It appears TikTok is preparing to launch a music streaming service. According to Business Insider, the company’s Beijing-based parent company ByteDance filed a U.S. trademark application for ‘TikTok Music’ back in May.

ByteDance’s filing describes a pretty straightforward social media streaming platform. TikTok Music will let users purchase, play, share, and download music. Moreover, it will allow users to create, share, and recommend playlists, comment on music, and livestream both audio and video.

TikTok’s entrance into the music streaming space is a big deal. With upwards of 50 million global downloads per month, the controversial app has begun to remake social media in its own image. With a rival of this caliber, it’s safe to say companies like Spotify and Pandora are officially on notice.

So, taking this into consideration, we looked at the state of the music streaming landscape. In particular, we identified TikTok Music’s three biggest rivals in the United States for both iOS and Android.

Here’s what we found…

The top Android music streaming apps in the United States over the last 30 days…

1. YouTube Music by Google LLC
30-day Android Downloads in the U.S.: 2,331,658

2. Spotify: Music and Podcasts by Spotify AB
30-day Android Downloads in the U.S.: 1,923,244

3. Pandora - Music & Podcasts by Pandora
30-day Android Downloads in the U.S.: 929,183

The top iOS music streaming apps in the United States over the last 30 days…

1. Spotify - Music and Podcasts by Spotify
30-day iOS Downloads in the U.S.: 3,046,571

2. YouTube Music by Google LLC
30-day iOS Downloads in the U.S.: 1,566,513

3. Amazon Music: Songs & Podcasts by AMZN Mobile LLC
30-day iOS Downloads in the U.S.: 1,283,274

Downloads for the top Android music streaming apps have been solid in 2022…

Above you’ll find daily U.S. downloads for the most popular Android music streaming apps: YouTube Music (purple), Spotify (green), and Pandora (red). These downloads are from the period between January 1st and August 2nd, 2022.

In total, these apps have been downloaded 35,749,517 times in the U.S. since the beginning of 2022.

• YouTube Music has 17,250,950 downloads.
• Spotify: Music and Podcasts has 12,536,108 downloads.
• Pandora - Music & Podcasts has 5,962,459 downloads.
  
  

Downloads for the top iOS music streaming apps have also been strong…

This chart is similar to the previous one, except that it focuses on the top iOS music streaming apps. There’s a lot of overlap here: YouTube Music, Spotify, and Amazon Music. This chart likewise shows downloads from January 1st to August 2nd, 2022.

In total, these apps have been downloaded 15,748,015 times in the U.S. in 2022.

• YouTube Music has 9,720,832 downloads.
• Spotify - Music and Podcasts has 3,150,815 downloads.
• Amazon Music: Songs & Podcasts has 2,876,368 downloads.
  
  

Final Thoughts

Despite TikTok’s preeminence in the social media space, music streaming is a different beast altogether. While it’s never safe to count out a company with TikTok’s reach, it will still take a gargantuan effort to unseat platforms like Spotify and YouTube. This is especially true in the United States, where misgivings over TikTok’s security practices have led to growing calls to curtail the company’s influence within the country.

Nevertheless, this will certainly be an interesting space to watch if TikTok does pull the trigger with TikTok Music.