China-based NetEase Cloud Music has signed a digital music distribution licensing agreement with Pony Canyon, an anime and music production firm in Japan.
The deal will give the music streaming platform rights to distribute Pony Canyon’s music catalog that includes J-pop and anime music to Chinese audiences, according to a press release on December 8.
Pony Canyon’s catalog includes prominent J-pop artists such as Official HIGE DANdism, GARNiDELiA, Kana Hanazawa, Maaya Uchida, aiko, and luz, among others.
The company also produced anime series such as Attack on Titan and The Quintessential Quintuplets.
Founded in 1966, Tokyo-headquartered Pony Canyon has offices in Taiwan, Malaysia, South Korea and the US.
Cloud Music has previously established partnerships with Japanese firms like Studio Ghibli and most recently with Avex Group (often referred to as Japan’s fourth major music company).
The company, branded as the second biggest music streaming provider in China, had 37.6 million monthly online music paying users as of the end of June after adding another 872,000 paying music users from April to June. The company has yet to release its Q3 subs figures.
“NetEase Cloud Music has established itself as a trusted partner for well-known Japanese copyright holders.”
NetEase Cloud Music
“As one of China’s leading online music platforms, NetEase Cloud Music has long been a preferred online destination for music enthusiasts, especially among the younger generation. NetEase Cloud Music has established itself as a trusted partner for well-known Japanese copyright holders,” the company said.
“NetEase Cloud Music’s unique music community appeal, highly interactive user base and impressive user stickiness underscore the platform’s capabilities in efficiently promoting music content distribution while extending audience outreach with meaningful interactions,” it added.
The partnership with Japan’s Pony Canyon follows Cloud Music’s music copyright cooperations with record labels across Asia including Modern Sky, Emperor Entertainment Group, China Record Group, Feng Hua Qiu Shi, Yuehua Entertainment, Linfair Records, SM Entertainment, TF Entertainment, YG Entertainment, KAO!INC and Avex.
For Pony Canyon, the partnership with Cloud Music marks its latest effort in expanding its distribution network. The company recently announced on December 9 that it launched a new label called Pandrec, specializing in creator marketing and in supporting artists within the company’s digital distribution service.
Japanese actor and singer Dori Sakurada, who’s part of the Netflix series Alice in Borderland, debuted as the first artist under Pony Canyon’s new label.Music Business Worldwide
