TikTok To Close Music Streaming Service Across Five Markets By November

TikTok Music, once seen as a rising player in the music streaming industry, is set to close down. The service will be discontinued on November 28 across its five operating markets: Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, and Singapore.

TikTok has cited a strategic shift towards building partnerships with established digital streaming platforms as the official reason for the shutdown.

Insiders reveal that the decision aligns with TikTok's broader strategy to collaborate with major streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music. Rather than competing directly, TikTok aims to enhance music consumption through these platforms by leveraging its massive user base.

“Our ‘Add to Music App’ feature has already facilitated hundreds of millions of track saves to playlists on partner streaming services,” said Ole Obermann, TikTok's Global Head of Music Business Development, in a statement to Music Business Worldwide.

TikTok Music was officially launched in Indonesia and Brazil last summer, having secured licensing deals with all three major music labels. It replaced Resso, a long-standing music subscription service operated by ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, in these regions.

Despite this, both TikTok Music and its predecessor Resso encountered challenges, particularly due to the absence of key music catalogs from major labels. Additionally, the platform's progress was shrouded in uncertainty, with few updates or reports on its performance, leaving questions about its growth and long-term viability.