Facebook Launches Collab App, Similar To TikTok's Musical Video Mashup Feature
Facebook has launched its TikTok-inspired short music video app named Collab. The Collab app allows users to create short videos based on music clips in collaboration with other users on the platform. Just like the limited-time videos on TikTok each collab created is a maximum of 15 seconds.
New Product Experimentation (NPE), the R&D team at Facebook, has launched its TikTok-inspired short music video app named Collab.
Working much like TikTok, the Collab app allows users to create short videos based on music clips in collaboration with other users on the platform.
Facebook Collab
The NPE team announced the launch of the new app in a blog post. ¡°Collabs are three independent videos that are playing in sync,¡± it explained. With the app, users can create their own arrangement of videos, both by adding in their own recording or by swiping for a video on the app. ¡°No musical experience is required,¡± Facebook confirms.
Once users create a collab, they can publish it for others to watch as well as mix in their own collabs. These videos can even be shared to Instagram, Facebook Stories ¡°or any other platform,¡± says the app.
In development since May this year, the Collab app is currently available on an invite-only beta phase for iOS users in the US. Availability to a larger audience is yet unknown but those on iOS can request access to the app and sign up for its waitlist by clicking here. Facebook says that it will open up invites in batches, starting with users in the US and Canada.
How does it work?
Just like the limited-time videos on TikTok, each collab created is a maximum of 15 seconds. The collab plays three videos in unison, stacked on top of each other, in a loop.
Users can mix and match these collabs by swiping left and right on any of the three rows. The app makes sure that the videos ¡°play at exactly the right moment to be in sync.¡± Other than collaborating videos by others, users can also contribute their own recordings to any collab.
Facebook Collab on iOS
Once finished, the collab can be published to the feed. Others can then use these recordings, like them or even add them as a favorite. The app thus encourages users to create collabs even from scratch, as the community adds their takes to it after it is published.
The app is the latest in line to serve as a short-video making platform. Since TikTok started facing ban in countries, apps based on similar experiences have started surfacing by various developers. The feature has even surfaced before within the Facebook group before, with Instagram having launched its Reels earlier this year.
