The report notes that the company has already secured rights from two of India’s biggest music labels – T-series and Times Music – and is in talks with other global record companies. It adds that ByteDance is looking to release the app in emerging markets to rival Spotify and Apple Music. A report from Economic Times fuels the rumor further by saying the company is looking to launch the app in July. One of the reasons for TikTok’s popularity is its library of songs. A report from Bloomberg Businessweek indicates that in the past year, many hit songs on top charts owe their popularity to the video making the app. Notably, Lil Nas X’s song Old Town Road climbed the top of Billboard charts after gaining fame on TikTok. Naturally, ByteDance wants to cash in on this phenomenon and launch a new music app with audio and video streaming. But it’ll have to fight off competition like Tencent’s QQ Music in its homeland of China. In India – its most popular market for TikTok – it’ll have to compete with international players like Apple Music, YouTube Music, and Spotify, and local players such as Saavn, Gaana, Jio Music, and Hungama. While TikTok’s success has proved that ByteDance can make viral apps, it’s a pretty unique offering. However, the music streaming industry is filled with proven apps and industry veterans. We’ll have to see if the Chinese company can score a home run on this turf.
