China-headquartered industry services company Outdustry has launched Outdustry Songs, an independent music publisher specializing in the Chinese market.
Outdustry Songs opens for business with non-exclusive direct licenses with all major digital service providers in China – Kugou, QQ Music, Kuwo (Tencent Music Entertainment), Netease Cloud Music (Netease), Xiami (Alibaba).
In addition, the company has inked a partnership with New-York based Reservoir, which sees Outdustry Songs become the exclusive sub-publisher in China for Reservoir’s roster of writers and catalog of 126,000 copyrights.
Reservoir’s catalog includes hundreds of No.1 releases worldwide recorded by artists such as Camila Cabello (Havana, Señorita), 5 Seconds of Summer (Youngblood, Who Do You Love with The Chainsmokers), Bruno Mars x Cardi B (Please Me), Post Malone (Rockstar, Goodbyes), Halsey (Without Me), and Dua Lipa (Blow Your Mind, Break My Heart), plus the songwriting catalogs of Young Thug, Migos, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, Joyner Lucas, and 2 Chainz.
Reservoir also recently acquired the 16,000 copyright Shapiro Bernstein catalog featuring songs recorded by The Beatles, Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, Bob Dylan, Carly Simon, Elton John and more.
Outdustry’s China-based A&R team, led by China General Manager and Head of A&R Marcus Rowland, has helped to deliver some of the Chinese pop industry’s biggest hits over the past few years, giving Outdustry Songs a catalog of local repertoire performed by household names such as Chris Lee, Bibi Zhou, Jike Junyi, and TF Boys.
Outdustry Songs’ writers have hit singles with three of the Top 10 most streamed artists in China – KUN, Chris Lee and Rocket Girls 101 – including the No.1 song in China this month (June), KUN’s Lover, which topped all major DSP streaming charts in the territory.
“Outdustry’s brilliant team has been pushing boundaries in the Chinese music market for over a decade.”
Spek, Reservoir
Reservoir’s EVP International & Emerging Markets, Spek, said: “Outdustry’s brilliant team has been pushing boundaries in the Chinese music market for over a decade.
“I’ve gotten to know Ed [Peto, Outdustry founder/MD] and his team over the last several years and I am confident they will be leaders in China’s vibrant and emerging publishing sector.
“Reservoir is always keen to innovate in new markets, and we’re excited to be the first music publisher to get on board with Outdustry Songs, plug into their considerable network in China, and pave the way for our creators in this space.”
“China is a huge opportunity for songwriters and publishers – from the fast-growing premium tiers of the biggest streaming apps in the world, to the national obsession with karaoke and the nascent sync market.”
Alex Taggart, Outdustry
Alex Taggart, Outdustry’s Head of International, also overseeing Outdustry Songs, said: “China’s publishing sector represents the greatest untapped opportunity in the global music market.
“There could be no better launch partner than Reservoir, one of the most forward thinking companies in the global publishing business, with an absolutely stellar catalog”.
Added Taggart: “China is a huge opportunity for songwriters and publishers – from the fast-growing premium tiers of the biggest streaming apps in the world, to the national obsession with karaoke and the nascent sync market, as well as next-generation forms of music consumption and monetisation such as live-streaming and virtual-gifting.”
“With the addition of Outdustry Songs to our existing marketing and A&R services business, we are filling out our offering to our global network of writers, producers, artists and rights owners, enabling us to collect royalties and monitor copyrights on their behalf across this dynamic emerging landscape.”
“The Chinese music market has stepped up several gears in the past year or so.”
Marcus Rowland, Outdustry
Marcus Rowland added: “The Chinese music market has stepped up several gears in the past year or so.
“There has been an explosion in both the volume and diversity of local talent being signed to labels as well as a growing number of successful independent artists.”Music Business Worldwide
