TikTok Music App Ready to Challenge Spotify, Apple

TikTok is all set to launch its music streaming app, challenging Spotify, Apple, and other music streaming services.

ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, filed a trademark application with the US Patent and Trademark Office for “TikTok Music” in May, The Verge reported. ByteDance already filed for the trademark in Australia last November.

The service would let users purchase, play, share, and download music. They will also be able to create, share, and recommend playlists, comment on music, as well as livestream audio and video.

In 2020, the tech firm launched a music streaming app called Resso in India, Brazil, and Indonesia. Resso has some of the same features described in the “TikTok Music” filing, such as the ability to create playlists, share songs on social media, and interact with the app’s community.

On Thursday, Instagram announced that it will sideline features after users, including Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner, complained that they look too much like TikTok.

Users posted messages on social media, calling for the company to “make Instagram Instagram again” and stop trying to be like TikTok. The slogan sprang from a change.org petition that had received more than 229,000 signatures.

Recently, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Facebook and Instagram feeds will double the content from unknown users by the end of 2023.

The new feature is intended to compete with TikTok’s heavy use of artificial intelligence (AI) to serve up videos regardless of where they come from.

During Meta’s second-quarter earnings call on Wednesday, Zuckerberg indicated that “Al finds additional content that people find interesting, that increases engagement and the quality of our feeds.”