TikTok owner has fresh plans to launch new music streaming app in India to compete with Spotify, YouTube Music among others

Recent ban on TikTok has not frazzled its owner ByteDance as the world's most valuable startup is now gearing up to launch a new music streaming app, according to reports. China's ByteDance has managed to secure rights from two of India's largest music labels, T-Series and Times Music, Bloomberg reports.

ByteDance is likely to introduce its music streaming service in emerging markets like India where Music Streaming is still in its nascent stage and harder for streaming companies to get subscribers unlike other markets. Recently, Spotify entered Indian market and so far, it has stacked up more than a million users in the country (including both free and paid).

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As a result, we can soon expect India's growing music streaming segment to welcome a new player from ByteDance. The app is most likely to compete with other apps like JioSaavn, Gaana, Amazon Prime Music among others. Recently, YouTube announced its standalone YouTube Music app in India, letting premium users switch to audio-only songs and download songs for offline access. Furthermore, Airtel users get complimentary access to its Wynk Music subscription.

It will be interesting to see how ByteDance's music streaming app performs in the Indian market and competes with other similar apps in the country. So far, ByteDance has been fairly successful in establishing its authority in user-generated, short videos segment in the form of TikTok. In fact, TikTok was also the most downloaded free app in India in the first quarter of the year. TikTok has seen its share of popularity and controversy in the country. 

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As per Bloomberg report, ByteDance will try to convert some of TikTok's audience into paying customers and boost the audience engagement of both the apps. However, ByteDance's music streaming app is said to have its own identity and the app is unlikely to bear the TikTok moniker. Bytedance declined to comment.

ByteDance's upcoming music streaming app may include a catalogue of songs available on-demand, in addition to video. ByteDance reportedly has plans for a paid service. However, more details such as the timing of its release or the rights deals are awaited. ByteDance is valued at more than $75 billion in its most recent round of fundraising.