How to go live on TikTok

TikTok is the strictest of the six: you need LIVE access first, and not every account is allowed to stream from a computer. Once you have it, the key is easy to find in TikTok's LIVE Center. You link TikTok on Destinations once; on the day, you paste the key in the control room.

Before you start

• TikTok's rules: you must be 18 or older and have at least 1,000 followers. Below 1,000, TikTok doesn't show the LIVE option at all.
• Your account must be in good standing (no recent Community Guidelines violations).
• You need LIVE access from a computer, which TikTok grants separately. Check by logging in at tiktok.com on a computer: if you see LIVE in the left menu and it opens a page called LIVE Center, you have it. If not, apply through TikTok's LIVE access from PC form and wait for approval. Some creators get this access faster by joining a TikTok creator network (agency).
• Use a computer. TikTok never shows the key in the phone app.

Get your Server URL and Stream key

1. The first time only: in BackstagePass, open Studio → Destinations, press Connect next to TikTok, then Link TikTok. There's no key box here: TikTok's key goes in on the day.
2. On a computer, log in at tiktok.com and click LIVE (or Go LIVE) in the left menu. You land on livecenter.tiktok.com/producer.
3. Scroll down and click the red Go LIVE button.
4. Pick a category and type a title, then click Save & Go LIVE. You're not live yet; TikTok is only opening your live room and waiting for video.
5. Scroll to the bottom of the page. You'll see Server URL and Stream key. These are the two values you paste in the control room.

On show day

1. Do steps 2 to 4 above so your TikTok live room is open and waiting.
2. In BackstagePass, set up your live with TikTok turned on under Choose destinations, and press Continue to open the control room.
3. Open the Destinations panel. The TikTok row says Needs today’s key. Click Copy next to each value in LIVE Center, paste them into the Server URL and Stream key boxes, and press Add. Do this before GO LIVE: a platform with no key is skipped, and it can't join once you're live.
4. Press GO LIVE in BackstagePass. TikTok starts your LIVE as soon as video arrives; if your LIVE Center screen shows a preview with a start button instead, click it.
5. Keep the LIVE Center tab open to see viewers and comments.
6. When you finish, click End LIVE in LIVE Center, then press End in BackstagePass.

Things to take care of

• Your key changes when you log out of TikTok. If you stay logged in on the same browser it usually stays the same, but always copy it fresh from LIVE Center when you paste it in the control room.
• TikTok is vertical. Phones show LIVE full-screen in 9:16. A landscape stream is shown smaller with black space above and below, so keep faces and text central and large.
• The category matters. TikTok can end a LIVE that doesn't match its category, so pick the closest one (for example Talk, Education, Music).
• No pre-recorded video. TikTok requires a real live person on camera; streams that look pre-recorded or show a static screen can be shut down.
• If the LIVE option disappears, TikTok may have paused your access. Check the notifications inbox in the TikTok app for a message about LIVE eligibility.

Every platform, and the one step most people miss: Connect your destinations.