Paris-based Believe and TuneCore, its DIY digital music distributor platform, have signed a global licensing agreement with Kuaishou, a China-based short-form video platform (and ByteDance rival).
The deal with Believe covers use of 60-second clips of music in user-generated content on the app.
The deal comes six months after Warner Music Group (WMG) struck a global licensing deal with the platform.
This, says Believe, places the company at the “cutting-edge” of new platforms, and “confirms its capacity to be one of the first players to sign licensing deals with them, giving its artists a truly global reach”.
Kuaishou and Believe will work together to unlock promotional opportunities for Believe artists on the video platform.
The deal also creates new revenue streams for Believe-affiliated artists and music creators, while integrating TuneCore into the agreement, says Believe, gives greater opportunities for emerging acts to benefit from the app’s expanding audiences in multiple territories and regions.
Kuaishou is a prominent short-form video apps in its home country of China, and was reportedly negotiating a $2 billion investment from Chinese technology and entertainment conglomerate Tencent in 2019.
Kuaishou’s global footprint has expanded into Latin America, the Middle East and Southeast Asia – it is known as Kwai in South Asia, while in Southeast Asia it is branded as SnackVideo.
As of June 2021, Kuaishou reports to have had over 1 billion monthly users globally, of which 180 million were outside of China, says the company.
Over half of its daily active users are now in Latin America.
Kuaishou is currently experiencing “rapid” growth in its key markets, it says, with sales growing by 33.4% to 20.5 billion yuan ($3.23 billion / €2.85 billion) in Q3 2021.
“We are dedicated to providing a better experience for our global users while empowering talented artists and creators.”
Tony Qiu, Kuaishou
Tony Qiu, Head of Kuaishou International Business, said: “As Kuaishou’s international business keeps growing rapidly, we look forward to collaborating with partners like Believe and TuneCore.
“We are dedicated to providing a better experience for our global users while empowering talented artists and creators.
“A partnership with Believe and TuneCore can certainly help us to achieve that.”
“Believe and TuneCore are excited to be an early partner of Kuaishou as they expand into more territories.”
Gideon Mountford, believe
Gideon Mountford, Head of Digital Retail at Believe, added: “Believe and TuneCore are excited to be an early partner of Kuaishou as they expand into more territories, resulting in our artists and creators benefitting from early stage monetisation and marketing on the platform to build new audiences.
“We look forward to working with Kuaishou to give our artists and creators new and innovative ways of reaching both existing fans and new fans.”
Kuaishou rival TikTok inked a global deal with Believe in July 2020.Music Business Worldwide
