Tencent Music has once again reported subscriber and profit growth — this time for Q1 2025, when the company leaned into “IRL” SVIP initiatives. Photo Credit: Tencent Music
The QQ, Kugou, Kuwo, and WeSing operator shed light on its first-quarter financials today. In keeping with the company’s 2024 results and heightened focus on core streaming offerings, overall online music MAUs once again dipped, this time by 4% year over year to 555 million, the Q1 report shows.
Nevertheless, Tencent Music posted an 8.3% YoY surge in online music paid users, to almost 123 million, and a 7.5% YoY increase in monthly average revenue per paid user (CNY 11.4, currently $1.58).
Elaborating on the ARPPU improvement, Tencent Music emphasized strong results attributable to its superfan-geared SVIP tier, where “premium audio quality remains a key attraction.” About half the service’s SVIP subs “actively” enjoyed upgraded audio on the quarter, per TME.
Furthermore, the aforementioned multiyear Sony Music renewal – incidentally, the major also has a sizable stake in podcast platform Ximalaya, which TME is reportedly in talks to purchase – brought “the 360 Reality Audio sound privilege” to SVIP subscribers, per Tencent Music.
At the intersection of these points (an aggressive streaming strategy and more relaxed efforts on the livestream side), Tencent Music disclosed an 8.7% YoY revenue jump for Q1 2025, to $1.02 billion/CNY 7.36 billion.
But behind the figure, streaming revenue is said to have risen 15.9% YoY to $804.85 million/CNY 5.80 billion, including growth of 16.6% on the subscription front ($585.59 million/CNY 4.22 billion). And all told, Tencent Music identified Q1 2025 net profit of $609.18 million/CNY 4.39 billion, up substantially YoY.
First is Tencent Music’s prioritization of results for global companies as well as international talent in China’s quick-expanding music market – and not just when it comes to streaming. (This is perhaps worth remembering given Warner Music’s admission that it lost commercial ground in China during Q1.)
To be sure, the business didn’t stop at acknowledging its “deepened” ties to Starship Entertainment and YG Entertainment. Rather, Tencent Music reiterated its merch collab with G-Dragon, its launch of Babymonster’s “debut pop-up store in mainland China,” and its role in spearheading “aespa’s first-ever exhibition” in China, to name a few examples.
“[W]e organized Fiona Sit’s concert tour and offered SVIP members meet-and-greet opportunities, further strengthening user engagement,” Tencent Music indicated.
“In March 2025,” Tencent Music wrote here, “we received a 2% equity interests of Universal Music Group (‘UMG’) through a distribution-in-kind from one of our associates, which was designated as financial assets at fair value through other comprehensive income, and recognized a gain of RMB2.37 billion (US$327 million) on deemed disposal of this associate.”
Tencent Music’s Q1 2025 earnings call mainly covered forthcoming monetization plans, including for the above-described SVIP tier. During today’s trading, TME shares rose about 2.5% to $14.69 apiece, reflecting a nearly 30% hike from 2025’s start.
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