Tencent Music has filed for an initial public offering of shares in the US, to raise up to USD 1 billion. Tencent is expected to maintain a controlling stake in the company after the listing.
Tencent Music claims to be the largest online music platform in China, with over 800 million monthly active users. It has agreements with over 200 local and international music labels for more than 20 million tracks and generated revenues of CNY 8.6 billion (USD 1.3 billion) in the first half of the year, up 92 percent year-on-year. Profit for the first six months jumped to CNY 1.74 billion from CNY 395 million a year earlier.
The company sees significant room for growth in the underdeveloped personal music market in China, which is expected to see per capita spending quadruple between 2017 and 2023. Tencent's platform offers an "all-in-one music entertainment destination", allowing users to discover and listen to music as well as participate in karaoke and social interaction for their favourites tunes. Daily active users spent on average 70 minutes per day on the platform in Q2. Monetisation comes through music purchases, subscriptions and virtual gifts.
Tencent Music plans to use the proceeds mainly for expanding its music library and content and developing new products and services.
