China's Tencent Music to end exclusive audio licensing deals after SAMR ruling
( May 25, 2026, 01:47 GMT | Official Statement) -- MLex Summary: China's Tencent Music Entertainment Group said in a statement on Friday that it would relinquish exclusive licensing rights tied to online-audio content agreements, following the State Administration for Market Regulation’s conditional approval of Tencent Holdings’ acquisition of Ximalaya on May 12. The company said it would not pursue liability against copyright holders that license content to rival operators and would terminate existing exclusive agreements within the timeline required under SAMR’s remedies package. Tencent Music said it would continue seeking nonexclusive cooperation with partners and pledged to comply with the regulator’s conditions aimed at preserving competition in China’s online-audio market following the Tencent-Ximalaya deal approval.Statement follows (in Chinese)....
Prepare for tomorrow’s regulatory change, today
MLex identifies risk to business wherever it emerges, with specialist reporters across the globe providing exclusive news and deep-dive analysis on the proposals, probes, enforcement actions and rulings that matter to your organization and clients, now and in the longer term.
Know what others in the room don’t, with features including:
- Daily newsletters for Antitrust, M&A, Trade, Data Privacy & Security, Technology, AI and more
- Custom alerts on specific filters including geographies, industries, topics and companies to suit your practice needs
- Predictive analysis from expert journalists across North America, the UK and Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific
- Curated case files bringing together news, analysis and source documents in a single timeline
Experience MLex today with a 14-day free trial.