Sep 4, 2019

Music Ally September 4, 2019 China’s burgeoning music-streaming market is being eyed up by music companies around the world, including Japan. Label Avex has signed a new partnership with one of the Chinese streaming services – but not one you might have expected. Migu Music, which Nikkei Asian Review  describes  as “affiliated” with telco China Mobile, is the partner in this case. Avex has made its catalogue of tracks, music videos and ringtones available to Migu Music, but it’s also planning to work with the service to “livestream music concerts with 360-degree cameras in the near future” as China Mobile rolls out its faster 5G mobile network. This is part of a longer-term project to prosper in China for Avex, however. In March 2017, it announced  an exclusive licensing deal with NetEase Cloud Music , which saw that streaming service acting as Avex’s ‘agent’ in mainland China. At the time, that deal was hailed as Avex’s return to China after pulling out of the country six years before, spooked by piracy. Meanwhile, in October 2018, Avex announced  a partnership with Douyin  (the Chinese version of TikTok) to make its catalogue available for the social app’s users to include in their videos. Stuart Dredge