On Saturday, China’s top market regulator ordered Tencent to end exclusive music licensing deals within 30 days from Saturday, writing that the action was โthe first caseโ of “necessary measures to restore market competitionโ in a Saturday statement (in Chinese).
Why it matters: The punishment may create openings for other music streamers in China. And the government says it is only the first.
Details: The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) fined Tencent RMB 500,000 ($77,100) for violating market concentration rules with a 2016 acquisition of China Music Corporation. The regulator said that Tencent โillegally concentrated a market,โ citing Chinaโs Anti-Monopoly Law.ย
SAMR said the deal gave Tencent control of more than 80% exclusive music libraries in โrelated market share,โ allowing the company to “eliminate and restrict competition.”ย
Tencent wrote in an online statement the same day that it will โcomply with the regulatorโs decisionโ and “contribute to healthy competition in the market.”
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