Sony Music Entertainment has renewed its licensing agreement with Chinese streaming platform NetEase Cloud Music.
The multi-year deal, announced on Friday (November 13), means NetEase Cloud Music has now re-signed with all three major music companies in 2026.
Universal Music Group struck a new multi-year deal with the platform in January, followed by Warner Music Group in July.
Financial terms of the Sony Music agreement were not disclosed.
According to the two companies, the renewal will keep Sony Music‘s catalog available to NetEase Cloud Music users across China, while widening their collaboration on content, artist promotion, and cultural exchange.
“China is a vibrant and indispensable part of the global music ecosystem,” said Andrew Chan, CEO of Sony Music Entertainment Greater China. “We are delighted to deepen our long-standing strategic partnership with NetEase Cloud Music.
“Its distinctive music community and deep insight into young Chinese audiences create a special space for artists and fans. We look forward to bringing our rich catalog and world-class artists to more Chinese listeners, exploring innovative ways of engagement, and building stronger cultural connections through music.”
“We look forward to bringing our rich catalog and world-class artists to more Chinese listeners, exploring innovative ways of engagement, and building stronger cultural connections through music.”
Andrew Chan, Sony Music Entertainment Greater China
The announcement highlights Sony Music‘s Chinese-language roster, including Jam Hsiao, A-Lin, Curley G, Steve Chou, Gigi Yim, and Lars Huang.
It also names rapper SKAI ISYOURGOD as “one of the most prominent names in China’s contemporary Chinese-language rap scene.”
Japanese artists cited in the release include Kenshi Yonezu, Hikaru Utada, and Mika Nakashima, alongside K-pop artists JENNIE and LISA.
“Sony Music Entertainment is a highly valued strategic partner of NetEase Cloud Music,” said William Ding, CEO of NetEase Cloud Music. “This new partnership will further enrich our platform’s global catalog of licensed music and provide users with access to a diverse range of high-quality music from outstanding artists.
“We look forward to working with Sony Music Entertainment to leverage our respective strengths in artist promotion and content co-creation, foster deeper connections between Chinese listeners and music artists, and contribute to the continued development of China’s digital music market.”
“This new partnership will further enrich our platform’s global catalog of licensed music and provide users with access to a diverse range of high-quality music from outstanding artists.”
William Ding, NetEase Cloud Music
“We are delighted to further strengthen our strategic partnership with Sony Music Entertainment,” said Vivian Wei, Vice President of Copyrights at NetEase Cloud Music. “NetEase Cloud Music has always been committed to providing users with high-quality and diverse music content, while leveraging our distinctive music community ecosystem to connect outstanding music with listeners.
“Sony Music Entertainment boasts an extensive global music catalog and an exceptional roster of artists. We look forward to building on this partnership to further expand the possibilities of digital music services, helping more international music be discovered and enjoyed by music fans in China, while creating more opportunities for artists to connect and engage with their audiences.”
Sony Music first signed a multi-year licensing deal with NetEase Cloud Music in May 2021.
Before that, Sony had licensed its catalog in China exclusively through Tencent Music Entertainment (TME).
NetEase Cloud Music is China’s second-largest music streaming service, behind TME.
In November 2021, Sony Music agreed to buy $100 million of shares in Cloud Village, the NetEase subsidiary behind NetEase Cloud Music, as one of three cornerstone investors in its Hong Kong IPO.
Universal Music Group‘s renewal in January included “artist-centric” terms covering AI, as well as plans to grow NetEase Cloud Music’s Super VIP (SVIP) subscription tier.
Warner Music Group‘s deal in July covered both its recorded music and publishing catalogs.
Announcing that deal, WMG CEO Robert Kyncl described China as “a vital part of the global music ecosystem.”
China overtook Germany to become the world’s fourth-largest recorded music market in 2025, according to IFPI, with revenues up 20.1% YoY.
NetEase Cloud Music‘s total revenues grew 3.4% YoY to RMB 3.96 billion (approx. $583.4 million) in the first half of 2026.
Its membership subscription revenues reached around RMB 2.6 billion in the period, up from RMB 2.5 billion a year earlier.
NetEase Cloud Music says it has over 200 million monthly active users and more than 1.25 million independent musicians on its platform.Music Business Worldwide