The world’s biggest music streaming company files for an IPO
Tencent Music has 800 million users, far bigger than Spotify
The world’s biggest music streaming company is going public.
Tencent, China’s social and entertainment giant
Now it has over 20 million tracks from over 200 music labels, holding a dominant position in China -- and leaving rivals like NetEase to fight over the scraps.
TME has little international presence (although Tencent itself, not TME, owns Southeast Asian music service JOOX). But the sheer size of China combined with their leading position means they’re comfortably bigger than virtually any overseas competitors.
In fact, two of Tencent Music’s brands alone are far bigger than Spotify. The Swedish company does win out in terms of subscribers, though. 46% of Spotify's users have paid subscriptions, compared to just 3% for TME.
Music streaming is huge in China. 555 million people listen to music online, with 94% of those listening on smartphones.
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