The app is reportedly set for release by the end of 2020.
The Information has reported that YouTube is currently looking into creating an app to compete with TikTok. According to the publication, YouTube’s app, which is said to be called “Shorts”, will allow users to upload short-form content into a new feed within the site’s already existing mobile app.
According to reports, the app will also allow user to utilize licensed music that is already present within YouTube Music’s catalogue, meaning the songs can be used within user-generated videos.
This is potentailly big…. And, bonus: YouTube chief Susan Wojcicki and I talked about TikTok in a podcast episode that will air later this month. We’ve got an item coming soon confirming this news, along with a few of her comments on YouTube & short-form video >>> https://t.co/0Pqm6JqVUz
— Dylan Byers (@DylanByers) April 1, 2020
YouTube isn’t the first app to look into short-form content. In 2018, Facebook announced it would be developing its own version of TikTok called “Lasso”, which it is said to be testing in certain markets. Instagram also introduced “Reels” to its mobile app in 2019, which includes a set of similar features to that of TikTok.
YouTube has yet to official comment on the reports. However, in an interview with NBC News’ Byers Market Podcast, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki shared that the company is looking at beginning to include more shorter-form video and features alongside its usual long-form content.
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