San Francisco, Dec 15 (IANS): Snap Inc, the parent company of Snapchat, has launched a new standalone video editing app 'Story Studio' for iPhone users in the US, the UK and Canada.

The Story Studio app is meant to give creators more precise editing control over vertical videos and allow them to add elements like text, trending audio, and AR lenses, reports The Verge.

Videos created with Story Studio can be uploaded directly to Snapchat Spotlight, a dedicated public section for videos up to 60 seconds long. Videos edited can also be downloaded without a watermark.

In Story Studio, users can view what is trending on Snapchat and also allows users to remix content that is already popular.

This is a major attempt by Snapchat to retain its users in the face of stiff competition with TikTok and Instagram reels.

The app is not yet available for Android.

Meanwhile, Snap recently signed a new deal with Sony Music Entertainment to include their artists' music into Snap's library of licensed music.

Now, the additional music partners include Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, MERLIN Members, Sony Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell, Kobalt, BMG, NMPA members, DistroKid and thousands of individual songwriters/music publishers.

With over 200 million Snapchatters engaging with augmented reality every day, the brand is also expanding the music experience on Snapchat by adding Sounds into our AR Lenses available in the Lens Carousel and experimenting with new formats.