Streaming
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When Morgan Hayduk and Andrew Batey founded Beatdapp — a company which helps streaming services, labels, and distributors detect streaming fraud — at the end of 2018, they faced a major obstacle: The music industry was reluctant to acknowledge that streaming fraud was a problem.
“It used to be verboten to speak publicly about [it],” Hayduk told Billboard last year. “It was all behind closed doors. But I don’t think you can fix a problem until you accept its existence.”
The climate has changed dramatically recently. Last year, Universal Music Group began calling for changes to the streaming model, arguing that fraud and things like white noise and rain sounds were scooping up royalty income that should be going to actual artists. And Beatdapp announced on Friday (Jan. 19) that it’s entering into a strategic collaboration with UMG as well as partnering with SoundExchange (which collects performance royalties from digital radio stations and broadcast companies like SiriusXM) and the streaming service Napster.
“We’re at a point now where there’s a consensus that we have to address the problem” of streaming fraud, says Michael Nash, chief digital officer and executive vice president for Universal Music Group. “Beatdapp have really focused on understanding the problem and working with a number of different platforms to provide a very clear perspective about the scope of the problem. Providing that kind of leadership, driven by data analysis, has been really important.”
Hayduk defines streaming fraud as the leveraging of “bots, stolen accounts or manipulated platform features” to steal streaming income. The practice “hurts everyone who makes a living in the music industry and, left unchecked, creates this promotional race to the bottom where everyone believes they have to cheat to succeed,” he told Billboard last year.
“In an industry where it’s already hard to make something and then promote something and then get paid,” Batey added, “you should at least get paid correctly.”
As Beatdapp widens its network of partners, it gets access to more streaming data — the company was analyzing 2.2 trillion streams in 2023, up from hundreds of billions in 2022 — which in turn allows the company to improve its understanding of how fraudsters manipulate the streaming ecosystem and get better at identifying suspicious listening patterns.
“Napster provides Beatdapp with a daily feed of all usage on Napster’s services, and Beatdapp then uses its detection filters to identify likely stream manipulation activity based on certain (high) confidence levels,” explains Matthew Eccles, the streamer’s svp and general counsel. “Napster will then ensure that the streams identified by Beatdapp are removed from royalty reports for all licensors so that the market share calculations for all labels are not affected.”
Napster’s view is that it is helpful to engage a third party to detect stream manipulation because “it eliminates potential questions of bias when the results come back,” Eccles continues. “Third parties can help achieve consistency across the industry in relation to what is and what is not considered to be streaming fraud.”
Beatdapp also announced on Friday that it had raised an additional $17 million, money that will go towards hiring new data scientists and senior leadership and expanding into Europe and Asia.
“With the volume [of music on streaming services] jumping the shark over value — more than 150 million tracks and more than 100,000 uploaded every day — this has created a lot of issues,” Nash notes. “That level of volume has created a context for a lot of bad actor activity.”
Tackling these issues is complicated, but cracking down on fraud is “the least controversial item on the agenda,” Nash adds. “There aren’t a lot of advocates for fraud.”
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
UFC 297 will kick off 2024 with its first pay-per-view event as middleweight champion Sean Strickland puts his title to the test against former KSW welterweight champion Dricus du Plessis. The two will enter the ring on Saturday (Jan. 20) at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Canada, but if you weren’t able to grab a travel deal this time or grab last-minute tickets to watch the Strickland vs. du Plessis live and in person, you can still livestream the event through PPV on ESPN+ for $69.99 at 10 p.m. ET.
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The co-main event will see an exciting match-up between Raquel Pennington vs. Mayra Bueno Silva as the two fight it out for the vacant bantamweight title. The title became up for grabs once Amanda Nunes announced her retirement during UFC 289 back in 2023.
Other fights you can look forward to also include Neil Magny vs. Mike Malott (welterweight), Chris Curtis vs. Marc-Andre Barriault (middleweight), Brad Katona vs. Garrett Armfield (bantamweight), Arnold Allen vs. Movsar Evloev (featherweight), Charles Jourdain vs. Sean Woodson (featherweight), Serhiy Sidey vs. Ramon Taveras (bantamweight), Gillian Robertson vs. Polyana Viana (women’s strawweight), Yohan Lainesse vs. Sam Patterson (welterweight), Jasmine Jasudavicius vs. Priscila Cachoeira (women’s flyweight) and Malcolm Gordon vs. Jimmy Flick (flyweight).
