TikTok maker ByteDance on Wednesday announced its official foray into India’s highly competitive music streaming market with Resso. Resso is ByteDance’s music streaming app designed for both Android and iOS devices that will take on the likes of Spotify and Gaana in the days to come. The app is now available for download and install from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
Much like Spotify and Gaana (and a host of other music streaming apps in India), ByteDance will also offer Resso as a ‘freemium’ service which means users will be able to use an ad-supported version for free and a premium version without ads and additional features through subscription. The ‘premium’ service will be available for Rs 99 per month on Android and Rs 119 per month on iOS.
ByteDance is differentiating Resso from competing apps by adding a ‘social’ angle to it. Much like how TikTok is designed to share short videos with others, Resso has been designed to share music. Resso, in fact, ‘encourages’ users to share lyrics and comments with each other while listening to music that they’re also free to share with others. There will also be an option to share ‘user generated content,’ on Resso.
Moreover, Resso “empowers artists to reinvent their catalog by providing a fresh way for fans to engage with their music and introduces them to new listeners,” according to ByteDance.
ByteDance doesn’t say how many tracks will be available on Resso at launch, but it notes that it has secured licensing deals with “with major global, local and independent labels such as Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, Merlin and Beggars Group, T-Series, Saregama, Zee Music, YRF Music, Times Music, Tips, Venus, Shemaroo and regional majors such as Speed Records, Anand Audio, Lahiri Music, Divo, Muzik 247.”
Premium Resso subscription will get you high-quality audio (256 Kbps), unlimited skips as well as an option to download tracks.
