Apple Music and Spotify are set to face new competition from Chinese company, ByteDance – owner of TikTok, an app for sharing short video clips.
According to a report today, ByteDance aims to agree global deals with music labels, and to undercut existing streaming music services …
The Financial Times reports that the US is one of the company’s target markets.
TikTok has around a billion users globally, with around 80M app downloads in the US, giving it a large user-base to whom it can market the new streaming music service.
The Beijing-based technology company aims to launch as soon as next month, initially in emerging markets such as India, Indonesia and Brazil, before a future opening in the US, according to people briefed on the plans.
ByteDance is reportedly aiming to capitalize on its social media background by including fun sharing options within the new app.
Pricing is not yet known, but the FT says that it is expected to cost less than the $9.99 charged by Apple and Spotify for a standard individual account.
Apple is, however, reportedly planning to offer bundles of Apple Music, News+ and TV+ subscriptions which may help it remain ahead of the competition. Currently, subscriptions to all three services cost $24.97, which includes Family Sharing for both News+ and TV+.
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