TikTok parent ByteDance officially launched their music streaming app Resso on Wednesday. The app allows users to comment on songs, share lyrics on social media platforms and create their own background images (more on that below). The launch comes months after a beta version of the app was being tested in India and Indonesia. At the time of this story, the app has more than 500,000 downloads on Google Play Store.

Resso will be competing against YouTube Music, Spotify, JioSaavn and Apple Music among others, and it has a few features that other music apps don’t currently have:

  • We tested the app and found that users have to “scroll” through songs, which is a departure from the traditional swipe-to-change interface, which most music apps use.
  • Users can create a “vibe”, which can then be used as the background image while a song is streaming. You can use photos and videos from your library to create vibes, and Resso also has a repository of media which can be used to create shareable videos, gifs or pictures.
  • Users can also comment on songs, and view playlists and vibes created by other users.
  • Users can use the app to share lyric snippets or entire tracks across a number of social media platforms, including on Instagram and WhatsApp.

Licensing deals: Resso has secured deals 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 labels such as Speed Records, Anand Audio, Lahiri Music, Divo and Muzik 247. TechCrunch pointed out that Universal Music Group (UMG) is a notable absentee in this list, which is interesting, because ByteDance rival Tencent acquired a 10% stake in UMG in 2019.

Subscription plans: Resso users can download the basic app for free, which provides an extensive catalogue of music on demand. For extended features such as downloadable content, unlimited skips and high-quality audio, users can upgrade to a monthly premium subscription at INR 99 for Android and INR 119 for iOS. The price on iOS is presumably higher because the App Store charges transactions like this a 30% fee for one year (and then 15% in consecutive years).