TikTok Parent ByteDance Sets Sights on Spotify With Music-Streaming Expansion
TikTok parent ByteDance Ltd. has begun talks with music labels about expanding its music-streaming service globally to compete with industry leaders including Spotify Technology (US.SPOT) SA, according to people familiar with the discussions. Significant hurdles remain in the negotiations, the people said, but ByteDance wants the service to eventually be integrated within TikTok and to serve as a major platform for distributing music around the world.
ByteDance has discussed in recent months launching its Resso music streaming service, which is currently only available in India, Indonesia and Brazil, in more than a dozen additional markets, according to some of the people. The U.S. wouldn’t be part of this next phase of expansion but ByteDance has said it wants the service to be available globally so that users can discover songs on the short-form video app and then easily subscribe to music, they said. ByteDance is negotiating with a music business that has been on a rapid upswing for several years, thanks to streaming growth as well as the establishment of standard rates for music licensing.