Facebook's NPE division launches BARS, a TikTok-like app for rappers to create and share their raps using professionally created beats, in closed beta

Facebook's internal R&D group, NPE Team, is today launching its next experimental app, called BARS. The app makes it possible for rappers …

TechCrunch 2021-02-27 Sarah Perez

Context & Ripple Effects

Facebook’s NPE Team had already tested music creation with Collab’s invite-only beta and then brought that app to iOS in the US. BARS narrows the creative format further, giving NPE a dedicated experiment around rap performance rather than collaborative music making.

The sequence extends Facebook’s earlier pursuit of TikTok-style music video features into separate creator workflows, with closed-beta distribution keeping the product in the experimental stage.

First-order effects

Rappers in the closed beta gain a creation-and-sharing app built around professionally made beats, while Facebook’s NPE Team gains direct feedback on a focused short-form music format.
TikTok faces a new Facebook-built alternative aimed specifically at rap creators, rather than a general-purpose video product.

Second-order effects

Facebook can compare participation in BARS with its broader Collab iOS launch, helping NPE decide whether specialized music formats warrant separate products or features.
Professional beat creation becomes part of the product experience, making the availability and fit of supplied creative inputs central to how BARS differentiates from general video platforms.

Third-order effects

If NPE continues launching narrowly defined creator apps, Facebook’s product experimentation shifts toward testing discrete creation formats before deciding which behaviors belong in larger social products.

The trend: Social platforms are increasingly competing for creators by packaging specific production workflows, not just distributing finished short-form video.

Discussion

@taylorlorenz Taylor Lorenz on x
The content this will unleash https://twitter.com/...
@david__booth David Booth on x
Facebook with the slow steal — took them 7 years to clone @eriktorenberg's @raptfm 😂 https://twitter.com/...
@slpng_giants @slpng_giants on x
.@Facebook: We just don't have the bandwidth to deal with hate, harassment and disinformation. Also Facebook: https://twitter.com/...
@chron_mattyoung Matt Young on x
I implore you, please make it harder for amateurs to rap on social media, not easier. https://www.theverge.com/... via @Verge
@ashleyfeinberg Ashley Feinberg on x
mark zuckerberg just wanted to hear the library rap too https://twitter.com/...
@joshuaogundu Josh on x
Remember that kid from your high school who still shares his mixtape links? This is the app for them https://twitter.com/...
@wongmjane Jane Manchun Wong on x
Facebook previously built a meme hub for teens called “LOL” I feel like the cringe factor comes from fixating the content / theme on one topic too specifically instead of letting them develop organically https://techcrunch.com/... (by @JoshConstine) https://twitter.com/... https:…
@film_girl Christina Warren on x
LMAO. This is so cringe even for Facebook. https://twitter.com/...
@patbits Patrick Lucas Austin on x
just in time for black history month! 🙃 https://twitter.com/...
@alexstamos Alex Stamos on x
@CaseyNewton Seriously, it's the social product design equivalent of an attractive nuisance. https://twitter.com/...
@lubchansky Matt on x
thinking about the millions of hours of conservative freaks rapping about how much they love the police that we're all about to be blessed with https://twitter.com/...
@rmac18 @rmac18 on x
Facebook: “A million dollars isn't cool. You know what's cool?” Me: ....? Facebook: https://twitter.com/...
@jrhennessy Henno on x
Another Facebook app with the stink of victory around it https://twitter.com/...
@eriktorenberg Erik Torenberg on x
They came for Snap and I did nothing. They came for Clubhouse and I did nothing. Now they've come for https://raptfm.com/ and I suffer for my silence. https://twitter.com/...
@freialobo Freia Lobo on x
need Warren to break up big tech ASAP https://twitter.com/...
@samfbiddle Sam Biddle on x
all of facebook's new products and features are like network sitcoms that you can instantly feel in your bones are gonna get canceled after like 2 episodes, just so thoroughly doomed https://twitter.com/...
@arainert @arainert on x
Maybe they should stick to copying other people's shit https://twitter.com/...
@caseynewton Casey Newton on x
Here's a great new opportunity for you to get canceled this weekend https://twitter.com/...

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