Bytedance To Shut Down Resso In India By Jan-End

Joining the bandwagon of Chinese tech companies exiting India, Bytedance is shutting down its music streaming platform Resso in the country by the end of this month. 

The decision to shut down the service came after Google Play and Apple App Store delisted the streaming application from their respective app marketplaces in mid-December of 2023 following directives by the Indian government, according to a Moneycontrol report. 

Confirming the development, a company spokesperson attributed the shut down to local market conditions. 

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

It must be noted that India is not the first country where Bytedance is pulling down the shutters on Resso.  Last year, the tech giant also took down the platform in Indonesia and Brazil.. Following which it launched a new standalone subscription-based music streaming service called TikTok Music in the two countries. 

However, Bytedance has no no such plans to launch the new service in India as TikTok Music shares the same publisher as the banned TikTok. Interestingly, Resso was published by a British Virgin Island-based company called Moon Video. 

The Chinese music streaming platform competes with the likes of domestic and global players in India such as Spotify, YouTube Music, JioSaavn, Wynk, among others.

Resso was launched in the country in 2020 and enabled users to stream music through free and paid subscription plans. The platform pivoted to a premium-only model after scuttling the free service in May last year to focus more on developing a ‘better user experience for music fans while increasing opportunities for rights holders and artists.’

However, Bytedance has now decided to wrap up Resso in India. 

Resso joins a growing list of Chinese apps that have been banned by Indian authorities citing security concerns amid geopolitical skirmishes between New Delhi and Beijing. The Centre began unleashing a wave of Chinese app bans, starting 2020, which impacted platforms such as TikTok, Helo, CapCut, among others. 

This followed multiple rounds of app bans but Resso largely escaped the wrath of Indian authorities. Despite the hurdles, it emerged as a top grossing app on Play Store in India and has clocked more than 250 Mn installs in India since launch till mid-2023.

However, the ensuing crackdown on Chinese companies and tightening of regulatory noose have resulted in a slew of these entities shutting down operations in India. Last year, Chinese tech giant Xiaomi-owned short-video platform Zili wrapped up its operations. 

Prior to that, Xiaomi also shut its digital payment app Mi Pay and digital lending app Mi Credit in 2022. Not just this, Ant Group-backed Antfin has also been shedding its stake in fintech giant Paytm as the former looks to cut back on its stake in Indian companies. 

Not just this, Chinese smartphone makers, from Oppo to Vivo, have also been under regulatory scanner for alleged tax evasion and flouting money laundering norms.