The TikTok parent company ByteDance has recently filed a trademark application with the US Patent and Trademark Office. According to Insider, the service name is “TikTok Music,” and it would allow users to “purchase, play, share, download music, songs, albums, lyrics… live stream audio and video… edit and upload photographs as the cover of playlists.. [and] comment on music, songs, and albums.”
TikTok might launch a music streaming service in the US
ByteDance currently has a similar music streaming service called Resso, and it’s available in India, Brazil, and Indonesia. Judging based on the trademark filing, Resso shares some of its features with TikTok Music, including playlists, song-sharing, and community interaction. Resso could be a preview of what TikTok Music will offer in the future, and ByteDance has created Resso as a prototype. What fuels this speculation is that TikTok is now directing Brazilian users to Resso to listen to the full version of the song. This strategy could also apply to the US version of TikTok and its Music branch. In the trademark application filing, ByteDance also said that users can “live stream audio and video interactive media programming in the field of entertainment, fashion, sports, and current events.” A big company like ByteDance never files a trademark application without any solid reason. When a company files a patent in the US, it needs to show that it is either actually using the trademark for its specified services or that it has a real (bona fide) intent to use it in connection with the sale of a product, Insider says. The recent moves suggest that TikTok is preparing to launch its music streaming service and become a rival to Apple Music and Spotify. TikTok is already a robust rival to Meta and its subset platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Moreover, TikTok has recently started to test mini-games in its platform and even allowing users to attach games to their videos. Besides the music industry, TikTok is seemingly preparing to push into the gaming industry too.
