Apple has reportedly teamed up with popular app Musical.ly to provide song snippets for its social music videos. The Cupertino company is to replace 7digital, the service’s existing provider, according to people familiar with Apple’s plans.
The new partnership is a major boost for Musical.ly, which will be able to expand the number of countries it currently supports from just 30 to 120. In return, Apple Music will be promoted through the Musical.ly app, and existing subscribers will be able to enjoy full songs, Recode reports. Representatives for Apple and Musical.ly have declined to comment on the deal for now.
Based in Shanghai, Musical.ly is a three-year-old company, but it saw a boost in popularity last year among U.S. teens. Its app is primarily used to create social music videos using the short song clips it offers, which can then be shared on social networks. The company also offers Live.ly, a live-streaming app that is also primarily focused on music.
Musical.ly now boasts more than 100 million users and is worth around $500 million. However, it is thought that the service may have already peaked. After a spell at the top of the App Store charts for much of last year, it is currently ranked at number 89.
UPDATE: 7digital got in touch with us to confirm it is still “very much working together” with Musical.ly. In recent weeks, the two company’s signed a renewal deal that will see 7digital powering Musical.ly in a total of 60 countries.
“7digital has just signed a renewal agreement with musical.ly which will see us not only continue to power the service, but to do so in double the number of territories,” said CEO Simon Cole. “Musical.ly is one of the world’s fastest growing social video networks and as such, the company works with a number of suppliers and 7digital will continue to be one of them – we have in no way ended our working relationship.”