Warner Music Group (WMG) and NetEase Cloud Music, a leading interactive music streaming service provider in China, today announced the renewal of their strategic licensing agreement.
This multi-year extension deepens the long-standing partnership between the two companies, multiplying opportunities in China for WMG’s artists and songwriters and offering NetEase Cloud Music’s highly engaged user base new and enhanced ways of engaging with their music.
The two companies will expand their partnership from distribution of WMG’s historic recording and publishing catalog to collaboration on promoting WMG’s talent, who will benefit from dedicated marketing support by NetEase Cloud Music to strengthen and grow their relationships with Chinese audiences. Leveraging NetEase Cloud Music’s strength in interactive community experiences, the renewed partnership will now focus on multimedia content collaboration beyond audio streaming, creating a richer and more immersive experience for fans.
Robert Kyncl, CEO of Warner Music Group, says: “China is a vital part of the global music ecosystem, and our continued partnership with NetEase Cloud Music is key to our mission to maximize our artists’ reach in the region. By leveraging NetEase’s innovative social platform and deep understanding of Chinese youth culture, we’re building lifelong fanbases for our artists in this important and fast-growing market.”
William Ding, CEO of NetEase Cloud Music, adds: “We’re delighted to extend our successful collaboration with Warner Music Group. NetEase Cloud Music has always been the platform of choice for young users to discover and share great music, and to interact with artists. Together with WMG, we’ll continue to push the boundaries of how music is experienced, ensuring that the world’s premium music is accessible to our users.”
This renewal marks another milestone in a relationship that began in 2020 and has helped evolve the landscape of the Chinese music market. With China now firmly established as one of the world’s top five recorded music markets by revenue, the deal underscores a shared commitment to a healthy, sustainable, and artist-centric digital music environment.
