Musical.ly lets users create 15-second music videos. It’s the MTV for Generation Z.
Jacob Sartorius, age 15, spends more time than most teenagers staring into his phone’s selfie camera. He uses the app Musical.ly to record himself mouthing the words to songs — drawing hearts with his hands and smizing — and shares the video with his 18.9 million followers.
Musical.ly is the social media platform of choice for Generation Z. The app launched in 2014 and has racked up an impressive 215 million users (or „musers,“ as they’re known). Teens post 15-second clips of themselves lip-syncing, dancing to popular music, and pulling stunts.
More than 150 million people, mostly teens, have registered for the service, and its growth has caused others to take note.
On Thursday, Chinese social media giant Toutiao announced that it had purchased Musical.ly in a deal valued up to $1 billion, according to TechCrunch.
I talked with a handful of middle schoolers for Musical.ly tips and entered the mysterious world of teen-tech to see what the buzz is about. Here are the basics.
