Apps

TikTok is working on a music streaming app to challenge Spotify

Will people make the switch from their current platform of choice?

by
Joy Okumoko
August 1, 2022

Image: KnowTechie

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How does TikTok Music sound? No, we’re not talking about the soundtracks that accompany TikTok videos. Rather, we’re talking about the idea of a music streaming service owned by none other than TikTok.

That’s right. ByteDance, TikTok‘s parent company, has filed a trademark application with the US Patent and Trademark Office.

The patent is for a music streaming service known as TikTok Music, that is, TikTok‘s own music streaming service. ByteDance also filed the same patent application in Australia in November 2021.

What is ByteDance up to with the new TikTok Music? Will it succeed like TikTok? Will it upstage the likes of Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube Music?

What is TikTok Music?

person using tiktok on phone — Image: KnowTechie

According to Business Insider, ByteDance has filed a patent application with the USPTO for TikTok Music. The filing took place in May 2022.

Documents cited by BI show that users will be able to purchase, play, share, and download music, songs, albums, lyrics, and quotes.

Users will also be able to create, recommend, and share playlists, lyrics, and quotes. Additionally, users can take, edit, and upload photographs as the cover of playlists, and comment on music, songs, and albums.

These features will likely introduce a unique social angle to streaming which may revolutionize music streaming as we know it and make TikTok Music a powerful Spotify alternative.

ByteDance already owns a music streaming service

Image: KnowTechie

Resso is another popular music streaming service in select markets like Brazil, Indonesia, and India. Like TikTok, it is also owned by ByteDance.

Resso was launched in 2020 and has since grown in leaps and bounds. Between January 2021 and January 2022, its user base has grown 304 percent in India.

By comparison, Spotify has only grown by 38 percent within the same period in India. This is according to reports by Business Insider.

One reason is that, in those markets, TikTok has a button that directs users to Resso to explore music they’ve discovered on TikTok.

Another key reason could be Resso’s social features that allow users to create playlists, share songs on social media, and interact with the app’s community. Sound familiar? These are also features expected from TikTok Music.

Will it succeed and upstage the likes of Spotify and Apple Music?

Considering Resso’s antecedents, we expect TikTok Music to do well when it is launched. How well it does, is a matter of speculation.

However, given TikTok‘s social media footprint, it is safe to expect a similar disruptive effect with its music streaming service.

Big players like Spotify (which recently introduced real-time lyrics for the Nest Hub), Apple Music, and YouTube Music will have TikTok‘s massive user base to contend with.

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