Overview

Tencent Music Entertainment Group is a Tencent-controlled digital music and online entertainment company focused primarily on the Chinese market. It was created in July 2016 when Tencent acquired China Music Corporation, combining Tencent’s existing music activities with the services associated with China Music Corporation. The resulting group brought together several of China’s most recognizable digital music products, including QQ Music, Kugou Music, Kuwo Music, and WeSing. The company’s business spans more than conventional on-demand music streaming. Its portfolio includes licensed music listening, paid subscriptions, digital albums and other music-related purchases, online karaoke, social interaction between performers and audiences, music live streaming, artist promotion, advertising, and data-driven music discovery. The group’s services have historically operated at very large scale in China. Reference material describes more than 800 million active users and 120 million paying subscribers across its applications, while also reporting that its three principal services held an estimated 56% share of China’s music-streaming market in July 2016. User and subscriber totals vary by reporting period and by the company’s definitions of mobile or online music users. Tencent Music’s importance comes partly from its aggregation of distribution, social functions, and entertainment formats. QQ Music is closely associated with Tencent’s broader digital ecosystem; Kugou and Kuwo extend the group’s reach across music discovery and listening; and WeSing provides a karaoke-centered experience in which users can record, perform, interact, and participate in a social music community. The company also distributes music from domestic and international labels and has pursued licensing, marketing, and strategic relationships with music companies and entertainment agencies. The group became a publicly traded company in the United States in December 2018, when it completed an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TME. Its listing made Tencent Music one of the most visible Chinese internet-entertainment companies in the global public markets. Sony/ATV Music Publishing acquired an equity stake in the company in July 2018, before the public offering. Spotify has also held a minority interest; reference material states that it owned 16.47% of Tencent Music’s Class A ordinary shares as of 2023. Tencent Music has developed its own measurement and discovery infrastructure. The TME UNI Chart, introduced in 2018, uses activity from the group’s platforms and selected partner services to rank songs. The TME Wave Chart, introduced in 2020, uses recommendations and evaluations from music-industry professionals. The TME Physical Album Sales Chart, introduced in 2021, tracks physical-record sales data from QQ Music and Kugou. The TME Korean Chart, introduced in 2024, focuses on Korean-language music in China and combines Tencent Music activity with external chart data. Beginning in 2019, the company also published an annual Chinese Digital Music Annual Report covering songs, albums, artists, and composite rankings. The company has faced the regulatory and geopolitical constraints affecting Chinese internet platforms. In June 2020, India banned QQ Music along with numerous other Chinese-origin applications, citing data and privacy concerns amid heightened India-China tensions. Tencent Music has also continued to expand its relationships with international music businesses. In 2025, reference material reported a proposed acquisition of Ximalaya and a transaction involving HYBE’s shares in SM Entertainment; the available material does not establish the final completion status of those transactions. Tencent Music remains an active Tencent-group platform company whose core role is to provide music access, digital entertainment, and artist-to-audience services in China.

History

Tencent Music emerged from Tencent’s effort to consolidate and scale its digital music activities in China. In July 2016, Tencent acquired China Music Corporation and established Tencent Music Entertainment Group. The combination brought together Tencent’s music operations and the China Music Corporation services that became associated with Kugou and Kuwo. Alongside QQ Music, the combined portfolio gave Tencent a substantial position across listening, music discovery, and online entertainment. The company’s model developed around a portfolio rather than a single application. QQ Music served as a mainstream streaming and music-discovery service. Kugou and Kuwo broadened the group’s reach among Chinese listeners, while WeSing focused on online karaoke and user participation. Tencent Music also built services around live interaction, artist-fan communities, digital purchases, music promotion, advertising, and licensing. This structure allowed the company to connect music consumption with Tencent’s wider social and digital ecosystem. The group expanded its relationships with rights holders and entertainment businesses before becoming public. Sony/ATV Music Publishing acquired an equity stake in July 2018. In October of the same year, Tencent Music filed plans for a United States offering. The company later announced a December 2018 IPO involving American depositary shares and ordinary shares, and its shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under TME. International cooperation continued in 2019, when Tencent Music and SM Entertainment signed a strategic partnership covering music distribution and marketing in China. The group’s operations nevertheless remained exposed to regulatory restrictions on Chinese internet applications. In June 2020, Indian authorities banned QQ Music and other Chinese-origin applications, citing data and privacy issues. The ban occurred against the background of deteriorating India-China relations and border tensions. Tencent Music has increasingly emphasized data, charts, and industry infrastructure alongside streaming. It launched the TME UNI Chart in 2018 and the TME Wave Chart in 2020. The company introduced the TME Physical Album Sales Chart in 2021 and the TME Korean Chart in 2024. It also began publishing a Chinese Digital Music Annual Report in 2019. The UNI Chart combines streaming, sales, and social activity from Tencent Music services and selected partner platforms; its eligibility and ranking rules exclude various forms of unclear, incomplete, inappropriate, or otherwise non-qualifying content. In 2023, Tencent Music announced cooperation with Billboard to incorporate the TME UNI Chart into Billboard’s Hits of the World chart collection. The company has continued to maintain links with international music businesses. Reference material states that Spotify owned 16.47% of Tencent Music’s Class A ordinary shares as of 2023. In 2025, HYBE announced that it would sell its SM Entertainment shares to Tencent Music, and Tencent Music was reported to be buying Ximalaya. Because the supplied material does not document the final completion of either reported 2025 transaction, they are best treated as announced or reported developments rather than completed acquisitions. Tencent Music remains an active Chinese digital music company operating a large family of streaming, karaoke, social, and music-industry services.

