Alphabet Inc’s YouTube is rolling out a short-form video-streaming service on its platform in the United States as it looks to better compete with rival TikTok in the hugely popular category. The service was initially tested in India after New Delhi banned Chinese apps last year amidst border tensions.

“Starting today and over the next several weeks, we’ll gradually expand our Shorts beta to the U.S. We plan to introduce more features as we continue to build Shorts alongside creators and artists,” YouTube yesterday said in a blog spot on its website.

Shorts currently records more than 6.5 billion daily views globally, YouTube said.

According to YouTube, it has worked alongside music partners to make sure artists and creators have a large library of songs to use in their Shorts in the US.

“As we launch our beta in the US, we’ll have millions of songs (and growing), music catalogs from over 250 labels and publishers, including Universal Music Group’s labels and publishing companies, Sony Music Entertainment and Publishing, Warner Music Group and Warner Chappell Music, Believe, Merlin, 300 Entertainment, Kobalt, Beggars, CD Baby, Empire, Peer, Reservoir, One RPM and more. As we expand Shorts, the library and number of partners will continue to grow,” the blog said.

YouTube, which some consider is the biggest OTT platform in the world, said last September it had announced building YouTube Shorts, a short-form video experience for anyone who wants to create short, catchy videos using nothing but their mobile phones.

“Since introducing our initial beta in India, we’ve already started to see creators having fun with Shorts, and the number of Indian channels using our creation tools has more than tripled since the beginning of December (2020) alone. People are also watching more and more Shorts around the globe,” the company explained.

The company went to state, “With our Shorts beta in India, we had foundational creation tools, like a multi-segment camera to string multiple video clips together, the ability to record with music, control speed settings, and more.

“And today we’re adding more features, like the ability to add text to specific points in your video. You’ll also be able to sample audio from other Shorts so you can remix it into your own creation.

In the coming months, we’ll launch the ability to use audio from videos across YouTube – which includes billions of videos worldwide – unlocking a new playground of creativity like never before. This means you can give your own creative spin on the content you love to watch on YouTube and help find it a new audience.”

YouTube promised that as more creation tools were being readied, Shorts would expand to more countries.