Tencent signs deals with Universal Music and Kobalt

By Emmanuel Legrand

 

China's music and entertainment company Tencent Music Entertainment Group has renewed its licensing deal with Universal Music Group. Tencent, which owns 10% of UMG, will continue to distribute music from UMG's repertoire on its streamimg platforms QQ Music, Kugou Music and Kuwo Music. 

  UMG's content will also be licensed for use on TME's online Karaoke platform, WeSing, along with other live streaming and expanded digital services. The difference from the previous agreement is that the licenses are exclusive to Tencent and do not grant Tencent the right to sub-license UMG's repertoire in China. 

  The companies also announced a new joint venture music label, which will be dedicated "to reaching audiences across China through cultivating, developing, producing, and showcasing highly talented domestic artists and their premium original music." 

Strengthen the licensing ecosystem

  TME said it is "working closely together with its partners on copyright protection to empower artists, musicians and performers to create, distribute and monetise their music, and ultimately reach an enormous base of Chinese music lovers." UMG and TME have pledged to "reinforce a sustainable music licensing ecosystem in order to help support the industry's evolution in China." 

  "We are pleased to extend and evolve our licensing agreement with TME for the Chinese market," said Adam Granite, UMG's London-based, EVP of Market Development. "We look forward to working together with TME to help create compelling new experiences for fans across all TME platforms, and to expand on the opportunities available to UMG's global and domestic family of artists in China."

  TME's Chief Executive Officer Cussion Pang added: "Through this partnership expansion, we look forward to cultivating the growth of the dynamic and expanding music entertainment industry in China, taking our shared love and pursuit of new music, to new levels that will benefit all."

  Tencent Music has also  signed an agreement with independent music company Kobalt Music Group to license and distribute the Kobalt publishing and AWAL recording catalogues on TME's streaming platforms (QQ Music, Kugou Music, Kuwo Music and WeSing). TME said it will "help Kobalt to simultaneously expand to concerts, music festivals, online live streaming and more fields, in order to effectively meet the music needs of fans all over the world." In the future, the two parties said they would "join hands in content, to deepen the development of music IP and explore potential new artists." 

A new deal with NetEase

  In addition to Tencent, UMG has also signed a new multi-year licensing agreement with Chinese interactive music streaming service provider NetEase Cloud Music. Under the agreement, NetEase Cloud Music will directly distribute UMG's domestic and international catalogue on its streaming platform and associated digital services in China. NetEase Cloud Music and UMG will also "work together to create innovative campaigns and initiatives that will allow music fans in China to engage with both domestic artists from China and UMG's international talent from around the world." 

  "The partnership further strengthens NetEase Cloud Music's position as a go-to platform for high-quality international music and marks a great step forward for China's music industry as a whole," said NetEase CEO William Ding.