Keep reading to learn how to watch Strickland vs. du Plessis live at home.
When & How to Watch UFC 297: Strickland vs. Du Plessis
UFC 297 will stream live on Saturday (Jan. 20) with early preliminary matchups starting at 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+ and the main card event taking place at 10 p.m. ET through PPV on ESPN+. You’ll need an ESPN+ account in order to get access to the PPV link. If you already have a membership, then you can just head to the fight’s main page and purchase the event through there or click here or the button below to purchase Strickland vs. du Plessis.
Don’t have an ESPN+ membership? You can purchase a bundle, which includes the PPV match as well as an ESPN+ membership for $134.98.
A subscription with ESPN+ will cost $10.99/month and give you access to the entire ESPN+ library including live games of other sports like football, soccer, hockey, baseball and more, game recaps and analyses hosted by Peyton Manning, a shorter version of NFL Primetime, as well as full replays of historic NFL games.
You can even expand your content offerings by bundling ESPN+ with Hulu and Disney+ for more programs to binge at your leisure.
LONDON — European regulators are calling for sweeping new laws to help fix the “imbalance in revenue allocation” from music streaming and deliver higher rates of pay for artists and songwriters.
On Wednesday (Jan. 17), Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) voted overwhelmingly in favor of new legislation being drawn up to ensure creators are fairly compensated from music streaming with 532 votes for, 61 against and 33 abstentions.
The resolution is non-binding, meaning there’s no legal requirement for its recommendations to come into force, but the report’s endorsement by MEPs puts pressure on policy makers to address long-held complaints from musicians about low returns from streaming. The adopted text now passes to the European Commission for consideration.
“The Parliament is giving voice to the concerns of European creators, who are at the heart of the music streaming market,” MEP and rapporteur Ibán García Del Blanco said following Wednesday’s vote. Ensuring that authors are “credited and fairly paid has always been our priority,” he said.
The EU proposals state that current “pre-digital royalty rates” must be brought in line with “modern rates” and call on the industry to explore “fairer models of streaming revenue allocation” for artists and creators, including pro-rata and user-centric models “or totally new ones.”
The current global streaming model pioneered and dominated by Spotify, Apple, YouTube and Amazon Music leaves a majority of authors and performers with very low rates of pay and often means they are unable to sustain careers in music, say MEPs.
Over the past year, the standard pro-rata streaming model has been a major topic of consideration throughout the industry, leading to several of the leading streaming platforms to trial alternative models.
In September, Deezer announced that it was piloting a new “artist-centric” system in France in partnership with Universal Music Group that rewards artists and songs that actively driving listener engagement.
A few months later, Spotify announced that it too was looking to introduce changes to its streaming royalty model, including a new listening threshold that tracks must reach in order to qualify for royalties and a targeted clamp down on streaming fraud.
The EU report — titled “Cultural diversity and the conditions for authors in the European music streaming market” — does not reference those industry-led reforms. Instead, it calls on all stakeholders in the music business to take “all necessary steps” to overcome the current imbalances in the allocation of streaming royalties.
The report also strongly condemns the use of so-called payola schemes that force artists to accept lower royalty rates — or forgo them entirely — in exchange for greater visibility on streaming platforms.
One of its other key recommendations is that the EU takes action to protect the long-term prominence of European musical works on global streaming platforms by taking “concrete measures,” including the possibility of introducing quotas for European songs or artists.
Details on what form these quotas would take or how they would be implemented are not specified in the text, although quotas already exist in many European countries for domestic content broadcast on national radio and television stations.
“EU legislation should include diversity indicators to assess the array of genres and languages available and the presence of independent authors,” say MEPs, noting that the majority of streaming revenues go to major labels and big global stars, while less popular styles and less common languages are streamed less frequently.
