Universal Music Archives ~ Business China : news for investors in China

ENTERTAINMENT: Qiyi Eyes Music, Qihoo Goes Video

By newsdoug on March 2, 2016

Bottom line: Qiyi’s new tie-up with Universal Music could presage its purchase of Baidu’s music unit, while Qihoo’s new video campaign is likely to stumble due to intense competition from existing players.

A couple of new reports are casting a spotlight on the rapid colonization of the video and music spaces by new media companies. The most intriguing of those has Qiyi.com, the online video site affiliated with search leader Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU), taking a major step into the music space through a tie-up with global entertainment giant Universal Music. The second has the aggressive Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) making a late but big push into the online video space via a major new hire.

Both of these stories reflect the big challenge that private companies are now posing to traditional TV and radio stations, as they rapidly challenge a state-owned establishment that held a monopoly on China’s entertainment sector for decades. The resulting boom in video and music services has been great for consumers. But in usual Chinese fashion the explosion has sparked another cycle of hyper-competition that has pushed everyone deeply into the red, and is almost certain to end with the typical bust in a few years. Read Full Post…

China News Digest: March 2, 2016

By newsdoug on March 2, 2016

The following press releases and news reports about Chinese companies were carried on March 2. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Qiyi.com, Universal Music Team Up in Paid Music Service (Chinese article)
JD.com (Nasdaq: JD) Announces Q4 and Full Year 2015 Results (GlobeNewswire)
Qunar (Nasdaq: QUNR) Taking Part in Application for New Airline in Shenzhen (Chinese article)
Hard Rock Expands in China to Tap Growing Leisure Industry (English article)
China Resources Said Near SAB (London: SAB) JV Buyout for About $2 Bln (English article)
Latest calendar for Q4 earnings reports (Earnings calendar)

Baidu Turns Up Anti-Piarcy Tune 百度展开反盗版行动

By newsdoug on October 17, 2012

Baidu music clean-up continues Internet search leader Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) made plenty of noise last year when it announced a series of landmark licensing agreements with major Hollywood music labels, trumpeting the move as part of its drive to wean itself from the trading of pirated material on its platforms. But while it tooted its horn over the deals with Universal, Warner Music (NYSE: WMG) and Sony Music (previous post), it also quietly continued to operate its controversial music swapping platform that was the source of much of the earlier criticism. Now in an interesting move, Baidu is being much more low-keye in what looks like its attempt to quietly de-emphasize and perhaps eventually phase out the controversial music swapping service.

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2011: A Breakthrough Year in Copyright Protection 2011年：中国版权保护取得突破的一年

By newsdoug on December 22, 2011

2012: Year of Big Strides in Copyright Protection It seems quite appropriate that 2011 is ending with news that Internet search leader Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU), which for years symbolized rampant disregard for copyrights on China’s unruly Internet, has been removed from a US list of “notorious markets” for piracy, capping a year that saw great progress in intellectual property protection. (English article) Baidu’s achievement after it signed a series of landmark licensing agreements with major music labels like Universal, Warner (NYSE: WMG) and Sony Music (Tokyo: 6758) in July as it launched a service selling legal copies of their music. (previous post) Baidu’s removal from the list was just the latest major advance in copyright protection, as China’s crowded field of online music and video sites all took new steps to secure exclusive content to set themselves apart from rivals in the competitive sector. The nation’s top 3 video sharing sites, Youku (NYSE: YOKU), Sohu video (Nasdaq: SOHU) and Tudou (NYSE: TUDO) all signed their first big licensing deals during the year to offer TV shows and films from the likes of Warner Brothers (NYSE: TWX) and Disney (NYSE: DIS). (previous post) Some domestic names like Huayi Brothers (Shenzhen: 300027) signed similar deals, as early signs emerged of a coming renaissance for domestic content makers, an increasing number of which are looking to domestic IPOs to fuel their growth. (previous post) In another interesting development just last week, Youku and Tudou filed a series of copyright infringement lawsuits against each other, showing that these companies themselves could emerge as a potent force to help police against future copyright violations. (previous post) Last but not least, many of the sites themselves are increasingly producing their own exclusive content, with Phoenix New Media (NYSE: FENG) and PPLive announcing such initiatives during the year, which should also help the programming industry’s development. (previous post) Of course, there is still much work to be done. Despite its launch of a legal music service, Baidu continues to operate its popular older music service where swapping of pirated songs is rampant. And while Baidu was removed from the “notorious” list, Alibaba’s Taobao, China’s e-commerce leader, remains on the list for the widespread sale of knock-off products on its site. Still, in all my years covering China tech and media, 2011 certainly looks like a year of major breakthroughs in copyright protection as Chinese firms finally wake up to the reality that piracy isn’t a very good long-term business model.

Bottom line: Baidu’s removal from a US piracy list reflects big progress in the anti-piracy battle in China in 2011, with the campaign likely to maintain momentum into 2012.