ByteDance could be entering the e-book market. Should Amazon be worried?
ByteDance might be about to use another tactic to increase its US market share as it's been reported that one of the company's subsidiaries applied for a trademark to dabble in book publishing. The trademark is named 8th Note Press, and it can be assumed ByteDance is attempting to enter e-publishing.
The trademark filing was first reported by Business Insider and the products and services this trademark will provide include an app for reading, book retail services, audio and physical books, publishing e-books, and offering downloadable books.
Also: The best tablets for reading: Does anything beat Kindle?
The app could also include a designated feature for discussing books, possibly capitalizing on the popularity of TikTok's niche corner, dubbed 'BookTok'.
According to TechCrunch, this trademark filing does not mean ByteDance's efforts will definitely come to fruition and does not disclose any timeline for the app's creation.
Review: How to get (great) free books on Kindle
Should ByteDance enter the e-publishing industry, it would have to compete with Amazon, which holds a strong stake in the US digital-reading market. It's unclear how much of the sector Amazon is responsible for, but it could be close to 50%, according to experts.
ByteDance's potential interest in connecting readers socially is what could make its app stand out in the US. Amazon doesn't have a social component to its book-buying business model -- the closest thing to a digital book club is its reviews section.
Also: How to turn your old electronics into Amazon gift cards
According to TechCrunch, ByteDance invested hundreds of millions of dollars into a Chinese e-publisher called Zhangyue. The company, therefore, isn't a stranger to the digital-reading market. ByteDance will, however, have to deal with the general distrust the American public has for Chinese-owned tech companies at the moment.
ByteDance already owns Lemon8, a fast-growing lifestyle app, operates a successful video game company called Nuverse, and owns CapCut, a popular video-editing app.