On the subject of transparency and artificial intelligence (AI), the report says platforms should be obliged to make their algorithms and recommendation tools transparent to prevent unfair practice, such as the manipulation of streaming numbers.
In line with the terms outlined in the EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act — which was provisionally passed in December and forms the world’s first comprehensive set of laws regulating the use of AI — MEPs said music works generated by AI must be clearly labelled as such and unauthorized use of an artist’s voice or likeness banned.
Responding to the EU report, Helen Smith, executive chair of European independent labels trade body IMPALA, representing almost 6,000 music companies, said its adoption by MEPs “comes at a decisive time for the music sector.”
“The idea that artists should receive a fair contemporary digital rate reflects the independent sector commitment made almost ten years ago,” she said in a statement.
John Phelan, director general of international music publishing trade association ICMP, thanked rapporteur Ibán García Del Blanco for his “diligence and determination” in defending artists’ rights, while Jess Partridge, executive director of European Music Managers Alliance (EMMA) said the report “underlines the barriers faced by artists and their teams.”
“The music streaming market needs to properly reward those who are at the core of its success,” echoed Véronique Desbrosses, general manager of European Authors Society GESAC. “We count on the European Commission to take the next step and table the needed legislative proposals.”
The Mechanical Licensing Collective (the MLC) has issued notices of intent to audit all digital service providers (DSP) that operate under the compulsory blanket license administered by the MLC since its inception in 2021.
This includes a slew of different companies that license music, including on-demand streaming services (like Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Tidal and Deezer), internet radio companies (like Pandora, Mixcloud and iHeart Radio) and music apps (like Ultimate Guitar, PianoTrax and WeavRun). The audits are intended to ensure the accuracy of reported and paid royalties beyond the measures already taken by the MLC.
A representative for the MLC says that it will update its members on the results of any DSP audits that it conducts and will “clearly identify any monies recovered in audits on the royalty statements it provides to members.”
The right for the MLC to audit (and to be audited itself) is stipulated in the Music Modernization Act (MMA). The landmark 2018 law created a new blanket license for musical work mechanicals, replacing the previous song-by-song licensing system that proved to be complicated and ineffective for both digital services and the music business. Because of issues with the old piecemeal licensing system, a pool of $427 million in unmatched and unpaid publishing royalties had formed. The MMA also established the MLC to divvy up these royalties — often nicknamed “blackbox” royalties — and administer the new blanket license moving forward.
The news of the MLC’s auditing plans arrives a month after Bridgeport Music, the company that represents George Clinton and Funkadelic, opted to exercise its right to audit the MLC. Bridgeport Music is best known for its bullish approach to copyright enforcement, once accusing more than 800 artists and labels of infringement in one lawsuit in the early 2000s. It was also a defendant in the controversial Blurred Lines lawsuit along with Marvin Gaye‘s estate, which is believed to have greatly widened what elements of a song are considered protected under copyright law.
“Ensuring DSPs have reported royalties accurately is one of the MLC’s statutory responsibilities under the MMA,” says Kris Ahrend, CEO of the MLC. “The MLC has tapped music industry audit veteran, Jane Bushmaker, a member of the MLC’s Analytics & Automation team, to oversee DSP audits, which will be conducted by experienced outside audit firms.”
“The MLC’s audit right is a first in the 115-year history of the U.S. compulsory mechanical license and provides enhanced protection for songwriters and music publishers,” adds Alisa Coleman, chair of the board of directors at the MLC. “The audit notices filed by the MLC mark the beginning of its fulfillment of this important function.”
