TikTok owner ByteDance had earlier said that the company is all set to start its own music streaming platform. Well, the Chinese giant has now started testing the new music app in emerging markets.
The app, named Resso, is now available in India and Indonesia, two of Asia’s most populous countries and places already keenly familiar with TikTok. The application has reportedly been installed by about 27,000 users across the iOS App Store and Google Play Store.
ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, has been working on this app to challenge the likes of Spotify and Apple Music in regions where paid music services have yet to garner large audiences.
As for the Indian market, the company had already secured rights from Indian music labels T-Series and Times Music. However, there are still no rights deals with the world’s three largest music companies — Warner Music Group Corp., Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment.
Those three labels control the vast majority of popular music and would be crucial for Resso to catch on globally. Unlike Spotify, Resso displays real-time lyrics and lets users post comments under individual songs.
Users can also generate music-accompanied GIFs and videos, emulating a feature of TikTok. The app offers a monthly paid subscription service, which costs ₹119 in India, the same as Spotify. Further, premium Resso users will be able to download music and listen ad-free.
