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Spotify, Apple Music to face music streaming challenge from TikTok owner ByteDance: FT

  • Beijing-based ByteDance is set to launch its new music streaming service as soon as next month, according to the Financial Times
  • The service is expected to be priced lower than the US$10 a month charged by Spotify, Apple and others in the US

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A man holding a phone walks past a sign of Chinese company ByteDance's app TikTok, known locally as Douyin, in Hangzhou, China. Photo: Reuters
Minghe Huin BeijingandTracy Quin Shanghai

Chinese internet company ByteDance, owner of popular short video platform TikTok, is set to take on the likes of Spotify and Apple Music with a new music streaming service as soon as next month, according to a report by the Financial Times on Monday.

The Beijing-based start-up is looking to launch the yet unnamed music app initially in emerging markets, including India, Indonesia and Brazil, the FT reported, adding that the company is expected to price the subscription service lower than the US$10 a month its rivals in the US are charging.

ByteDance is in talks with music labels such as Universal Music, Sony Music and Warner Music to secure global licensing deals, according to the Times.

Aside from on-demand music, the company also reportedly aims to encourage sharing and virality on the app: listeners will be able to search through a library of short vertical video clips, designed for mobile phones, and sync these to songs as they listen, FT reported.

A ByteDance spokesperson declined to comment on the new service.

The Post reported in April that ByteDance was working on a Spotify-like music streaming app for overseas markets. The start-up planned to launch the music app “soon” and there were more than 100 people working on it, a source told the Post.
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