See below for a full list of companies the MLC intends to audit:
Amazon Media Venture LLC (AMP)
Amazon.com Services LLC (Amazon Music)
Anghami FZ LLC (Anghami)
Appcompanist, LLC (Appcompanist)
Apple Inc. (Apple Music)
Artist Technology Group DBA PANTHR Music (PANTHR Music)
Audiomack Inc. (Audiomack)
Avail LLC (The Cover Foundry)
Beatport LLC (Beatport)
Bill Graham Archives, LLC (Wolfgang’s Music)
Boxine GmbH (Tonies)
Choral Tracks LLC (Choral Tracks)
Classical Archives, LLC (Classical Archives)
Da Capo Music, LLC (Yes! Fitness Music)
Deezer S.A. (Deezer)
Fan Label, LLC (FanLabel)
Global Tel*Link Corporation (GTL)
Google, LLC (Google Play Music/YouTube)
GrooveFox Inc. (GrooveFox)
IDAGIO GmbH (Idagio)
iHeartMedia + Entertainment, Inc. (iHeart Radio)
JPay LLC (JPay)
M&M Media, Inc. (Trebel)
Midwest Tape, LLC (hoopla)
Mixcloud Ltd (Mixcloud)
MONKINGME S.L. (MonkingMe)
Music Choice (Music Choice)
Napster Group PLC (Napster)
Naxos Digital Services US Inc. (NAXOS)
Nugs.net Enterprises, Inc. (Nugs.net)
Pacemaker Music AB (Pacemaker)
Pandora Media, LLC (Pandora)
PianoTrax LLC (PianoTrax)
Power Music, Inc. (Power Music)
PRIMEPHONIC B.V. (Primephonic)
Recisio SAS (Karaoke Version)
Saavn Media Limited (Jiosaavn)
Securus Technologies, LLC (Securus)
Slacker, Inc. (Slacker/LiveXLive)
Smithsonian Institution (Smithsonian Folkways Recordings)
Sonos, Inc. (Sonos)
SoundCloud Operations Inc. (Soundcloud)
Spotify USA Inc. (Spotify)
TIDAL Music AS (Tidal)
Transsnet Music Limited (Boomplay)
TRIBL, LLC (Tribl)
Ultimate Guitar USA LLC (GuitarBackingTrack.com)
Weav Music, Inc. (Weav Run)
XANDRIE USA (QOBUZ)
Yoto Ltd (Yoto)
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
Director Blitz Bazawule’s adaptation of The Color Purple takes inspiration from the Broadway musical, which was further adapted from the popular book by Alice Walker — and it’s now available to watch online at home.
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Buzz for the movie has increased now that awards season is in full swing. The movie most recently snagged wins at the 2024 African-American Film Critics Association Awards, including best musical, best ensemble and best music. It’s also a potential Oscar contender (nominations will be announced Jan. 23), which means its winning streak could keep rolling.
The film is currently still in theaters, but if you’d rather stay inside this weekend, then starting Tuesday (Jan. 16), the new version of The Color Purple will be available to rent for $19.99 or buy for $24.99 on Prime Video and Apple TV.
If you’re new to The Color Purple story, the film follows Celie (Fantasia Barrino, Phylicia Pearl Mpasi), a young woman who faces hardships throughout her life, including being torn apart from her sister, a teenage pregnancy and an abusive husband. It’s through the support of sultry jazz singer Shug (Taraji P. Henson) and her stepdaughter Sofia (Danielle Brooks) that she discovers a newfound sisterhood and the strength to survive.
Keep reading to learn the streaming options available.
How to Watch The Color Purple (2023)
The Color Purple has yet to get a streaming platform premiere date, but you can rent or buy the movie on digital through Amazon and Apple TV. You don’t need a Prime membership in order to gain access to the movie. Anyone can purchase or rent the film through Amazon. After you make your selection, the movie will automatically be added to your video library with rentals available for 48 hours.
For those who prefer Apple TV, you don’t need Apple TV+ in order to stream the movie at home. Just make sure you have the app and you can purchase or rent the movie to watch on your smart device and/or TV.
How to Watch The Color Purple (1985)
Want to watch the original version? The first Color Purple movie can be streamed for free through Max. If you’re already a subscriber, just log into your account and you can find it within the movie library.
Don’t have Max? The streaming platform doesn’t offer a free trial, but it does have budget-friendly plans starting at $9.99/month for the ad-supported plan. You can go ad-free for $15.99/month or go Ultimate Ad-Free and get 4K definition as well as everything in the ad-free plan for just $19.99/month. Click here or the button below to start your subscription.
