Tencent Music Reports Strong Quarter Before Regulator Crackdown

While Chinese regulators were placing strict control upon the country’s tech sector this spring, its local music streaming giant Tencent Music Entertainment improved revenue and subscriber numbers substantially. In the period from April 1 to June 30, the parent company to steaming services QQ, Kuguo and Kuwo saw music revenues climb 32.8% to 1.79 billion RMB ($277 million) and subscribers jump 40.6% to 66.2 million, compared to the prior quarter, according to the company’s second-quarter earnings report released Monday (Aug. 16). For a company with a 77% market share in the country, it’s a testament to the rapid pace of growth in China’s hot music market. (That’s far greater gains on both accounts, in percentage terms, than Spotify achieved in same time span — 17% and 19.6%, respectively — for example.) TME’s total revenue, which includes social entertainment, grew 15.5% to 8.01 billion RMB ($1.24 billion).

Those encouraging numbers are from a different era, however. They’re from before TME’s ensnarement in the Chinese government’s scrutiny of some foreign-listed companies — Tencent Music trades on the U.S. New York Stock Exchange — and key areas such as technology, healthcare and education. In April, regulators made international headlines by handing out harsh penalties to major tech companies, such as an 18.2 billion RMB ($2.8 billion) antitrust fine levied against Chinese e-commerce giant Ali Baba. Then in July, the Cyberspace Administration of China opened an investigation into ride-hailing app Didi, just days after its initial public offering raised $4.4 billion, and ordered app stores in China to remove Didi’s app. So far, the Chinese government has unleashed at least 50 regulatory actions — mostly affecting tech companies — in recent months, according to The Economist.

In July, Chinese regulators demanded that Tencent Music end its exclusive licensing agreements with record labels. It could have been worse: The company was spared any massive fine, app store ban or forced sales of any of individual streaming service. Still, TME’s statement on Monday was quick to address regulators’ concerts about its market dominance by saying it “sincerely accepts the decision issued in July by the regulator pertaining to exclusive music licensing arrangements. We are committed to fully complying with all requirements in a timely manner … [and] promoting the long-term, healthy development of the digital music industry.”

Ironically, the government’s claim about Tencent Music’s market power had the unintended consequence of hurting the company’s main competitor. Amid the regulatory uncertainty and the resulting weakening of the Hong Kong IPO market, Netease, the maker of China’s second-most popular streaming service, Netease Cloud Music, dropped its plans to spin off the music service and raise up to $1 billion, according to reports.

It is unclear how the regulations will impact Tencent Music’s fast-growing business and the country’s streaming marketplace. The company would only state the regulations will have “some impact” to business operations. The earnings call on Wednesday (Aug. 16) at 8 a.m. EST will give Tencent Music an opportunity to expand on Monday’s statement and provide details into the regulator’s requests.

In the meantime, however, investors appear wary. Shares of Tencent Music fell 9% on Monday after dropping 6.3% the previous week. Tencent Music’s stock price has fallen 43.5% since July 26 when Chinese regulators ordered an end to the company’s exclusive licensing agreements.

Financial metrics (Q2 2021 vs. Q2 2020)

  • Revenue: 8.01 billion RMG ($1.24 billion), up 15.5%
  • Online services revenue: 2.2 billion RMB ($343 million), up 32.8%
  • Music subscription revenues: 1.79 billion RMG ($277 million), up 36.3%
  • Gross margin: 32%
  • Net profit: $135 million

User metrics (Q2 2021 vs. Q2 2020)

  • Subscribers: 66.2 million, up 40.6% (up 5.3 million from Q1)
  • Music mobile monthly average users: 623 million, down 4.3%
  • Average revenue per music user: 9.0 RMG, down 3.2%
  • Social mobile monthly average users: 209 million, down 13.3%

Stock market

  • Share price change in August: -15.6%
  • Change since all-time high on March 23: -83.8%

Key events in Q3 2021

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J Balvin, Sech, Becky G & Rauw Alejandro Close Weekend 1 of Mexico’s Baja Beach Fest: Recap

The third day of Baja Beach Fest in Rosarito, Mexico, capped a weekend of hitmakers, including Anuel, Ozuna and Karol G. On Sunday, J Balvin closed out weekend one, following stellar performances from Sech, Becky G, Rauw Alejandro, Paloma Mami, Jhay Cortez, Justin Quiles and Sky Rompiendo among others.

Here are the highlights:

J Balvin: Balvin returned to the Rosarito festival for a second time, this time as the main headliner, and fans welcomed him with a huge, echoing roar the instant he set foot onstage and opened with — wait for it — “Mi Gente.” The Colombian icon, gleaming in bleached hair and tan-colored cargo attire, played a riveting hour of hits, including “X,” “Con Altura” and “Que Calor.” Maverick male backup dancers in quirky outfits backed him up, a standout moment, considering that backup dancers at the fest were mostly sexily clad, voluptuous women. Bonus: Puerto Rican star Nio García popped up to join Balvin for their recent top 10 “AM” remix.

Sech: In 2019, Sech was just another breakout star with an inescapable hit, “Otro Trago.” Now, the Panamanian vocalist is unquestionably one of the most sought-after performers in Latin music. At Baja Beach fest, he brought pal Jhay Cortez onstage for an unexpected duet and displayed his acrobatic-like percussion skills in a drum battle alongside Toni Drums. Bonus: “Relación” was stunning in a live setting.

“¡Se vale soñar!,” Sech shouted, alluding to the title of his debut album, Sueños, but more importantly, reminding his fans that even the wildest dreams are possible. A few years ago, after all, the singer was working construction in Rio Abajo, Panama.

