Photo Credit: YG Entertainment / CC by 2.0
Cloud Village Inc. expands its K-pop portfolio in China by inking a licensing deal with YG Entertainment.
Chinese tech leader NetEase’s subsidiary Cloud Village — a leading provider of interactive music streaming services in China with NetEase Cloud Music — announced a licensing agreement with South Korea’s YG Entertainment. The deal grants Cloud Village Inc. the right to distribute YG Entertainment’s catalog in China. Both parties are engaging in “innovative approaches” for more opportunities for YG Entertainment’s roster to provide content for Chinese fans.
Founded in 1996, YG Entertainment is one of the leading entertainment companies in South Korea. Artists on their roster include K-pop sensations such as AKMU, BIGBANG, BLACKPINK, iKON, SECHSKIES, TREASURE, and WINNER.
Launched in 2013 by NetEase, Cloud Village Inc. is one of China’s leading music streaming platforms. NetEase Cloud Music has been gaining traction among China’s Gen Z listeners as the service has been “actively expanding its portfolio.”
The company also has agreements secured with record labels, including China Record Group, Emperor Entertainment, Feng Hua Qiu Shi, Linfair Records, Modern Sky, SM Entertainment, TF Entertainment, and Yuehua Entertainment.
The deal with YG Entertainment marks NetEase Cloud Music’s second agreement with a South Korean entertainment company in the last two months. The company inked a licensing deal with SM Entertainment, whose clientele features K-pop artists like aespa, BoA, EXO, Girls’ Generation, KANGTA, NCT, Red Velvet, SHINee, SUPER JUNIOR, and TVXQ!. In addition to Chinese company TF Entertainment’s deal with NetEase Cloud Music last month, the former also struck a deal with the latter’s rival Tencent Music Entertainment.
In the future, NetEase Cloud Music says it will continue promoting its collaborations with “upstream copyright owners and continue to provide more high-quality music content for Chinese music enthusiasts.” The battle of China’s music streaming services between NetEase and Tencent continues to heat up.