters more and going into fan theory and just really thinking

about ways to dimensionalize that entertainment that you're already seeing through traditional channels. Is where TikTok again occupies a really unique whites space and I think it is the future of our platform. You what you mentioned Saturday Night Live they have they have a channel on TikTok. It has right now three point four million followers. I guess they got a little bit to go to get to get the one billion m a use that you guys have. But you know, the clip the party something, second clip

of Kim Kardashian's monologue. You know it's got six million views. So that's you know, just enhanced reach and you know, re forcing their business. I mean that's think I think content owners are, to some extent arms dealers. You know, they don't care where it goes as long as it doesn't disrupt their existing business models. Right, They're not put in the full show of s and L on TikTok, and I guess you wouldn't support the full show of TikTok in terms of the length. But anyway, well, look

look at the Olympics, I mean the Olympics. I think we're another great example of a way that you know, this big cultural moment, which obviously has its traditional distribution set in in very kind of traditional broadcast channels. It you know, TikTok became the place to see what was happening, to follow along with you know, the metal count and to see these amazing moments of athleticism and you know, just like feats of acrobatic and and again the TikTok

platform was a place where the conversation started. And that's I think that you know, the other unique thing about TikTok is that there's a conversation that's happening round all of that entertainment that you just can't get, you know, from kind of the traditional art on a wall, you know, kind of more passive experience. Um, we compliment that in such a unique way and create that community conversation that goes,

you know and spreads virally around the world. Yeah, and I mean what you mentioned that the conversation happens around the content, but that's sort of uh, ancillary to the video first visual approach. That's right, It's complimentary for sure. Last question Brian for you is, um, what do you watch on TikTok? What's what kinds of videos does the person say you like? Yeah? I love that, um My four you feed is is unique, It's different, I think. Um,

I am deep into voice actor TikTok. There is a creator named Joe Goddet who does the most spot on Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ryan an Olds. He does like a Marty McFly, Michael J. Fox, like nobody's business. I I just love that stuff. It just amazes me that that people can you know, uh can be that uncanny. Um. You know, I have I have two boys who are you know, very active in sports and in baseball in particular, and

so baseball coach TikTok. There's a creator called coach ball Game that I absolutely adore and I see a lot of that, you know where where it allows for again that relativity, you know, seeing what other parents are going through on the platform, anything parenting really, anything that will help me better relate to my kids, to my wife and just to you know, this experience that I think all of us as parents are going through to some

extent no matter how old you know our kids are. UM, and then really like anything d I Y I mean as much as you know, my team and I were really behind this educational instructional content push. It's really like a personal passion of mine as well. So anything you can teach me, especially I'm a little bit uh d I y challenged. Um, I'm embarrassed to say I'm not

I'm not the best around the house. Anywhere I can pick up tips and tricks on how to you know, better fix something in my home or you know, learn how to make something. Uh. It's just incredible the way that you know, that step by step tutorial format both in the shorter form you know kind of sub one minute, but now in the one to three minute can really like you know, get your your frame of mind around how to dig in when it's not something that might be your your core skill set. So that's what my

for you feed looks like. How about yours? What does yours look like? Yeah? You know, TikTok thinks that I like a lot of talking cat videos and Jack Black uh comedy bits, which you know happens to be true. So there's that, and they're also there's this genre of like really cool, rude Goldberg type things that people set up to play music. It's just it's really fascinating, and

there's so much creativity out there, Todd. It's it's unbelievable that folks are are you know, presumably just sitting around with all of this amazing talent, you know, kind of

locked up. And the fact that we came along as a platform to really give people an outlet to be, you know, their their their best and brightest creative selves, I think is a really special thing and something that you know, our world really needs right now, because again, there's just so much creativity out there, and I want to be able to, you know, to unlock that and share it with everybody. Bryan, Thencent, thank you so much for joining us on the podcast today. Really great to

chat with you. Thank you, Todd. Likewise, and that's this episode of Strictly Business Right these podcasts featuring conversations with media and entertainment leaders. Tune in next week for a and new episodes. Thanks for listening. M m hmmmmmmmmmm hm