China’s anti-monopoly regulator, the State Administration of Market Administration (SAMA), is set to require Tencent Holdings’ music streaming business to give up exclusive music rights after completing an investigation into Tencent Music Entertainment Group, Reuters disclosed on July 12, citing multiple sources familiar with the matter.
The sources said that under the terms of the penalty, China’s State Administration of Market Management will impose a fine on Tencent Music for its 2016 acquisition of competing apps “Kugou” and “Cool Me”, which was not reported for antitrust approval in accordance with normal filing procedures, for each violation. The maximum fine is 500,000 yuan for each violation. Tencent is currently lobbying for a more moderate penalty.
Reports indicate that Chinese regulators have been targeting the economic and social influence of Internet giants since late last year. After e-commerce giant Alibaba was fined a record 18 billion yuan in April for “abusing its dominant market position,” China’s State Administration of Market Management recently announced after an anti-monopoly review that it had banned Tencent from the market for its “Tiger” and “Douyu. “After an anti-monopoly review, China’s State Administration of Market Management recently announced that it has decided to bar Tencent’s application for a merger between Tiger Teeth and Douyu International.
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