TikTok is one of the most popular social media apps right now. It lets users make short videos of themselves lip-syncing to songs and other pop culture references. It has proven to be an immense hit, particularly in emerging markets. A new report mentions that ByteDance, the Chinese owner of TikTok, is now developing a Spotify competitor to challenge the world’s top music streaming service in precisely those markets.
Bloomberg reports that ByteDance is creating its own paid streaming service for emerging markets which would obviously compete with Spotify in those markets. India is one of TikTok’s biggest markets and Spotify has been trying very hard to gain a foothold there. It’s already said to have secured music rights from some of India’s top music labels.
The app may not be named after TikTok. It will reportedly arrive first in emerging markets where other streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music have yet to launch. Its rivals in some of those markets will include Tencent’s QQ Music service which is free as well as YouTube which is widely available across the globe.
ByteDance doesn’t seem to have secured music rights from labels in the United States so it may not be in a rush to bring its service Stateside. It’s unclear how much its music streaming service will cost but it would most likely be cheaper than Spotify.