Online music platform Tencent Music Entertainment Group (TME) reported its unaudited earnings for the first quarter of the year, showing total revenue of 7 billion RMB ($1.02 billion), with a 5.4% year-on-year growth. Revenue from music subscriptions had a staggering 30.4% year-on-year growth, amounting to 2.6 billion RMB ($378 million). During this spring, TME invested in building language models for AI-generated music, launching two AI products: TME Studio Music Assistant and Tone Producer. CEO Liang Zhu, who attended the press conference, stated that these two products were aimed to help composers with songwriting and editing efficiency.
Despite the progress in the AI music field, copyright issues might stunt the further growth of AI music. TME has embraced the challenge and is looking to cooperate with copyright partners to overcome this obstacle in the near future.
TME is the leading online music platform in China and majority of its revenue comes from streaming services, especially after its successful merger with China-based giant, Spotify, in 2018. Furthermore, the company also supports transactions between music artists and fans via its fan-engagement platforms.
Liang Zhu assumed the role of CEO of Tencent Music Entertainment Group in 2017. Prior to this, he was the Chief Technology Officer and Executive Vice President of Tencent, in-charge of strategic product operations and technology development. Overseeing the growth of Tencent Group over his tenure, Zhu was instrumental in the development of Tencent Music – TME’s predecessor. He not only excelled at his role at Tencent but also played an important role in setting up TME Studio and its innovation in AI-generated music.
