Tencent ends all exclusive music rights deals after Beijing crackdown
Tencent has ended all its exclusive music licensing agreements with record labels across the world after Chinese regulators ordered it to do so last month, as part of an intensifying crackdown on the country’s tech giants.
In a statement released on the Chinese tech conglomerate’s official WeChat page, Tencent said all parties involved in the formerly exclusive deals had been notified of the change, and that it would continue to work with them in a “non-exclusive” capacity.
It comes just over a month after Beijing ordered the company to sever its exclusive music licensing deals with global record companies, sending Tencent’s shares sliding.
In a move said to be aimed at tackling Tencent’s dominance of online streaming in the country, Beijing gave the company 30 days to cease engaging in such deals, as part of a sweeping regulatory crackdown on Chinese tech giants for perceived monopolistic behaviour and unfair competition.
Tencent has previously stuck deals with global giants such as Sony Music, Universal Music and Warner Music, and controlled more than 80 per cent of China’s exclusive music streaming rights following its acquisition of the Chinese Music Corporation in 2016.
This majority control restricted competition, Beijing said, and held back new entrants to the space.
Earlier in the year, China’s State Administration began its crackdown on Tencent by fining it for monopolistic behaviour in March.