Tencent Music Entertainment is to ramp up its investment in content and technology.
The Chinese social media and music platform unveiled its content, technology and service (CTS) strategy at the Music Matters conference and festival in Singapore. The company said it will work with its partners to "build an open ecosystem and explore new industry opportunities".
But the announcement follows reports that Tencent Music is being probed by China's competition watchdog over its deals with major labels. Sony and Warner have a stake in the company, which is controlled by Tencent Holdings. The parent company is also aiming to take a 10% share in Universal Music Group.
Cussion Pang, CEO of Tencent Music, presented the CTS strategy and argued that it would benefit the music industry as a whole.
“The CTS strategy is based on our rich industry experience and well-established ecosystem,” Pang said. “Facing dynamic market conditions, Tencent Music will increase its investment in content, technology and service and integrate internal and external resources to make CTS the growth engine and key driving force for the Company and its open ecosystem.”
As part of the strategy, Tencent Music will continue to diversify its content. In addition to its catalogue of 20 million tracks, it has been expanding its content offerings by adding music-centric variety shows, short-form videos and long-form audio, such as podcasts.
Facing dynamic market conditions, Tencent Music will increase its investment in content, technology and service
Cussion Pang
The company is now encouraging more people to participate in music creation, through its Tencent Musician Programme and online karaoke and live streaming platforms. It is also strengthening cross-sector partnerships to develop original music content for games, films, TV shows and sports.
Tencent Music said its AI-based predictive model can analyse user tastes and market changes and predict the popularity of music content. It is also exploring music creation with AI and virtual artists.
Tencent Music is forging an internet of things (IoT) partnerships with leading manufacturers of cars, smart speakers and smart watches. As part of its internationalisation strategy, the company is taking initial steps to explore overseas opportunities for its online karaoke service WeSing in Southeast Asia.
Tencent said the introduction of 5G will "empower the music industry development" as it continues to invest in technology.
“Tencent Music aims to provide users with a diversified entertainment experience through its extensive high-quality content, innovative technology and smart platform services,” said Pang. “We will also work together with our partners to develop a virtuous and open ecosystem that will benefit the whole industry value chain and unleash the true value of music.”
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