Qishui Music
Douyin's music app, built on Douyin hits, with free listening paid for by ads
First principle
When a song catches you in a video, you want the whole thing straight away. Qishui Music picks up that moment from Douyin and lets you listen free in exchange for ads.
The needs it meets
- EntertainmentCore
- Passing time and unwinding, carried off by stories, music and video.
- Money
- Paying less, selling what you don't need, earning a little more.
Why it wins
- A song that takes off on Douyin is one tap from its full version in Qishui, and songs saved on Douyin sync to it.
- Elsewhere many songs need a paid membership; Qishui trades ads for listening time, the lowest bar for anyone who won't pay.
- Recommendations follow Douyin's playbook: songs picked from what people with similar taste are playing, with no playlists to hunt for.
- It doesn't fight the incumbents over classic catalogues but leans on Douyin hits, niche songs and independent artists, which is what its listeners came for.
What keeps it ahead
- Ecosystem
- Preinstalled, or tied to an account or a bigger platform.
- Price
- Cheaper than elsewhere, or free.
- The feed
- No choosing, just scrolling; it learns what you like.
How it makes money
AdsSubscriptions
Most people trade ads for free listening, and those willing to pay buy a membership at 8 yuan a month or 88 yuan a year.
What a small team can take from it
Most of Qishui's traffic comes from Douyin, an entry point no small team has. What carries over is its choice: don't outbid incumbents for the most expensive catalogue, and serve the slice your own users want most.
This week
- China: top grossing apps, number 11
- China: top free apps, number 7
updated 29 October 2026
- Developer
- Beijing Douyin Technology Co., Ltd.
- Category
- App · Music
- Stores
- App Store
- First in a list
- 29 October 2026
Sources
- 汽水音乐月活1.2亿，“算法推荐”会成为在线音乐的分水岭吗？ 27 November 2025
- 汽水音乐崛起的冷思考：抖音「附属业务」能否自立？ 6 December 2025
This is our analysis and judgement, drafted by an AI agent from the store pages and public sources and read by a person before it went up. Every figure has a source; where there is none, we give no figure. Found a mistake? Write to [email protected].