Looking for more savings? Prime members can add Max as a premium channel for $9.99/month and gain access to the entire Max library of content including exclusive and original TV shows and movies like Barbie, Succession, The Rise of the House of Dragon, Game of Thrones, The Gilded Age, Natalia Speaks, True Detective Night Country and more.
Check below to watch the trailer for The Color Purple (2023).
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We live in the age of unparalleled music discovery and easy and cheap, often free, access to the world’s music. Listeners have never had it better. Luminate, the company that tracks music streaming and sales globally, said in its 2023 year-end report that its database of ISRCs — international sound recording codes, the identifiers given to unique recordings that allow them to collect royalties — reached 184 million in 2023.
But most of those songs barely register with listeners. Of those 184 million tracks, 60% — 109.5 million — weren’t streamed enough times to pay for a cup of coffee. About 16% — 30 million tracks — were streamed from 101 to 1,000 times. Another 18% — 33.9 million — were only streamed up to 10 times.
For companies that must handle the deluge of new music, the more alarming statistic is the number of tracks that went completely ignored. A quarter of those 184 million tracks —45.6 million — were not played even once, according to Luminate. That’s 45.6 million tracks with official ISRCs, made available through one of many digital distributors and taking up server space, that didn’t receive a single play last year. Not too long ago, 45.6 million was the entirety of a streaming service’s licensed catalog!
A few decades ago, the promise of streaming — as popularized by the 2006 book The Long Tail — was the ability for niche music to find an audience. No longer faced with the limited shelf space of a brick-and-mortar retailer, consumers could explore deep catalogs and find music they loved rather than buy whatever was readily available.
The economics of streaming is what helps more music get heard. On a streaming service, the cost of listening to one more song is zero. At most, it’s the value of the time spent listening to the song. With downloads, the cost of enjoying one more song is 99 cents (or $1.29 for the more popular tracks). The all-you-can-eat streaming service’s flat fee means people don’t have to pay more to consume more. Ad-supported streaming doesn’t even have a flat fee — the cost of listening is the cost of waiting through an advertisement.
The low cost of streaming, although great for music discovery and falling into musical rabbit holes, has never been a guarantee a recording will find an audience. In written testimony in 2016 to the Copyright Royalty Board, Will Page, then Spotify’s director of economics, noted that in 2013, 20% of Spotify’s 20 million-track catalog received no streams. Spotify “is not just increasing the sheer number of tracks available to the public,” Page wrote, “it’s ensuring that music can actually be heard.”
Well, not everything was getting heard. One-fifth of a catalog going untouched is a large void, but it was an improvement: Page also noted that a 2008 U.K. study found that over 80% of digital tracks went unsold. Just because digital distribution and inexpensive recording tools lowered the barriers to entry didn’t mean people would buy the music. Still, streaming allowed more music to get heard. But as the amount of music released annually exploded, the number of unheard tracks deepened dramatically. In 2013, when Spotify’s catalog had 20 million tracks, only 4 million didn’t get a single stream. Last year, Luminate counted 11 times that many tracks across all streaming services that didn’t receive one stream.
Streaming platforms, for all their playlists and ability to personalize the listening experience, can’t draw attention to every new recording. The better business decision appears to be to guide listeners to music they’ll most likely enjoy. Playlists are popular places to find new music, but the most popular ones cover only a small fraction of the more popular new releases. According to Chartmetric data shared with Billboard, there were 5,256 unique tracks on Spotify’s New Music Friday playlist last year (it currently has 4.8 million followers). Chartmetric tracked about 8.4 million tracks released in 2023 on Spotify last year (it doesn’t track every track uploaded to the service). That means 0.06% of those new releases found their way onto New Music Friday. A new track had an even lower odds of appearing on Spotify’s Today’s Top Hits playlist (34.6 million followers), which had only 201 unique tracks in 2023.
Of course, Spotify and other streaming platforms have far more than those two playlists, as well as personalization features and algorithm-driven tools to introduce people to music. And there is some evidence listeners are branching out well beyond the most popular tracks.
