A new study published in Scientific Reports reveals that TikTok’s short video format offers significant advantages for promoting musical intangible cultural heritage (ICH) compared to traditional platforms. The research, conducted by Huimin Cao of Beijing Foreign Studies University, demonstrates how the platform’s algorithmic recommendations, interactive features, and special effects tools successfully engage younger audiences with traditional musical forms.
The study finds that TikTok videos featuring musical cultural heritage content achieve an average interaction rate of 12.3%, substantially higher than YouTube’s 4.8%. Additionally, 78% of TikTok users engaging with this content fall within the 18-30 age bracket, compared to 52% on YouTube, indicating the platform’s effectiveness in reaching younger demographics.
“TikTok’s algorithm, personalized recommendation mechanism, and short video form provide unique advantages for the rapid spread of cultural content and user participation,” Cao notes in the research.
User Engagement Driven by Platform Features
The questionnaire-based research, which collected data from 208 respondents, reveals that users particularly value TikTok’s interactive features and special effects when consuming cultural heritage content. Survey participants rated platform features, such as user engagement and interaction, at 4.01 out of 5, while special effects and sound capabilities scored 3.98.
Multiple regression analysis confirms that effect appeal (β=0.38, p<0.001) and interactive features (β=0.29, p=0.002) significantly impact user engagement, while content diversity alone did not show statistical significance. This suggests that audiovisual effects and interactive design elements are key drivers of audience participation.
“By analyzing user behavior and preferences, the algorithms recommend relevant and interesting content, thus increasing opportunities for users to discover and explore musical cultural heritage,” the study reports.
Varying Promotion Effects
The research categorizes musical ICH into several types, including traditional opera music, folk music, religious and ceremonial music, folk and grassroots music, and modern music adaptations. Each category demonstrates different levels of effectiveness on the platform.
Traditional opera music, particularly Beijing Opera and Sichuan Opera, shows high user familiarity (90%) and positive dissemination effects, with 80% of users rating its promotional effectiveness as “very good” or “average.”
Modern music adaptations (combining traditional elements with contemporary styles) demonstrate the strongest appeal among young users, with 55% reporting “very good” dissemination effects.
Religious and ceremonial music performs relatively poorly, with over 50% of users rating its dissemination as “poor” or “ineffective.”
Statistical analysis reveals significant differences between traditional opera and modern adapted music (F=12.4, p<0.001), suggesting that content incorporating popular elements better aligns with short-video platform characteristics.
Cultural Communication Models
The study highlights how TikTok has fundamentally altered the communication model for cultural heritage. Unlike traditional media, where content primarily flows from heritage inheritors and institutions to passive audiences, TikTok enables what the researcher refers to as “everyone as communicators.”
This participatory model enables users to transition from “viewers” to “co-creators” through platform mechanisms, such as challenges and special effects tools (like opera makeup filters). The research identifies this phenomenon as “productive consumption,” where users actively participate in cultural transmission.
“TikTok enables users to transform from bystanders to co-creators of cultural content through ‘challenge’ mechanisms and special effect tools, achieving what is known as ‘productive consumption’,” the study states.
Recommendations for Cultural Heritage Promotion
Based on the findings, the research proposes targeted strategies for different types of musical ICH:
For traditional opera: Utilize TikTok’s visual effects and challenge features to encourage participation, such as designing creative challenges around traditional costumes and singing styles
For folk music: Enhance local user participation through region-specific tags and interactive content, including “challenge competitions” with local cultural characteristics
For religious and ceremonial music: Combine with relevant cultural activities and festivals, promoting through cultural inheritance themes
For grassroots music: Emphasize uniqueness through “original music” labeling to attract users interested in non-mainstream culture
For modern music adaptations: Strengthen integration with popular culture through cross-border cooperation and celebrity endorsements
Platform Limitations and Challenges
Despite the positive promotion effects, the research identifies several challenges in using TikTok for cultural heritage promotion:
- The platform’s algorithm may create a “cultural filter bubble,” overexposing certain content while marginalizing niche cultural forms
- The fragmented nature of short videos may lead to superficial understanding, sacrificing cultural depth for engagement
- Platform metrics favor visually stimulating content, potentially leading to oversimplification of cultural symbols
- Traffic-driven content creation risks “cultural appropriation,” such as adapting religious music to electronic dance rhythms
“Although TikTok provides innovative communication paths, people must be alert to the platform’s tendency to homogenize content presentation forms,” Cao warns.
Implications for Cultural Heritage Preservation
The research emphasizes that effective digital promotion strategies must strike a balance between traffic goals and cultural authenticity. While TikTok excels at “cultural enlightenment” and “participation stimulation,” it may be less suited for systematic cultural inheritance.
The study recommends cross-platform collaboration, developing algorithm modules that prioritize cultural values, strengthening narrative elements in content creation, and fostering cooperation between platforms, heritage inheritors, and cultural institutions.
