NetEase Cloud Music continues to make strategic partnerships with major South Korean firms.
Several months ago, ahead of Tencent Music’s fabled IPO, NetEase Cloud Music revealed a major milestone.
The Chinese streaming music giant had raised $600 million in funding. Strategic partners included Baidu, General Atlantic, Boyu Capital, and several other unnamed investors.
The company also revealed it has reached over 600 million registered users. It had registered 200 million users alone in the twelve months leading up to November 2018.
Similar to SoundCloud, the company has also aimed at providing a platform for independent musicians in the country. Over 70,000 indie musicians have uploaded over 1.2 million songs to the platform.
Now, NetEase Cloud Music has unveiled a new partnership.
Partnering with CUBE.
NetEase Cloud Music has formed a strategic partnership with CUBE Entertainment, a South Korean entertainment giant.
Under the partnership agreement, NetEase will provide users with the entirety of CUBE’s catalog. This includes popular artists such as BTOB, CLC, PENTAGON, Yoo Seon-Ho, and (G)I-DLE.
The streaming music giant will also promote its platform as the go-to brand for Chinese fans of Korean music. NetEase has previously partnered with several prominent music industry leaders to raise brand awareness. The company also has existing partnerships with major Korean music award events.
The Chinese streaming music giant has recently expanded its licensing relationships with major South Korean firms. These include SM Entertainment, JYP Entertainment, Big Hit Entertainment, and Loen Entertainment.
CUBE Entertainment said it chose NetEase Cloud Music as a strategic partner due to its “proven copyright management capabilities and the consumption potential of the large, demographically young user base.”
China remains a very attractive and lucrative market for both local and streaming music services. The country has a population of 1.4 billion, with upward trends in consumption. According to iResearch, China’s per capita spending on recorded music will quadruple from 2017 to 2023.
Speaking about the $600 million fundraising round and what lies ahead, Joey Chen, Managing Director of Boyu Capital, had explained,
“China’s online music market is attractive with huge growth potential. 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.”