{"id":224078,"date":"2025-02-18T13:29:05","date_gmt":"2025-02-18T13:29:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/?p=224078"},"modified":"2025-02-18T14:20:38","modified_gmt":"2025-02-18T14:20:38","slug":"ole-obermann-leaving-tiktok-for-major-new-role-at-apple-tracy-gardner-moves-into-new-role-at-bytedance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/ole-obermann-leaving-tiktok-for-major-new-role-at-apple-tracy-gardner-moves-into-new-role-at-bytedance\/","title":{"rendered":"Ole Obermann leaving TikTok for major role at Apple; Tracy Gardner moves into new role at ByteDance"},"content":{"rendered":"

There has been a gigantic leadership shakeup in TikTok\/ByteDance’s music team.<\/p>\n

After five and a half years as Global Head of Music Business Development at ByteDance, Ole Obermann will be leaving the company next month for a new opportunity, still in music.<\/p>\n

Following Obermann’s departure at the end of March, Tracy Gardner<\/strong><\/a> will be the new Global Head of Music Business Development at ByteDance.<\/p>\n

In an internal note sent to TikTok staffers today (February 18), and obtained by MBW, Obermann said: “I am proud to have played a role in bringing so many people the joy of music while at TikTok”. He added: “We have an amazing team and leadership and music will continue to thrive and evolve on TikTok.”<\/p>\n

The big question the global music business will be asking today is:\u00a0Where will Obermann be headed after he leaves the company next month?<\/span><\/p>\n

TikTok has declined to comment, but our sources tell us that he has lined up a big role at\u00a0Apple Music,\u00a0<\/strong>which likely has a business development <\/strong>element to it<\/span>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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TikTok’s new Global Head of Music Business Development, Tracy Gardner<\/strong> joined the platform<\/a> and its parent company ByteDance in November 2019, as Head of Label Licensing and partnerships.<\/p>\n

The exec was previously<\/a>\u00a0Senior Vice President, Global Business Development and Strategy at Warner Music Group.<\/p>\n

News of Gardner’s appointment at TikTok at the end of 2019 arrived shortly after the confirmation<\/a> that Obermann had officially joined<\/a> the platform as Vice President, Global Head of Music.<\/p>\n

It was later confirmed that Obermann’s role had expanded<\/a>\u00a0to become Global Head of Music Business Development and IP at ByteDance.<\/p>\n

Prior to joining TikTok\/ByteDance, Obermann previously served in various senior digital roles at Warner Music Group\u00a0and\u00a0Sony Music Entertainment.<\/p>\n

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Meanwhile, at TikTok, the platform claims to have “strengthened its position as the world’s leading music discovery platform” under Ole Obermann’s leadership.<\/p>\n

The platform reports that its global reach has grown to over 170 billion<\/strong> daily video views of licensed music, and that in 2023, its users generated over 45 billion<\/strong> video creations using licensed music. TikTok claims that these metrics make it the platform with “the largest engagement with music worldwide<\/strong>“.<\/p>\n

A key event during Obermann’s tenure at TikTok was the return<\/a> of Universal Music Group’s recorded music and publishing catalogs to the platform after a licensing dispute resulted in UMG pulling its music<\/a> from TikTok in January\/February last year.<\/p>\n

Universal and TikTok struck<\/a> a new licensing deal in May 2024, including “improved remuneration” for UMG artists and songwriters, as well as a commitment to develop AI tools responsibly.<\/p>\n

Obermann<\/strong> is also credited with closing what TikTok describes as “a first-of-its-kind artist deal with Taylor Swift<\/a>” to feature her catalog on TikTok in support of her record-breaking Eras Tour and The Tortured Poets Department<\/em> album release.<\/p>\n

TikTok has also partnered with various other superstar artists in recent months, including Billie Eilish, Sabrina Carpenter, Jimin of BTS, and Post Malone. Under Obermann’s leadership,<\/strong> the platform has also supported a number of emerging artists, including Tate McRae, Tyla, and Benson Boone.<\/p>\n

The Add To Music App<\/span><\/a> feature was also launched during Obermann’s tenure. According to TikTok,<\/strong> Add To Music App<\/span>\u00a0has already resulted in over a billion track saves and streams on its partner DSPs (Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon and Melon).<\/p>\n

You can read Ole Obermann’s internal note in full below:<\/p>\n

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Music is one of life’s greatest joys, and TikTok made it possible for fans to connect with their favorite songs and artists in a way that was never possible in the past. TikTok unlocked new and creative ways for people to engage with music, which means that songs – both new and old – were discovered and shared and found new audiences like never before.<\/em><\/p>\n

I think that the best way for me to say goodbye is to recap my five and a half years at TikTok through the music that has moved me and our billion users over the years.<\/em><\/p>\n