TikTok Owner ByteDance Is Getting Into The Book Publishing Business – SlashGear

As previously mentioned, TikTok has a surprisingly large influence on the publishing industry thanks to the reach it provides. While the establishment of 8th Note Press makes sense in that regard, the lack of concrete information and allegedly low payments toward prospective signees has been a cause for concern. When speaking to The New York Times, self-published author Tricia O’Malley said that 8th Note Press offered her an advancement of $3,500 for each of the two books they offered to publish from her. While this might sound reasonable, many first-time advances range between $5,000 and $20,000. As such, 8th Note Press would be below the industry standard, assuming the figures are accurate.

Some of the authors who talked with The New York Times expressed concerns that the new publishing arm could form a monopoly of sorts on TikTok. Since ByteDance operates both the publisher and the app, it’s fair to speculate that the company could inflate the exposure of its output and decrease the presence of competitors’ books. In response to these concerns, ByteDance told The New York Times that the publishing company and TikTok are separate entities. Hints that ByteDance would expand into publishing first surfaced earlier this year when its Lemon Inc. subsidiary filed the trademark for 8th Note Press, which has not yet been officially unveiled to the public.