TikTok partners with John Lennon estate to bring classic songs to creators

 

TikTok and the John Lennon estate (alongside Universal Music) are marking the late singer’s 80th birthday by partnering to give creators access to several of his most popular songs.

“Instant Karma! (We All Shine On),” “Imagine,” “Mind Games,” “Beautiful Boy,” “Woman,” “Happy Xmas (War Is Over),” “Give Peace a Chance,” “Stand By Me,” “Nobody Told Me,” “Remember,” and “Gimme Some Truth” are all available now, according to the company. There’s also a dedicated John Lennon account, which currently boasts more than 23,000 followers. The first video was posted in September.

“We are absolutely thrilled and honored to bring John Lennon’s music to a new generation, and are eager to see how the TikTok community will be inspired to create to the sounds of Lennon’s repertoire,” Corey Sheridan, head of TikTok’s music partnerships and content operations, said. “Lennon’s timeless lyrics are as relevant now as when they were written.”

Lennon’s estate is the latest to partner with TikTok. TikTok partnered with the Prince estate in June to bring the singer’s catalog of songs to the app. It marked the first time that the Prince estate partnered with a shortform video app. Although Prince’s songs haven’t particularly taken off on the app — none have achieved the viral success on TikTok that songs from other artists have — it seems like an attempt by the estate and labels to try to make a play for a younger generation of music listeners. Adding several of Lennon’s songs, and hoping they pick up, is further testament to how important labels and estates view having an artist’s work on TikTok.