How Tencent came to dominate music streaming in China
Rival Spotify is not available in the country
In the world’s second-largest economy, most people are glued to one of three popular music-streaming channels: QQ Music, Kugou Music and Kuwo Music. These service providers, all operated by internet giant Tencent Holdings, have a combined 700 million monthly active users -- that’s four times more than the number of subscribers on Spotify.
A big reason why mainland Chinese consumers flock to Tencent’s services is the sheer variety of songs they make available. They work with more than 200 local record labels, and hold a near-monopoly in Western music fare. Other online platforms that want to stream catalogs from Sony Music, Universal Music and Warner Music need to pay Tencent for the rights to do so.
For more insights into China tech, sign up for our tech newsletters, subscribe to our Inside China Tech podcast, and download the comprehensive 2019 China Internet Report. Also roam China Tech City, an award-winning interactive digital map at our sister site Abacus.