Sooner after NetEase Cloud Music announced its cooperation with SM Entertainment. Within one month, NetEase Cloud Music announced its cooperation with another top biggest South Korean entertainment company - YG Entertainment. The cooperation has marked a new record in the industry, after the ban of exclusive copyright and the ban of Kpop music.
On July 21, 2022, NetEase Cloud Music announced its strategic cooperation with YG Entertainment. YG Entertainment is a well-known South Korean entertainment company with famous Kpop groups, such as BLACKPINK, BIGBANG, iKON, AKMU, and WINNER. The two parties will carry out in-depth cooperation in the fields of music copyright and artist promotion. NetEase Cloud Music has now obtained full music copyright authorization from YG Entertainment.
Within the past 12 months, NetEase Cloud Music has reached cooperation with at least ten important copyright owners this year. Especially within the year 2022, NetEase Cloud Music has cooperated with SM Entertainment, Shidai Fengjun, JZ Records, and YG Entertainment. SM Entertainment is one of the top four South Korean Entertainment companies. The ranking is HYBE, SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment, and JYP Entertainment. Till now, NetEase Cloud Music has successfully gained cooperation with two of the top four.
The tricky thing for NetEase Cloud Music is that on July 24, 2021, the State Administration for Market Regulation of China issued an administrative penalty decision towards Tencent. It requires Tencent to lift its exclusive music copyright. And within a year, NetEase Cloud Music has become the first one that has cooperated with these big entertainment companies. Especially after the restriction of Kpop music from the government, NetEase Cloud Music’s cooperation with Kpop companies has led the trend of the recovery of music platforms.