Owner ByteDance Aims To Grow Beyond TikTok Into eCommerce

As it aims to contend with tech companies around the world and capitalize on the velocity of TikTok, ByteDance Inc. is reportedly aiming to grow into eCommerce, games and other segments as well as rolling out new apps. The firm, which is based in China, is piloting music streaming in Indonesia and India, bought game developers and rolled out a financial services app, The Wall Street Journal reported.

It is not certain that the efforts of ByteDance will succeed per the report. A number of its products are aiming to go into sectors that have heavyweights already, with the inclusion of Spotify Technology SA and Ant Financial Services Group’s Alipay as well as Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s WeChat Pay. A video-based messaging app, Duoshan, that ByteDance made to go up against the WeChat messaging service was reportedly not successful following its launch.

Advertising executives have conjectured that ByteDance could debut a subscription service when it comes to TikTok. The company did not comment to WSJ for the piece. And the news outlet noted that officials from the firm hadn’t given an indication that it was planning that kind of offering. By bolstering its offerings, however, it would reportedly diversify, help retain users and provide the company with additional user data.

Matthew Brennan, a tech consultant based in China, said per the report, “They are building an ecosystem which has less risk, which does not solely rely on one product.”

News surfaced earlier this year that ByteDance’s TikTok has been creating a new music streaming offering to take on streaming services in the class of Spotify, Amazon Music, and Apple Music. It had also come to a licensing arrangement with Merlin, a global agency that represents many artists and independent music labels, to have music used legally on the technology’s platform wherever the app is available.

The news was said to have importance as the deal was reportedly the first big music licensing arrangement that the firm announced as part of its wider music industry efforts.