SHENZEN, China (CelebrityAccess) — Chinese music streaming giant Tencent Music Entertainment Group announced its financial results for the second quarter of 2021, reporting revenue of RMB8.01 billion (US$1.24 billion) during the period.
According to Tencent, their results improved on Q2 2020 by more than 15% and were driven largely by increased revenue from digital music streaming, which increased by 32.8% year-over-year.
That was also represented in revenue from streaming music subscriptions, which accounted for RMB1.79 billion (US$277 million) during the quarter, representing a 36.3% year-over-year growth.
As well, online paying users reached 66.2 million for Q2, up by 40% from last year and up by 5.3 million from the first quarter of 2021, the largest quarterly net increase since 2016.
During Q2, TME reported net profits of RMB871 million (US$135 million).
However, there was some cautionary signs for TME and the company reported that monthly active users (MAU) in several segments had slipped during the quarter. Affected business segments included mobile streamed music, which declined by 4.3% and mobile social entertainment, which slid by 13.3%.
Average Revenue Per Paying User, or ARPPU also fell for TME’s digital music services, dropping by 3.2% for the quarter, according to the company.
The largely positive results come amid increased regulatory scrutiny from Chinese anti-trust guardians, who, last month, forced Tencent to cede exclusive music licensing deals with major labels and imposed substantial fines related to reporting for past acquisitions by TME.
In the earnings statement, TME’s Chairman Mr. Cussion Pang, said the company was complying with the order.
“We would like to reiterate that TME sincerely accepts the decision issued in July by the regulator pertaining to exclusive music licensing arrangements. We are committed to fully complying with all requirements in a timely manner. While we expect some impact to our business operations as a result of this decision, we remain steadfast in our ongoing goals of fostering innovation, fulfilling our social responsibilities, providing users with better services and promoting the long-term, healthy development of the digital music industry,” Pang said.