According to Luminate data shared with Billboard, the top 10,000 U.S. tracks’ share of total on-demand audio streams fell from 50.4% in 2018 to 40.3% in 2023. By Billboard‘s estimate, as streaming exploded in those six years, the 10.1 percentage-point swing equates to 377 billion on-demand audio streams that migrated from the top 10,000 tracks to less popular music. That’s a collective win for today’s do-it-yourself artists, hobbyists, bedroom producers, aspiring professionals and working-class musicians — and a more modest win for any single artist’s royalty income.
But 38 million new tracks per year seems to have broken the system. Those services reach far more users today than seven years ago. People have shifted their listening time from owned media (CDs, downloads) and radio to streaming. And yet with more streamers and more time spent streaming, a quarter of all commercially available tracks received zero streams in 2023.
There are financial implications to this sea of unheard and seldom-heard music. The marginal cost of server space is small, but the cost of handling music at this scale isn’t zero. Staff must be hired to build and maintain systems that ingest tracks, manage assets and handle royalty accounting. Cloud storage must be obtained for tens of millions of tracks with little to no economic value. If a quarter of the products aren’t selling because supply and demand are mismatched, that’s a big deadweight loss to the industry. This hasn’t been lost on labels, distributors and streaming platforms, of course. One solution has been to adopt new royalty calculations that set a minimum threshold of streams to receive royalty payouts.
None of this is a surprise. ISRCs are inexpensive for an artist to obtain, and it’s never been easier to record a song and upload it to a digital platform. There will continue to be a mismatch between the supply of music and listeners’ demand for that amount of music. The question is what the music industry wants to do about it.
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
One Fight Night just couldn’t stay away from your streaming platforms and is already kicking off 2024 with its first MMA fight of the season. Friday (Jan. 12) will see fourth-ranked featherweight MMA contender Shamil Gasanov take on the league’s described “dangerous finisher” Oh Ho Taek of South Korea at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand starting at 8 p.m. ET.
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If you weren’t able to score travel deals to watch the fight live this time around, Prime Video is livestreaming Gasanov vs. Oh, so you can catch all the action without having to leave the comfort of your home. Along with the main card event, One Fight Night 18 will feature bantamweight MMA stars such as fourth-ranked Kwon Won Il, fifth-ranked Artem Belakh and Mongolian sensations Shinechagtga Zoltsetseg and Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu, according to an official press release. Muay Thai standouts will also be joining the lineup, including the U.K.’s Liam Nolan and Thai knockout artist Suablack.
Keep reading to learn how to watch the MMA matchup online.
How to Watch Gasanov vs. Oh
Prime Video will be the exclusive streamer of the first matchup of the season in the U.S. and Canada. The event will be livestreamed at 8 p.m. ET and if you have a Prime membership, you can stream it for free. Just log into your account and you’ll have instant access to the Gasanov vs. Oh fight.
You’ll need a Prime membership in order to watch the fight, but Amazon offers a 30-day free trial for new users who sign up, which means you can stream the fight and more for no cost. Once your free trial is up, you’ll be charged the regular membership fee of $14.99/month or $139/year. Click here or the button below to start your free trial.
Looking for more money-saving options? Students can take advantage of a student membership, which comes with a six month free trial as well as a half off membership. Qualifying government programs can earn you a 30-day free trial and 50% off membership through an EBT/Medicaid membership.
A Prime membership won’t just allow you to watch Gasanov vs. Oh for free, but will give you access to the entire Prime Video library including exclusive content and original TV shows and movies like Saltburn, Gen V, Medellin, Foe, Invincible, Candy Cane Lane, Red, White and Royal Blue, Citadel, Daisy Jones & The Six, Reacher, Swarm, Kelce, Harlem, The Boys, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, The Summer I Turned Pretty, The Wheel of Time and more.
For even more content options, Prime Video has the option to add premium channels to your subscription including Max, Starz, Paramount+ and Showtime.
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The Weeknd is now the first artist to rack up 4 billion streams for a single song on Spotify, with “Blinding Lights” hitting the milestone this week. “I’ll never stop being humbled by anything I create making its way to millions of people let alone billions!” The Weeknd (real name: Abel Tesfaye) says in an […]
ByteDance will shut down its music streaming service Resso in India at the end of January, Billboard has confirmed with a ByteDance representative.
