After months of testing, ByteDance(TikTok’s parent company) has finally launched its music streaming platform ‘Resso’ in India. The platform, which is described as a social music streaming platform is a little different than other music streaming platforms in the sense that it gives users the ability to interact with other people, allowing them to post lyrics, comment on music and engage in conversations.
The platform has already been downloaded by 1 million users to date in India and Indonesia, via the App Store and Google Play. Close to 600,000 of these installs are in India, and 400,000 in Indonesia.
Another feature of the app that stands out is that music automatically begins to play when you open it, thus giving a ‘vibe’ of a musical world. And expanding more on that reference, ‘Vibes’ are a big part of the platform, which allow users to post pictures, videos, or GIFs to a song and share it.
The app is the like a love child between TikTok and Spotify, taking the best of both world, enabling to the users a social media presence while they stream their favourite tracks. The company has signed deals with Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, Merlin and Beggars Group, T-Series, Saregama, Zee Music, YRF Music, Times Music, Tips, Venus and Shemaroo, Speed Records, Anand Audio, Lahiri Music, Divo and Muzik 247 to make their library available on the app. However, Universal Music is missing from this list, so users might have to wait before the library on the app can compete with the likes of Spotify and Gaana, India’s biggest music streaming platform.
The app will be different from its sister platform TikTok, in the sense that it will have two different versions. Users can opt to use the standard version, which is ad based, or they can upgrade to the premium version that costs Rs. 99 on Android and Rs. 119 on iOS. The reason for this gap in the prices has not been revealed.
TikTok has an established presence in the Indian market, where it has already managed to get 200 million users, and expects to add another 100 million by the end of 2020. Thus, Resso already has a nepotistic advantage. However, it will be competing with the likes of Gaana, Spotify and JioSaavn, which have established themselves as huge players in the music streaming world of India, leaving almost no room for any new platform in the already saturated market. Thus, it is fair to assume that the app has a tough road ahead.
