- Capital Infusion Aids Strategy to Create Largest
Interactive Community for Music Lovers in China -
BEIJING, Nov. 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- NetEase, Inc.
(NASDAQ: NTES) ("NetEase"), one of China's leading internet and online game
services providers, today announced that its music streaming
platform NetEase Cloud Music has completed its previously announced
round of financing with investors, including strategic partner
Baidu, General Atlantic, Boyu Capital and several other investors.
The total amount raised was over $600
million, and NetEase remains the controlling shareholder of
the NetEase Cloud Music business.
With a population of 1.4 billion and upward trends in
consumption, China's recorded
music market is expected to expand considerably. China's recorded music market was 45 times
smaller than that in the U.S. in 2017, and China's per capita spending on recorded music
is projected to quadruple from 2017 to 2023, according to
iResearch. Revenue from the music industry in China is projected to reach RMB376 billion in
2018[1], affording China's digital music market tremendous
potential for continued growth as younger generations embrace the
convenience of streaming music services and online music becomes a
way of life. This round of financing aids NetEase's efforts to
further penetrate the market and leverage its strong industry
position.
Launched in April 2013, NetEase
Cloud Music is now widely recognized as one of the industry's
largest players, with more than 600 million registered users,
adding 200 million alone over the last twelve months. With a focus
on delivering a differentiated and premium user experience, NetEase
Cloud Music has been praised for providing precise, personalized
recommendations and promoting user interaction.
After just over five years of operation, this platform has
created a community for genuine music lovers and independent
musicians, who are the real trend setters of China's music world. As a result, NetEase
Cloud Music now has one of China's
most active music platforms, with a market leading user retention
rate and user time spent on the platform as well as one of the
largest catalogs of user-generated content.
NetEase actively supports original musicians and fosters the
growth of independent music on the platform. Today, over 70,000
independent musicians have uploaded over 1.2 million songs to the
platform.
"Baidu has always been committed to creating the most powerful
content ecosystem. We have found that Chinese users still have a
lot of room for online music," said Mr. Wang Lu, Vice President of Baidu. "Netease Cloud
Music has made a name for itself in terms of its differentiated
user offering, together with Baidu's leadership in feed business,
search content distribution capabilities in China, we look forward to working together to
provide users with enhanced service through the strongest content
distribution, and the highest quality content ecosystem."
"Pay-for-content is a growing trend, especially among Generation
Z users, driven by increasing affordability and improving
protection of intellectual property," said Eric Zhang, Managing Director and Head of
China for General Atlantic. "We
are deeply impressed with the NetEase Cloud Music team's
understanding of the music industry and their commitment to the
user experience. We are excited to partner with NetEase Cloud Music
and its strategic partners as the platform delivers one of the best
online music streaming services and supports independent artists
for content creation in the China
online music market."
"China's online music market is
attractive with huge growth potential," said Joey Chen, Managing Director of Boyu Capital.
"We believe that NetEase Cloud Music commands unique value in the
market as a clear leader in incubating independent musicians and
enjoys proven popularity among a young generation of users in
China who have formed an active
community on the platform. We are confident that NetEase Cloud
Music is well-positioned to capture the rising opportunities and
achieve sustained high growth."
"Content creation and user experience differentiation is
embedded in our corporate DNA," said Mr. William Ding, Chief
Executive Officer and Director of NetEase. "A focus on quality and
craftsmanship is prevalent in all our product offerings, including
online games and e-commerce, among others. NetEase Cloud Music is
no different. Music is particularly region-specific and we strive
to create the largest interactive community for music lovers in
China by providing users with
convenient access to both mainstream and independent artists. We
remain relentlessly focused on continuous improvement, and we are
confident we can further unlock the value of this important asset
in China's thriving online music
services market."
[1]
Source:
http://www.askci.com/news/chanye/20180116/142201116136.shtml
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About NetEase, Inc.
NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTES) is a leading internet technology
company in China dedicated to
providing online services centered around content, community,
communication and commerce. NetEase develops and operates some of
China's most popular PC-client and
mobile games, and partners with Blizzard Entertainment, Mojang AB
(a Microsoft subsidiary) and other global game developers to
operate some of the most popular international online games in
China. NetEase also operates
Kaola.com and Yanxuan, two e-commerce platforms that cater to the
rising middle-class consumer market in China. In addition, NetEase offers
advertising, e-mail and other services. For more information,
please visit: http://ir.netease.com/.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains statements of a forward-looking
nature. These statements are made under the "safe harbor"
provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. You can identify these forward-looking statements by
terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future,"
"intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates" and similar statements.
The accuracy of these statements may be impacted by a number of
business risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those projected or anticipated, including
the risk that China's online music
market may not grow as rapidly as expected, the ability of NetEase
Cloud Music to access desirable content at favorable terms or at
all, competition in the online music market, and other risks
outlined in NetEase's filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. NetEase does not undertake any obligation to update
this forward-looking information, except as required under
applicable law.
Contact for Media and Investors:
Margaret Shi
NetEase, Inc.
ir@service.netease.com
Tel: (+86) 571-8985-3378
Brandi Piacente
Investor Relations
brandi@corp.netease.com
Tel: (+1) 212-481-2050
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SOURCE NetEase, Inc.