The decision, which was first reported by India-based outlet Moneycontrol, was made after Resso was removed from the Google Play and the Apple App stores in December on the orders of the Indian government. Billboard had not been able to determine the reason behind those removals at press time.
Notably, India was Resso’s last remaining market after the app was previously shuttered in Brazil and Indonesia.
“Unfortunately, owing to local market conditions, we can no longer continue to serve users of Resso in India,” said a ByteDance spokesperson in a statement sent to Billboard. “We have therefore taken the decision to shut down Resso and its associated operations on January 31st. Users will be offered a refund of their remaining subscription fees.”
Another factor working against Resso in India — where streaming competitors include such widely-used platforms as Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn and Wynk — was Sony Music’s removal of its catalog from the service in September 2022.
ByteDance, the Chinese-owned company behind TikTok, first launched Resso in India and Indonesia in March 2020, offering both free and paid tiers, before introducing it in Brazil later that year. In May 2023, ByteDance ended the free tier, making Resso a premium-only service.
In July, ByteDance announced it would roll out its new social music streaming service, TikTok Music, in Brazil and Indonesia, leading to the shutdown of Resso in both markets. Just two weeks later, TikTok Music was launched in closed beta in three additional countries: Mexico, Australia and Singapore, followed by a public launch in those markets in October.
ByteDance confirmed with Billboard that it has no plans to launch TikTok Music in India, where the government banned TikTok in June 2020, along with 58 other Chinese-owned apps, citing data privacy concerns. Those bans were made permanent in January 2021.
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
Live cable isn’t the only streaming option you have anymore when it comes to watching NFL playoffs, college football, NBA games and more. Cable cutters can also watch ESPN Deportes online through a variety of platforms, including the sports broadcaster’s own streaming platform: ESPN+.
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The Spanish-language channel not only provides commentary, but you can catch the latest match-ups, scores and analysis to keep you up to date on the latest stats and major moments. The channel also provides a lot of the same coverage you would get from English-speaking ESPN channels, which is ideal for anyone who prefers watching content in Spanish.
When soccer season kicks off, you can expect ESPN Deportes to provide coverage of live events and tournaments like MLS, USL Championship, Copa MX as well as European competitions like La Liga and Copa del Rey. Plus, when the FIFA World Cup comes around, you can also expect coverage.
Keep reading to learn how to stream the channel online.
How to Watch ESPN Deportes
Since ESPN Deportes is a part of the ESPN family, you can watch it on any channel that offers ESPN for free. You’ll just need to turn to the ESPN Deportes channel, which you can find within your cable provider’s channel guide. Don’t have cable? You may be able to get the channel through an HD antenna like one here from Amazon.
You can also tune into the channel through ESPN’s official streaming platform ESPN+. If you’re already subscribed, just log into your account and you’ll have access to the channel for no extra cost. For those who aren’t subscribed, the streaming platform doesn’t offer a free trial, but it does offer affordable pricing with a monthly plan for $10.99/month or you can save more than 15% off for $109.99/year.
Click here or the button below to start your subscription.
Outside of ESPN Deportes, you’ll be able to watch everything within the ESPN+ library, including live games in other sports and exclusive on-demand videos, as well as access to content from what was formerly known as ESPN Insider. In addition to games, ESPN+ has original shows to stream on-demand, including game recaps and analyses hosted by Peyton Manning, a shorter version of NFL Primetime and full replays of historic NFL games.
To expand your savings and content offerings, you can also bundle ESPN+ with Hulu and Disney+.
More Ways to Watch ESPN Deportes
Looking for more money-saving options? Live channel streaming platforms offer free trials and promos, so you can watch ESPN Deportes for free. Rather than shell out hundreds of dollars a month, DirecTV Stream and Fubo offer up to seven day free trials and plans starting as low as $25/month. SlingTV also offers ESPN with your first month for half off.
For even more content offerings, Hulu + Live TV comes with a 30 day free trial and access to the entire Hulu streaming library as well as a variety of live TV channels.