ByteDance’s “Soda Music” Undergoing Internal Testing
ByteDance’s first music App in China is undergoing an internal test, Tech Planet reported. The APP was named “Soda Music”, but not “Fei Le”, with much of the research and development of the app completed in September of this year.
“Soda Music” bills itself as a music listening platform for young people who love music. With its style similar to ByteDance’s overseas music product “Resso”, music is played on the home page in “Soda Music” app. Users of Soda Music can swipe up and down to change songs as videos play in the background.
In terms of music special effects, “Soda Music” has a unique “Hi-Ting mode”, in which special effects flash according to the rhythm while intelligent music libraries are recommended to users based on AI algorithms. It is worth noting that Resso has a podcast function in its newest version which might be added to the official version of “Soda Music” later on.
Located mainly in Shanghai, the APP’s R&D team consists of members who have previously worked in music and audio companies such as NetEase Cloud Music and Ximalaya. The team serves not only Soda Music but alsoparticipates in Resso’s product operations.
In a music-related user survey conducted by Douyin some time ago, there was one question asking users to choose one of six different music APP icon designs. Some think that one of these six icons may become the logo of Soda Music. However ,there has yet to be an official announcement.
At the end of July, ByteDance launched its music agent distribution platform “Star Nation”, featuring a one-stop music and video upload feature and was made available around the world. In addition, a number of music marketing and distribution studios, such as Hot Cake Studio, have been set up to promote the music distribution of Douyin musicians and the creation of popular songs.
Star Nation will further cooperate with Modern Sky in content production which is regarded as an expansion of music copyright. The goal is to find undiscovered talent and new music online, and introduce new musicians into the music festival scene.
After Xiaomi Music’s shutdown and the liberalization of exclusive music copyright supervision, many players in the domestic online music scene are eager to move in. In addition to Soda Music and StarNation currently being tested by ByteDance, leading players such as Tencent Music and NetEase Cloud Music are also making moves in the industry.
Take Tencent Music as an example. In the past year, Tencent Music has launched or tested products such as BoDian music, KuGoo Book Listening, KuGoo DJ, YanLiao Video, Mixes Music, GouWo KTV, Master Sparring, GejiGeji, TingKanBao, etc. QQ Music has also added the function of recognizing music through short video links while optimizing its ability to listen and recognize songs.
SEE ALSO: ByteDance Cancels Talent Development Center in Effort to Streamline HR Department
BoDian Music, a subsidiary of Tencent Music, was recently upgraded to version 2.0. This music product is similar to ByteDance’s Soda Music. In terms of commercialization, BoDian is adopting a two-pronged approach: watching advertisements and sharing downloads. The former is its main way to generate profit and, for users, it will be more reasonable to download songs free of charge rather than paying, which has become one of the core competitive features of the APP.
