Apple Music users around the world will soon have access to more Chinese musicians. Tencent Music Entertainment, the online music subsidiary of Tencent, said Tuesday that “record labels and artists” who are part of its “Music Cloud” program can now distribute their works through Apple Music.
This isn’t the first time Tencent has joined hands with a major online music giant from the West. In 2017, the Chinese internet firm entered a share swapping agreement with Spotify. The deal didn’t include content sharing.
TME’s announcement is vague and the partners are tight-lipped about the details of their arrangement. The weight of the deal hinges on what exactly TME’s “Music Cloud” is. This is what it means in the firm’s own words:
As a new global music distribution platform launched by TME, TME Music Cloud will also adopt ‘content self-management,’ ‘online distribution and promotion,’ ‘settlement of royalties,’ and “music data insights,’ provid …
