Tencent loses last major exclusive music licensing deal as NetEase, Sony seal distribution pact

  • NetEase has struck a streaming deal with Sony Music Entertainment, which previously had an exclusive deal with Tencent Music Entertainment
  • Tencent’s music arm says it has been facing regulatory scrutiny from government authorities

Coco Fengin Beijing
A man wearing headphones walking past a bus station on May 10, 2017. Photo: AFP

Sony Music Entertainment announced on Monday “a direct digital distribution relationship” with NetEase Cloud Music, a unit of Chinese video games giant NetEase, to effectively end an exclusive licensing deal in mainland China with Tencent Music Entertainment (TME).

Under the agreement, NetEase will make Sony Music tunes available to mainland Chinese users and explore other areas of collaboration, including music vlogs – or what it calls Mlogs – and online karaoke with smartphones.

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