Tencent Signs With peermusic, Extends Merlin Deal
Chinese e-commerce giant Tencent Music Entertainment Group has secured a licensing deal with indie music publisher peermusic.
The deal will allow Tencent Music to distribute peermusic’s catalog in China through TME’s several streaming services and other local digital platforms, which include QQ Music, Kugou Music, Kuwo Music, and WeSing.
Ralph S. Peer in 1928, peermusic is one of the largest indie music publishers in the world with a catalog of more than 500,000 titles from a wide range of genres and artists, including the likes of Jimmie Rodgers, Buddy Holly and The Rolling Stones to Rihanna, Beyonce and Justin Bieber.
Music artists and producers under the peermusic roster also include the likes of Hamshore Tang, Lee Shih Shiong, Lee Wei Shiong, David Foster, Salaam Remi, Maxim from the Prodigy, Poo Bear, and De la Ghetto, as well as a host of notable film/TV composers and sub-publishing collaborations with Concord, BMG, Big Deal, and Anthem.
“Nobody brings music to more people in China than TME, and we are thrilled that peermusic’s unparalleled catalog and roster of artists and songwriters will now reach hundreds of millions of listeners in China. This deal is a huge win for our clients, and the Chinese market remains a big part of peermusic’s plans for investment and growth into the future,” said Spencer Lee, Asia Pacific President, peermusic.
The licensing deal is the latest for Tencent and comes just hours after the company revealed it has renewed and expanded its deal with indie digital rights agency Merlin.
The expanded deal with Merlin will see TME license Merlin’s music into TME’s social community, WeSing, a popular online karaoke service in China.