“Future digital ICH practices need to seek a more stable balance between ‘traffic logic’ and ‘cultural depth’,” concludes the researcher.
The full study is available here.
A new study published in Scientific Reports reveals that TikTok’s short video format offers significant advantages for promoting musical intangible cultural heritage (ICH) compared to traditional platforms. The research, conducted by Huimin Cao of Beijing Foreign Studies University, demonstrates how the platform’s algorithmic recommendations, interactive features, and special effects tools successfully engage younger audiences with traditional musical forms.
The study finds that TikTok videos featuring musical cultural heritage content achieve an average interaction rate of 12.3%, substantially higher than YouTube’s 4.8%. Additionally, 78% of TikTok users engaging with this content fall within the 18-30 age bracket, compared to 52% on YouTube, indicating the platform’s effectiveness in reaching younger demographics.
“TikTok’s algorithm, personalized recommendation mechanism, and short video form provide unique advantages for the rapid spread of cultural content and user participation,” Cao notes in the research.
User Engagement Driven by Platform Features
The questionnaire-based research, which collected data from 208 respondents, reveals that users particularly value TikTok’s interactive features and special effects when consuming cultural heritage content. Survey participants rated platform features, such as user engagement and interaction, at 4.01 out of 5, while special effects and sound capabilities scored 3.98.
Multiple regression analysis confirms that effect appeal (β=0.38, p<0.001) and interactive features (β=0.29, p=0.002) significantly impact user engagement, while content diversity alone did not show statistical significance. This suggests that audiovisual effects and interactive design elements are key drivers of audience participation.
“By analyzing user behavior and preferences, the algorithms recommend relevant and interesting content, thus increasing opportunities for users to discover and explore musical cultural heritage,” the study reports.
Varying Promotion Effects
The research categorizes musical ICH into several types, including traditional opera music, folk music, religious and ceremonial music, folk and grassroots music, and modern music adaptations. Each category demonstrates different levels of effectiveness on the platform.
Traditional opera music, particularly Beijing Opera and Sichuan Opera, shows high user familiarity (90%) and positive dissemination effects, with 80% of users rating its promotional effectiveness as “very good” or “average.”
Modern music adaptations (combining traditional elements with contemporary styles) demonstrate the strongest appeal among young users, with 55% reporting “very good” dissemination effects.
Religious and ceremonial music performs relatively poorly, with over 50% of users rating its dissemination as “poor” or “ineffective.”
Statistical analysis reveals significant differences between traditional opera and modern adapted music (F=12.4, p<0.001), suggesting that content incorporating popular elements better aligns with short-video platform characteristics.
Cultural Communication Models
The study highlights how TikTok has fundamentally altered the communication model for cultural heritage. Unlike traditional media, where content primarily flows from heritage inheritors and institutions to passive audiences, TikTok enables what the researcher refers to as “everyone as communicators.”
This participatory model enables users to transition from “viewers” to “co-creators” through platform mechanisms, such as challenges and special effects tools (like opera makeup filters). The research identifies this phenomenon as “productive consumption,” where users actively participate in cultural transmission.
“TikTok enables users to transform from bystanders to co-creators of cultural content through ‘challenge’ mechanisms and special effect tools, achieving what is known as ‘productive consumption’,” the study states.
Recommendations for Cultural Heritage Promotion
Based on the findings, the research proposes targeted strategies for different types of musical ICH:
For traditional opera: Utilize TikTok’s visual effects and challenge features to encourage participation, such as designing creative challenges around traditional costumes and singing styles
For folk music: Enhance local user participation through region-specific tags and interactive content, including “challenge competitions” with local cultural characteristics
For religious and ceremonial music: Combine with relevant cultural activities and festivals, promoting through cultural inheritance themes
For grassroots music: Emphasize uniqueness through “original music” labeling to attract users interested in non-mainstream culture
For modern music adaptations: Strengthen integration with popular culture through cross-border cooperation and celebrity endorsements
Platform Limitations and Challenges
Despite the positive promotion effects, the research identifies several challenges in using TikTok for cultural heritage promotion:
“Although TikTok provides innovative communication paths, people must be alert to the platform’s tendency to homogenize content presentation forms,” Cao warns.
Implications for Cultural Heritage Preservation
The research emphasizes that effective digital promotion strategies must strike a balance between traffic goals and cultural authenticity. While TikTok excels at “cultural enlightenment” and “participation stimulation,” it may be less suited for systematic cultural inheritance.
The study recommends cross-platform collaboration, developing algorithm modules that prioritize cultural values, strengthening narrative elements in content creation, and fostering cooperation between platforms, heritage inheritors, and cultural institutions.
“Future digital ICH practices need to seek a more stable balance between ‘traffic logic’ and ‘cultural depth’,” concludes the researcher.
The full study is available here.