Warner Music Group signs global licensing deal with Chinese video-sharing platform Kuaishou

Warner Music Group (WMG) announced that it has signed a global licensing deal with China-based short-form video platform Kuaishou. Under the deal, all artists under WMG will have their music available on Kuaishou's overseas products, including its international applications Kwai and SnackVideo.

“We’re excited to bring our diverse music catalogue to Kuaishou’s passionate and creative global community. As WMG’s universe of social partners grows, so too does our artists’ reach and impact,” said Oana Ruxandra, WMG Chief Digital Officer & EVP of Business Development 

Founded in 2011, Kuaishou now has one billion monthly active users globally; more than 180 million of whom are outside of China, including users of Kwai in Latin America as well as MENA and SnackVideo in South and Southeast Asia.

Kuaishou recorded a quarterly revenue of $2.95 billion as of August 2020, up 48.8% year-on-year. It has also facilitated more than $59 billion of e-commerce transactions on its platform. In 2020, Kuaishou managed to top Google Play and Apple App Store’s Most Downloaded lists in eight countries. 

With that being said, Kuaishou would like to encourage its global community to share their activities, habits and more in accordance with the firm’s core mission to “embrace all lifestyles”. Moreover, as reported by Music Ally, Kuaishou back in June announced a plan to spend more than $1 billion on marketing efforts outside China this year.

“The partnership with WMG allows us to provide a wide range of fantastic music for our creators and users and is part of our commitment to provide fun, diverse and authentic content to our global community,” said Head of Kuaishou International Business Tony Qiu.