Antitrust: China orders Tencent to end exclusive music licensing deals

guest · Jul 25, 2021

China antitrust: Beijing orders Tencent to end exclusive music licensing deals in a first for the country
July 24, 2021
https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/...ing-orders-tencent-music-relinquish-exclusive

The music arm of the Shenzhen-based company must relinquish its exclusive music rights within the next 30 days

Tencent will be able to retain its exclusive deals with independent artists

Click to expand...

Tencent Holdings has been ordered to end its exclusive music licensing deals with global record labels within 30 days and has been fined 500,000 yuan (US$77,143) by China’s antitrust authorities, as the country’s most valuable technology company comes under scrutiny for its dominance in the country’s online music-streaming business.

“[This case] shows that when a merger deal has been completed and cannot be separated, the Chinese authorities can still intervene to restore the market to a status of relatively fair competition,” said You Yunting, senior partner at Shanghai Debund Law Firm Offices.
Click to expand...

This is the first ruling from China’s antitrust regulator that addresses anticompetitive effects from a merger deal, setting a possible precedent for Beijing to mandate changes to business models and operations of merged business.

Tencent’s penalty came as the regulator dusted off an investigation into Tencent Music Entertainment Group (TME) and its dealings with the world’s three largest record labels. The investigation started in January 2019, but was suspended in February 2020 for undisclosed reasons.
Click to expand...

Log in or Sign up

Antitrust: China orders Tencent to end exclusive music licensing deals

guest Guest

Log in or Sign up

Antitrust: China orders Tencent to end exclusive music licensing deals

guest Guest

Useful Searches