Snap is making good on its word to bring music to Snapchat and setting itself up to compete even more with TikTok and Instagram. The company announced that iOS users around the world will be able to include popular music in their snaps. Snap doesn’t mention when sounds might be available on Android devices. The company also said that it’ll test allowing people to make their own sounds, and that feature will roll out globally in the coming months. Snap still won’t have a feed like TikTok that pushes viral music content, like dances or memes, to users and is instead focused on its partnerships with big publishers and tighter social webs between users. If a person receives a snap with sounds, they can swipe up to view the album, song title, and name of the artist. They can also tap the “Play This Song” link to listen to the full song on other streaming platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, and SoundCloud. Instagram introduced music stickers for Stories in 2019 and rolled out its direct TikTok competitor, Reels. Snap needed to at least bring music to its platform to keep pace with its competitors and stay relevant.

Teespring is offering creators the ability to sell digital merchandise

For both aspiring and established creators, T-shirts and hoodies are so passé – the new wave of merchandise is all digital. Teespring, one of the biggest platforms for creator and influencer merchandising and an official commerce partner for YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, is rolling out the ability to sell digital merchandise. These include photo filters, e-books, premium content, zines, and other items that creators can sell directly to fans instead of relying on physical merchandise. Teespring decided to move into the digital merchandise space after a few influencers asked if it was something they could offer their fans. While, the team had worked for a while on developing digital products, it was the pandemic that accelerated their plan to roll it out to creators who use Teespring. Creators who partook in Teespring’s digital merchandise beta were interested in working with Teespring on personalised digital products. Printing a T-shirt and mailing it out is one thing; designing a filter that works for every phone’s specifications is slightly trickier. Creating a listing doesn’t cost anything, the company added in a press release, and there are no additional monthly charges or hosting fees.