TikTok Owner to Challenge Spotify and Apple With Music Service – Bloomberg
What happened: Bytedance, which owns short video app Douyin or TikTok, and news aggregator Toutiao, is planning to launch a new music streaming app as early as this fall. The app, which will include on-demand music and video features, may challenge platforms like Apple Music and Spotify. However, Bytedance is looking to target users in emerging markets where paid music is still nascent. The company has already secured rights from two of the largest music labels in India.
Why it’s important: Bytedance has developed several apps that have found success internationally and garnered hundreds of millions of users. However, its foray into paid music streaming will likely face challenges in markets where free music services still dominate. The new app will ramp up competition with Chinese internet giant Tencent, which owns one of China’s most popular music streaming services. Bytedance has become one of Tencent’s fiercest rival in its social media and content businesses. Bytedance launched on Monday a new social messaging app, Feiliao, which is said to be the latest WeChat challenger.