SHENZHEN, China, Nov. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Tencent Music Entertainment Group (Tencent Music or TME, NYSE: TME), the leading
online music entertainment platform in China, and Merlin, the global digital rights
agency for the world's independents, jointly announced that the two
parties have renewed their multi-year licensing and cooperation
agreement. As part of the renewal, TME and Merlin will deepen their
longstanding strategic partnership, explore ways to drive the
creation of music value, and enhance the music experience for TME's
users.
Under this agreement, Merlin will also now license into TME's
social community, WeSing, a dynamic online karaoke service in
China. Through this cooperation,
Tencent's users will enjoy Merlin's members' diverse repertoire for
a richer music experience. In addition, Merlin's renewed
partnership will continue to include TME's QQ Music, KuGuo, and
Kuwo music streaming services.
As a pioneer and leading online music entertainment service in
China, TME reached its initial
strategic cooperation agreement with Merlin in 2018.
TC Pan, Group Vice President of Content Cooperation of TME said,
"Merlin has the world's top musicians with a strong appeal among
Chinese music fans. This collaboration not only creates a 'music
express' for Chinese lovers of global music, but also enriches the
overseas music library of online karaoke for users, to meet the
demand for an international singing music and entertainment
experience. TME's strong advantages in music digital
transformation, user operation, and big data management will
combine with Merlin's high-quality music content to explore the
organic integration of overseas music with the Chinese digital
music market."
TME is committed to bringing high-quality overseas music content
into China, including through its
partnerships with labels that cover Europe, the United
States, Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia, and other countries. The music
genres range from popular to independent pioneers, from film and
television music to variety music, from classic to new sounds. The
TME-Merlin partnership helps to achieve this mission, unlocking a
wide range of content from countries around the world through the
breadth of Merlin's membership.
"We are excited to renew our agreement with Tencent and expand our strategic partnership,
including the extension of our deal into the dynamic WeSing
service. Merlin's members represent the most iconic and diverse
repertoire in the world," said Jeremy
Sirota, CEO of Merlin. "We look forward to continuing to
support our members in engaging their fans and finding new
listeners for the music that resonates with them."
Merlin navigates the music ecosystem by striking premium deals
with digital services that enable its members to better control
their future. Merlin likewise provides digital services with the
ability to efficiently license the world's most valuable
independent music. Merlin members account for more than 15% of the
global digital music market, representing tens of thousands of
labels and hundreds of thousands of artists, with artists from
virtually every country in the world.
This list includes: Armada Music, an independent
internationally-awarded record company founded by a.o. Dutch DJ
Armin van Buuren, with a roster including global dancefloor hit
makers such as Loud Luxury, Andrew
Rayel and W&W; global independent record label [PIAS],
whose artists include the soulful Arlo
Parks, ambient pop stars Cigarettes After Sex, Northern
Irish indie rock band Two Door Cinema Club, and Bristol punk band Idles; and The state51 Music
Group, featuring London-based,
Korean-born pop artist nijuu, legendary singer-songwriter Donovan,
rocker/10cc founder Kevin Godley,
and psycho-sonic songsmith Cosey Fanni Tutti.
About Tencent Music
Entertainment
Tencent Music Entertainment Group
(NYSE: TME) is the leading online music entertainment platform in
China, operating the country's
highly popular and innovative music apps: QQ Music, Kugou Music,
Kuwo Music and WeSing. TME's mission is to use technology to
elevate the role of music in people's lives by enabling them to
create, enjoy, share and interact with music. TME's platform
comprises online music, online karaoke and music-centric live
streaming services, enabling music fans to discover, listen, sing,
watch, perform and socialize around music.
For more information, please visit
https://www.tencentmusic.com/
About Merlin
Merlin's membership represents more than 15% of the global
market share. Members consist of independent labels, distributors
and other rights-holders, representing tens of thousands of labels
and hundreds of thousands of artists from every country in the
world. Merlin navigates the music ecosystem by striking premium
deals with digital services that enable its members to better
control their future. Digital services have the means to
efficiently license the world's most valuable independent
music.
Merlin's members include the likes of Amuse, Armada Music, AVL
Group (including CD Baby and DashGo), Cinq Music Group, Curb
Records, Domino, Entertainment One, Epitaph Records, Foundation
Media, KVZ Music, Mad Decent, mtheory, Mushroom Music, Ninja Tune, ONErpm, [PIAS], Secretly Group,
Symphonic Distribution and Sub Pop.
Merlin has deals with over 30 digital partners, including
Boomplay, Deezer, Facebook/Instagram, JioSaavn, KKBox, Pandora,
Snap, SoundCloud, Spotify, TikTok, Triller, UMA, Yandex and YouTube
Music.
Find out more at http://www.merlinnetwork.org
Media Contacts
TME:
Edmond Lococo, ICR Inc.
E-mail: TME.PR@icrinc.com
Phone: +86 138-1079-1408
Merlin:
Dawn Kamerling, The Press House
Email: dawn@thepresshouse.com
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SOURCE Tencent Music
Entertainment