TikTok Makers ByteDance To “Take On Apple Music and Spotify” With New Streaming Service

Having created one of the most popular video apps in the world, TikTok makers ByteDance are now taking on the world of music streaming — and their competitor to Spotify and Apple Music looks set to be with us as soon as December.

According to The Financial Times ($), “ByteDance is in talks with the world’s largest record companies — Universal Music, Sony Music and Warner Music — for global licensing deals to include their songs on its new music subscription service.” The report goes on to state that, “The Beijing-based technology company aims to launch as soon as next month, initially in emerging markets such as India, Indonesia and Brazil, before a future opening in the US, according to people briefed on the plans.”

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A new music streaming app from ByteDance has been rumored for some time now, with the company believed to be working on a platform that would allow users to sync songs with phone screen-friendly vertical video clips. In January, TikTok’s Chinese sister app Douyin dropped its first compilation album and announced the launch of a new music label.

Although international media are largely portraying a potential ByteDance move in the music sector as taking on Spotify and Apple Music, it would also pose an interesting challenge to Chinese tech giant Tencent’s various music services.

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For a deeper dive on how ByteDance is hoping to tackle the world of music streaming, check out this episode from our podcast Digitally China, where Jonas Leijonhufvud and Sven Carlsson, authors of a book telling the inside story of Spotify, discuss the Chinese company’s potential entrance into the market.

Cover photo: Zarak Khan on Unsplash