Facebook launched Collab app in May 2020. Collab is predominantly a video editing application that allows users to parallely record videos. The app aims to create crispy videos divided simultaneously into three sources. Therefore the user can play three different instruments and combine them while performing for a single song. The user can also join with one or two of their friends and combine by each of them contributing to one of three segments.
The Research and Development team of Facebook, along with NPE (New Product Experimentation), has introduced its music-video platform that was inspired by TikTok. The app started its development in May, and now the company is extending out to iOS users. Also, it coordinates with other artists on the app to create music files in short video formats. Still, the collab’s usage for Android users and the global market remains vague till now.
The NPE team of Facebook declared its official launch of Collab in a blog post. The Collab app of Facebook enables users to create short video clips. Also, several updates have been included in the app to create, share, and quickly discover new collabs. Facebook has also enhanced audio-syncing features such that the sounds that have minimum tempo can get aligned appropriately with the entire clip. After performing tests on dozens of hardware configurations, Facebook optimized the experience for numerous setups. The user can also utilize audio interferences externally to gather music from instruments like guitars and drums into the recordings.
Though Collab functions similar to TikTok, the final video will be available in a vertical format. Once the collab video is created, it can be shared with others to view and mix and match further. Also, in just a few taps, the videos can be shared with Facebook and Instagram stories. Surprisingly, Collab is not the first product developed by Facebook taking on TikTok’s fame. NPE launched similar apps back in 2018.
As it is in the beginning stage, the videos must be publicly posted to the collab feed, from which the other users can use it to create their own. I suppose the user likes one person’s violin part and another person’s vocals. If you make the video public you can buy TikTok likes. With the help of a virtual drum pad, the user can include their beat on the iPhone and create a whole song. The Collab app can be freely downloaded from the app store. However, it is unavailable on Google Play Store for Indians.
Facebook allows the sharing of the creations with other social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram through the iOS share sheet option. Also, it is finding methods to save the created videos before posting them publicly in the collab feed. The Collab also offers in-app tools to combine the parts to align all the videos for publishing. From the description provided by the app store, it is understood that when the user swipes, videos run at the appropriate moment to be in synchronization.
In India, Facebook introduced its Instagram Reels parallel with other countries to take over the TikTok likes. But unfortunately, Instagram Reels could not compensate for TikTok’s popularity and engagement in India. If Collab occupies a thriving place in the realm of music, it may potentially evolve organically with a set of tools that enables formatting for other media as well.
Facebook is still unaware of how the new community will perceive the usage of remix content so flexibly. But TikTok gathered mind-blending fame, which enabled users to share others’ posts and to react and collaborate with, without requiring their permission. TikTok has become one of the trending social media platforms because of its robust algorithm. Kevin Myers, who was designated as Streaming Head in Disney’s, has resigned his job to take up the role of TikTok’s CEO. TikTok reached this mind-blowing fame only after it first evolved as a lip-syncing platform in China.
Facebook has attempted and failed to take over TikTok in the past, significantly, Instagram’s Reels editing feature and Lasso. The company also carefully monitored the start-ups that were potentially a threat to its social breeze. Taking these reasons into consideration, Collab was created with an exceptional set of tools that supports music-making. The videos in Collab can be with a maximum duration of fifteen seconds. Facebook expresses that Collab has provided them a feeling of oneness.