Tencent Music agrees to give up exclusive rights
TENCENT Music said it has given up most of its exclusive music streaming licensing rights, as the market watchdog moves to prevent leading digital players from abusing their market dominance.
Music streaming copyright owners are free to authorize other online streaming service providers to access their content, Tencent said on Tuesday, after being given a one-month deadline by the State Administration for Market Regulation in late July.
Tencent Music added it will continue to collaborate with copyright owners and contribute to the music industry through partnerships with stakeholders.
The arrangement excludes copyright agreements with independent music producers, which shall be no longer than three years. New releases will have exclusive rights for no longer than 30 days.
As part of the SAMR’s anti-trust review on monopolistic behavior and unfair competition among digital firms, Tencent Music was found to be using its dominant position following Tencent
Music’s acquisition of a majority stake in China Music Group in 2016.
The SAMR investigation found the firm holds more than 80 percent of exclusive music library resources, which gives it leverage over upstream copyright parties and restricts new entrants.
Tencent Music was fined 500,000 yuan (US$77,228).
The company has been prohibited from making high pre-authorization patent payments or forcing copyright owners to give it preferential conditions, and is also required to submit annual updates on its business rectification initiatives to the SAMR over the next three years.
Tencent Music Group on Monday reported a 41 percent increase in the number of paid subscribers to 66.2 million for the second quarter, and total revenue rose by 15.5 percent to 8.01 billion yuan.
According to the state-backed China Internet Network Information Center, the number of users in China’s online music entertainment market has reached 658.3 million in 2020. And the CIC Consultancy estimates the user base will reach 792.8 million by 2025.