ByteDance will shut down its music streaming service TikTok Music in November, the project’s website says. “We regret to inform you that TikTok Music will be shutting down on November 28, 2024,” the message reads. The platform operated in Indonesia, Brazil, Australia, Singapore and Mexico.
The TikTok Music service grew out of ByteDance’s Resso product – streaming was launched in India and Indonesia in 2019, and then began working in Brazil. In 2023, Resso users in Brazil and Indonesia were transferred to TikTok Music. Soon after, the updated platform went live in Singapore, Australia and Mexico. Earlier this year, the Resso platform was blocked in India by order of local authorities.
Short video service TikTok has become an important source of new music for people, with artists and their works quickly gaining popularity on live streams. ByteDance, which also owns music distribution platform SoundOn, tried to capitalize on TikTok’s popularity and launch live-streaming incentives within its own ecosystem, but the experiment apparently failed.
This year, Universal Music Group removed its music catalog from the platform after disagreements arose with its administration over royalties – in response, TikTok management accused the label of “untrue narratives and rhetoric.” In March, the parties agreed to a settlement and signed a new agreement. Now management is trying to fight an American law that could lead to the blocking of the application in the US – it could also become an obstacle to the deployment of the TikTok Music platform in the country.