2024
TME Korean Chart launches
[1]Tencent Musicen.wikipedia.org
Tencent Music introduced a China-focused chart for Korean-language songs.
2023
TME UNI Chart partners with Billboard
[1]Tencent Musicen.wikipedia.org
Tencent Music announced that the TME UNI Chart would be integrated into Billboard’s Hits of the World collection.
2021
TME Physical Album Sales Chart launches
[1]Tencent Musicen.wikipedia.org
The company introduced a chart tracking physical album sales using data from QQ Music and Kugou Music.
2020
TME Wave Chart launches
[1]Tencent Musicen.wikipedia.org
Tencent Music launched the TME Wave Chart, which uses assessments and recommendations from music-industry professionals.
2019
Chinese Digital Music Annual Report begins
[1]Tencent Musicen.wikipedia.org
The company began publishing an annual report covering leading songs, albums, artists, and composite digital-music rankings.
2018
TME UNI Chart launches
[1]Tencent Musicen.wikipedia.org
Tencent Music introduced the TME UNI Chart, a listener- and platform-data-based ranking system.
2018
New York Stock Exchange listing
[1]Tencent Musicen.wikipedia.org
Tencent Music completed its United States initial public offering and listed on the New York Stock Exchange under TME.
2016
Tencent Music is established
[1]Tencent Musicen.wikipedia.org
Tencent established Tencent Music in July 2016 through its acquisition of China Music Corporation.

Products and positioning

A broad Chinese online music-entertainment ecosystem combining licensed streaming, karaoke, social participation, live interaction, digital sales, and music-industry services.

Music streaming and digital music
QQ Music
QQ Music is Tencent Music’s flagship streaming and music-discovery service. It provides access to licensed recordings, artist and album pages, playlists, charts, recommendations, and paid music functions. Its integration with Tencent’s wider digital ecosystem supports distribution, promotion, and social discovery.
Music streaming
Kugou Music
Kugou Music is one of the group’s principal Chinese music services. It contributes listening, discovery, digital-sales, chart, and music-community activity to Tencent Music’s broader platform ecosystem and is also used as a data source for the TME Physical Album Sales Chart.
Music streaming
Kuwo Music
Kuwo Music is a Tencent Music streaming and discovery service serving Chinese listeners. It forms part of the group’s multi-brand approach to music access, catalog distribution, recommendations, and chart-related engagement.
Online karaoke and social entertainment
WeSing
WeSing is Tencent Music’s karaoke-centered service. Users can sing along to licensed music, record performances, share them with other users, and participate in social and interactive music activities. It extends the group’s business beyond passive listening into user-generated performance and community entertainment.
Music chart · 2018
TME UNI Chart
The TME UNI Chart ranks eligible songs using streaming, sales, and social activity from Tencent Music platforms and selected partner services. Its real-time list updates frequently, while its historical list presents weekly rankings. The chart excludes content such as unclear-rights recordings, incomplete versions, certain covers, and material that fails applicable content rules.
Music chart · 2020
TME Wave Chart
The TME Wave Chart is a monthly Chinese music ranking built from scores and recommendations supplied by more than 250 music-industry professionals, according to the supplied reference material.
Music chart · 2024
TME Korean Chart
The TME Korean Chart ranks Korean-language songs within China using Tencent Music streaming, sales, and social data together with information from Circle Chart and Hanteo Chart. Its methodology assigns weights to streaming, sales, and social activity and applies time-based eligibility rules.

