Alejandro Arrieche
Snapchat announced the release of two new features for its Sounds module, which allows creators to add music and original tracks to their content, as part of the platform’s effort to keep expanding its available library.
The first feature is called Sounds Recommendations for Lenses. These are tracks that the system suggests for the different filters that Snap makes available to creators. This first upgrade will only be available to US users for now but could soon be rolled out globally. Meanwhile, it can already be used on both iOS and Android devices.
In addition, Snap is launching a feature called Sounds Sync for Camera Roll, which allows creators to develop videos from scratch by using a combination of up to 20 photos along with audio tracks from the Sounds library.
This latter upgrade can only be used in the US as well and on iOS devices until March when it will be made available for Android devices as well.
Snap is Betting Big on AR and Audio Tracks Are an Important Part of the Experience
The announcement comes as Snapchat continues to prepare itself for the imminent arrival of augmented reality (AR) to mobile phones and other similar devices. The company said that roughly a third of its user base – 250 million – are currently engaging with the platform’s AR technology to create a “hyper-expressive experience to engage with friends”.
Just a few days ago, the company introduced a new technology called Ray Tracing that uses light to create “ultra-realistic quality” experiences for shoppers.
The use of music is hardly a new thing in the social media space. However, Snap noticed the rise of this trend much earlier than some of its competitors and pretty soon after TikTok’s short-video format became a norm for platforms.
Earlier this month, YouTube announced a new scheme that allows creators to use licensed music for their videos by either paying a one-time fee or partnering with the artist to share the revenues resulting from the content.
Meta Platforms’ Instagram contributed to the popularization of musical videos through the launch of Reels – a TikTok-like short-video format to which users can also add either original tracks or musical pieces licensed by the social media app.
Snapchat Expects to Grow its Customer Base to 1 Billion in a Few Years
On 17 February, Snap (SNAP) informed investors that it currently has over 750 million monthly active users (MAUs) while the platform expects to reach 1 billion MAUs within the next two to three years.
In addition, the firm shared some stats about its premium subscription package called Snapchat+, saying that it has already enrolled 2.5 million subscribers resulting in an annual revenue run rate of $100 million for the firm.
“Today, we’re pleased to share that our community has now grown to over 750 million monthly active users. We reach more than 75% of 13- to 34 year-olds in over 20 countries, with these countries representing over 50% of the advertising market”, commented Evan Spiegel, Snap’s co-founder and Chief Executive Officer during the company’s Investor Day.
The head of the social media company further commented: “Over 100 million daily active users have joined Snapchat since our last Investor Day, with our community now totaling more than 375 million daily active users”.
The company emphasized that its AR technology is a “key driver” of its growth as 70% of newly enrolled users interact with the platform’s augmented reality module within the first day.
“To fully realize our AR advertising opportunity, we are now identifying ways to grow the ecosystem – partnering with media agencies like WPP, Publicis, and Denstu to find new, scaleable ways to integrate AR into brands’ go-to-market strategies”, commented Jerry Hunter, Snap’s Chief Operating Officer at the investor event.
He added that Snap is “making it easier than ever to create, manage, and deploy AR advertising – through acquisitions like Vertebrae, which provides a backend system to create, manage, and deploy 3D and AR assets.”
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This article was written for Business 2 Community by Alejandro Arrieche.
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