TikTok owner ByteDance pulls plug on music streaming app Resso in India after government pressure

The move comes after the Indian government demanded in December that Apple and Google remove Resso from app stores.

“Unfortunately, owing to local market conditions, we can no longer continue to serve users of Resso in India,” a ByteDance spokesperson told BI. “We have therefore taken the decision to shut down Resso and its associated operations on January 31. Users will be offered a refund of their remaining subscription fees.”

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TikTok has been banned in India since 2020, when the government boxed out dozens of China-affiliated apps amid a geopolitical scuffle with the country. Given that it has the same corporate owner as TikTok, how Resso managed to dodge the ban for several years remains a mystery.

TikTok’s removal from India does not seem to have curtailed the app’s growth globally, as the company announced in September 2021 that it had crossed 1 billion users.

While TikTok is now effectively shut out of one of the most populous markets for music streaming, the company still has plenty of room to expand its TikTok Music subscription service as it competes with incumbents like Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube Music.

The company has not announced plans to roll out TikTok Music in the US, but ByteDance filed in May 2022 a trademark application with the US Patent and Trademark Office for the service, BI first reported.

The closing of Resso comes at an interesting moment for TikTok, which has been flexing its influence in the music industry outside the confines of its app.

Beyond offering a streaming service in five markets, the company hosted in December a sold-out live music event in Mesa, Arizona, featuring artists including Cardi B and Peso Pluma. TikTok also offers artist services via its SoundOn division and works with SiriusXM on a “TikTok Radio” station.

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An executive on TikTok’s music team told BI in December that the company aims to build new features to make artists’ lives easier.

“We want to maximise the amount of time artists have to do what artists do and make it as easy for them as possible,” said Paul Hourican, TikTok’s global head of music partnerships and programming.

Indian business publisher Moneycontrol first reported the news of Resso’s planned shutdown.

Representatives for the Indian government did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.