Controversies

2021
Tencent ordered to terminate exclusive music copyrights in China Music Corporation acquisition case
On July 24, 2021, the State Administration for Market Regulation determined that Tencent's 2016 acquisition of China Music Corporation constituted illegal implementation of a concentration of undertakings and ordered Tencent and affiliated companies to terminate exclusive music copyrights, stop high advance payments, and take other measures within 30 days. The incident involved its online music business; the targets of the administrative penalty were Tencent Holdings and related entities.
Source
2019
Court rules in Tencent Music’s favor in copyright dispute
In a copyright dispute between Tencent Music and NetEase Cloud Music over songs by Jay Chou, the Shenzhen Qianhai Cooperation Zone People’s Court ruled in favor of Tencent Music. The court ordered the NetEase-related defendants to pay Tencent Music RMB 850,000 in economic losses and reasonable expenses for stopping the infringement. The court dismissed Tencent Music’s other claims in the case.
Source

Brand decisions

2025
Reported Ximalaya acquisitionM&A
Background
Tencent Music was reported in June 2025 to be pursuing an acquisition of Ximalaya.
Action taken
The reported transaction would expand Tencent Music’s position in China’s online audio and entertainment sector.
Aftermath
The supplied reference does not confirm completion, final terms, or the transaction’s financial impact.
Source
2018
Complete the New York Stock Exchange initial public offeringOther
Background
Tencent Music pursued access to public capital and international investor markets after filing United States IPO plans.
Action taken
The company offered American depositary shares and ordinary shares and listed under the ticker TME.
Aftermath
Tencent Music became a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange.
Source
2016
Acquire China Music Corporation and consolidate music servicesM&A
Background
Tencent sought to strengthen its position in China’s digital music market and combine complementary music platforms.
Action taken
Tencent acquired China Music Corporation and established Tencent Music Entertainment Group.
Aftermath
The transaction brought QQ Music, Kugou, Kuwo, and related services into a broader Tencent music-entertainment structure.
Source

Recent events

2025
HYBE announces sale of its SM Entertainment shares to Tencent Music[1]Tencent Musicen.wikipedia.org
M&A
HYBE announced in May 2025 that it would sell its entire holding in SM Entertainment to Tencent Music. The available reference does not establish the final closing status.
2025
Tencent Music reported to be acquiring Ximalaya[1]Tencent Musicen.wikipedia.org
M&A
In June 2025, reference material reported that Tencent Music would buy Ximalaya. The available material does not confirm whether the transaction was completed.
2024
Tencent Music announces TME Korean Chart[1]Tencent Musicen.wikipedia.org
Product launch
Tencent Music introduced a chart for Korean-language music in China using activity from its platforms together with data from Circle Chart and Hanteo Chart.
2020
India bans QQ Music among Chinese-origin applications[1]Tencent Musicen.wikipedia.org
Regulation
India banned QQ Music and dozens of other Chinese-origin applications in June 2020, citing data and privacy concerns during a period of strained India-China relations.
2019
Tencent Music and SM Entertainment enter a strategic partnership[1]Tencent Musicen.wikipedia.org
M&A
In January 2019, Tencent Music and South Korean entertainment company SM Entertainment agreed to cooperate on music distribution and marketing in China.
2018
Sony/ATV Music Publishing acquires an equity stake in Tencent Music[1]Tencent Musicen.wikipedia.org
M&A
Sony/ATV Music Publishing acquired an equity interest in Tencent Music as the company expanded its relationships with international music-rights businesses.
2018
Tencent Music files for a United States public offering[1]Tencent Musicen.wikipedia.org
Other
Tencent Music filed plans for a United States initial public offering during 2018, with reported proposed proceeds of approximately two billion US dollars in early filings.
2018
Tencent Music completes New York Stock Exchange IPO[1]Tencent Musicen.wikipedia.org
Other
The company announced a December 2018 offering of American depositary shares and ordinary shares and listed on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker TME.
2016
Tencent Music established through Tencent's acquisition of China Music Corporation[1]Tencent Musicen.wikipedia.org
M&A
Tencent formed Tencent Music in July 2016 through the acquisition of China Music Corporation, strengthening its position in Chinese digital music.