China regulator bars Tencent from exclusive rights in online music

[July 24, 2021]  SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's market regulator on Saturday said it would bar Tencent Holdings Ltd from exclusive music copyright agreements and fined the company for unfair market practices in the online music market after its acquisition of China Music Corporation.

The Chinese government has been stepping up antitrust actions in recent months against the country's large tech companies, including a record $2.75 billion fine on e-commerce giant Alibaba for engaging in anti-competitive behaviour.

Tencent and Tencent Music Entertainment Group, the unit created from the acquisition, said they would abide by the decision and comply with all regulatory requirements.

The State Administration Of Market Regulation (SAMR) said it had investigated Tencent's activities in the online music broadcasting platform market in China, in which music copyright is the core asset, in a notice posted on its official website.
 

Reuters reported in mid-July that the antitrust regulator would order Tencent's music streaming arm to give up exclusive rights to music labels that it has used to compete with smaller rivals, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

A Tencent logo is seen at its booth at the 2020 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in Beijing, China September 4, 2020. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang

Tencent held more than 80% of exclusive music library resources after its acquisitions, the regulator said, increasing its leverage over upstream copyright parties and allowing it to restrict new entrants, the regulator said.

SAMR said Tencent and its affiliated companies must not engage in exclusive copyright agreements with upstream owners of such rights, while existing agreements must be terminated within 30 days of the regulatory notice.

The regulator also ordered Tencent to pay a fine of 500,000 yuan ($77,150).

Earlier this month, the regulator said it would block Tencent's plan to merge the country's top two videogame streaming sites, Huya and DouYu , on antitrust grounds.

($1 = 6.4808 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(Reporting by Engen Tham and Zoey Zhang in Shanghai; Editing by Edmund Klamann)

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