This week, Sony Music announced a fresh licensing agreement with NetEase Cloud Music in China.
The agreement is NCM’s third confirmed deal with a major in 2026, following previous announcements with Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group.
Meanwhile, TikTok’s SoundOn struck what it calls its biggest artist partnership to date, teaming up with Daddy Yankee to distribute and promote his new album, La Postal.
Elsewhere, DistroKid launched a publishing administration service powered by Kobalt.
Also this week, Billboard changed its formula for weighting paid versus ad-supported streaming on its charts, paving the way for YouTube to bring its data back in 2027.
And Symphonic signed a new deal with Roblox – which, it says, includes a music royalties component.
Here are some of the biggest headlines from the past few days…
1. Sony Music renews multi-year licensing deal with China's NetEase Cloud Music
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. (MBW)
2. TikTok’s SoundOn strikes ‘landmark’ deal to distribute Daddy Yankee’s ‘La Postal’ album, in what it calls its ‘biggest artist partnership to date’
Daddy Yankee‘s new album, La Postal, was released in partnership with TikTok‘s distribution and promotion platform, SoundOn, in what TikTok calls SoundOn’s “biggest artist partnership to date.”
TikTok announced the partnership on Tuesday (November 10). The 15-track album came out on October 30 through DY Records, with SoundOn supporting its global distribution, artist services, and promotion, according to the company.
The deal is the latest sign of SoundOn working with established stars. TikTok launched the platform in 2022, describing it as designed “to empower new and undiscovered artists.” (MBW)
3. DistroKid launches music publishing service powered by Kobalt
DistroKid has launched DistroKid Publishing, a publishing administration service for independent songwriters, in partnership with Kobalt.
The service, announced on Wednesday (November 11), lets eligible DistroKid users collect publishing royalties through their DistroKid accounts.
Songwriters pay a one-time setup fee of USD $75 and receive 80% of the publishing royalties collected on their behalf. (MBW)
4. Billboard changes ‘free’ vs. paid streaming formula on charts – and YouTube is bringing its data back.
YouTube is returning to Billboard‘s US charts.
The move follows a change by Billboard to how it weights paid subscription streams against ad-supported streams – the issue that led YouTube to withdraw its data from the charts in January.
Billboard announced the change on Monday (November 9), and YouTube confirmed its return later the same day. (MBW)
5. Symphonic inks deal to bring 'hundreds of thousands' of songs to Roblox – with artists paid royalties for all plays
Symphonic has signed a deal with Roblox to bring “hundreds of thousands of curated songs” distributed by the company to the gaming and creation platform.
The Tampa-headquartered music technology and services company announced the agreement on Thursday (November 12).
According to Symphonic, artists will receive royalties for all plays of their music on Roblox. (MBW)
