TikTok's parent company to launch music streaming service in India

Bytedance is poised to launch a music streaming service along the lines of Spotify and Apple music as soon as next month.

The Chinese company, which owns the video platform TikTok, is holding discussions with Universal Music, Sony Music and Warner Music for global licensing deals to include their songs on its new music subscription service, [Financial Times reported](https:// https://www.ft.com/content/ffaed23a-07dd-11ea-a984-fbbacad9e7dd) citing people familiar with the matter.

Bytedance plans to trot out the service in India, Indonesia and Brazil initially. The Beijing-basec company has a portfolio of applications such as TikTok, Helo, Vigo Video, Douyin, and Huoshan available in over 150 markets and 75 languages. TikTok is its most popular product with more than one billion users.

ByteDance streaming app would have a library of short video clips that listeners could search and sync as they listen. Users could send these clips to their friends, as the app aims to encourage sharing and virality, and is designed for mobile phones with vertical-sized videos.

ByteDance has not given a name to its music app yet and pricing remains unclear, although it is expected to cost less than the USD 10 a month charged by Spotify, Apple, and others in the United States, according to the report.

In India Spotify and Apple Music offer their services for less than USD 2 per month whereas local players like JioSaavn, Gaana and Hungama costs less than USD 1.40.

ByteDance has reportedly secured rights from two of India’s largest labels — T-Series and Times Music.

Tencent has a strong grip on the Chinese music market, claiming 800m users, but fewer than 5 per cent of those customers pay for it.