This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Business News Deals Digital Labels & Publishers
Warner Chappell signs licensing deal with Kuaishou
By Andy Malt | Published on Friday 2 September 2022
Warner Chappell has signed a new licensing deal with Chinese TikTok competitor Kuaishou, bringing the former’s songs catalogue to the latter’s apps in what the major calls “priority markets”. Kuaishou operates under the brand Kwai in Latin America, the Middle East and North Africa, and as SnackVideo in South and Southeast Asia.
“As the digital ecosystem continues to evolve in exciting new ways, social-sharing apps like Kuaishou are changing how people experience and discover music around the world”, says Warner Chappell’s SVP Global Digital Natalie Madaj. “We’re very proud to be partnering with the team to bring our catalogue of songs to Kuaishou’s engaged user-base and talented music creators.”
Kuaishou Head of Overseas Partnership And Communications, Calvin Liu, adds: “We’re always looking to partner with innovative music companies and this deal with Warner Chappell will give our millions of users access to new music to express themselves across our Kuaishou platforms”.
The Kuaishou apps currently have more than 180 million active users outside of the company’s home market of China. With music always important for apps of this kind, the digital firm has been slowly but surely entering into deals with record labels and music publishers, including the recordings side of Warner Music last year.
Under the new deal, Warner Chappell will be offering some exclusive content to Kuaishou users, as well as providing a licence for any user-generated content that utilises its songs (well, those songs that it directly licenses in the digital domain – because songs from many countries are still licensed via the collective licensing system).