Becky G: The California-born star — looking as beautiful as ever in glistening silver eyeshadow and a white jean shorts and jacket combo — continued to rep her biculturalism, stating how thrilled she is to be a part of both worlds as an American and Mexicana. Her bilingual set was invigorating to say the least. “No Drama” and closing numbers “Mayores” and “Sin Pijama” elevated the vibe to boisterous proportions.

Rauw Alejandro and Jhay Cortez: The two rising stars brought fresh hits. Rauw Alejandro boasted some of the slickest dance moves of the weekend and set the stage ablaze with dance banger “Todo De Ti.” And Cortez delivered more crowd pleasers with “Dákiti” and “No Me Conoce.”

“After being away from a festival stage for so long, I feel blessed to be able to get back out there and reconnect with the people, my fans, and be able to share all this new music,” Cortez told Billboard.

Baja Beach Fest returns next weekend.

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Baja Beach Fest Day 2: Farruko, Anuel & More Perform Euphoric Sets Amid Stricter Safety Measures

Farruko, smiling from ear to ear, donning an MLB-styled BBF jersey and bedecked in diamonds that are basically shooting rainbows, is wailing out the chorus to one of the most hard-hitting songs of the summer, the anthemic EDM banger “Pepas.” Before him, a sea of festivalgoers (30,000, to be exact) are losing their minds.

It’s Day 2 (Aug. 14) of Baja Beach Fest, the largest Latin music-focused festival in the Americas to resume since the coronavirus pandemic. The two-weekend fest kicked off Aug. 13 in Mexico’s Rosarito Beach, with reggaeton stars Ozuna, J Balvin and Karol G among the headliners, and with strict COVID-19 protocols in place.

After some concertgoers took to social media to criticize enforcement of protocols during Day 1, organizers seemed to be stricter on Saturday, implementing a zero-tolerance policy. For instance, if attendees were spotted without masks and refused to wear them, they would be escorted out of the festival grounds. Temperatures were checked upon entrance, and squirting hand sanitizer on the hands of those moving from section to section was mandatory. Most performers also reminded audiences to leave their masks on.

According to a report in Mexican newspaper 24 Horas, Baja California’s Secretary of Health Alonso Pérez Rico said health officials had verified that organizers were taking the agreed-upon measures, and that the show could go on. If measures were not followed, he said the festival could be shut down, according to published reports.

On their end, artists were euphoric.

“I was anxious to return to the stage and sing at a massive festival with a large audience,” Farruko told Billboard backstage, in Spanish, just after his set. “I’m speechless. I saw so many people. It’s impressive. The feeling, the adrenaline. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen that, and to feel that again is something beautiful.” The 30-year-old performer spanned through his numerous bangers and features like “6 AM,” “Krippy Kush,” “Calma” and his latest, “Me Pasé” featuring Enrique Iglesias. But the closing number “Pepas” was what, hands down, electrified the entire festival ground. “‘Pepas’ was an experiment. Obviously it’s not a reggaeton song. We released it for the DJs as we were seeing that they were returning to the clubs. We dropped it to see what would happen, and it went viral. People just went crazy,” he said.

Day 2 also featured headliner Anuel AA, as well as rising stars like Myke Towers, Lenny Tavárez, super-producer Ovy on the Drums and Guaynaa. The former played a 45-minute set of pop-flavored reggaetón that also included “Cumbia a la gente,” recorded as a duet with Los Angeles Azules, in an example of the increasing blurring of genres in Latin music.

While música urbana is still mainly dominated by male performers, it was refreshing to see another female (following Karol G’s performance on Friday night) seize the stage and command the audience. Mariah, formerly known by her fuller name Mariah Angeliq, burst into the scene looking confident as hell, rocking cute pigtails with extensions down to her lower back, a mini skirt, Nikes and white long socks. She encouraged perreo among the hordes of people with songs like “Bobo,” “Perreito” and “Taxi,” but really turned up the crowd with “El Makinon,” featuring Karol G, who did not join her onstage.

“It’s my first time being out here,” she told Billboard. “It was crazy crossing customs to get here. That shit was so packed, we drove from San Diego. I loved the crowd, I loved coming out here, seeing all my colleagues and making more connections. It’s always great.”

Unlike Coachella, one thing that BBF lacks are surprise appearances. While reggaeton and Latin trap are heavy on features — and many artists on the BBF roster collaborate — it was a bit disappointing that no artists on the bill joined their colleagues’ sets to perform any of their joint songs.

Nonetheless, the fact that Baja Beach Fest, and Day 2, took place at all, is a testament that music has the power to bring us closer, especially during uncertain times.

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George Harrison’s ‘All Things Must Pass’ Album Returns to Top 10 on Billboard 200 Chart After 50th Anniversary Reissue

George Harrison’s former No. 1 album All Things Must Pass returns to the top 10 on the Billboard 200 chart for the first time since 1971, as the set re-enters at No. 7 (on the Aug. 21-dated list) following its 50th anniversary reissue on Aug. 6.

The album was newly mixed and reissued in a variety of formats for its re-release. All versions of the album, including the original 1970 release, are combined for tracking and charting purposes.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new Aug. 21, 2021-dated chart (where All Things Must Pass returns to the top 10) will be posted in full on Billboard’s website on Aug. 17. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

All together, the set earned 32,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the tracking week ending Aug. 12 — up 1,401% (from about 2,000 in the week previous), according to MRC Data. Of its 32,000 units earned, album sales comprise 28,000, SEA units comprise 3,000 (equaling 3.96 million on-demand streams of the album’s tracks) and TEA units comprise less than 1,000.

The album, Harrison’s third solo studio effort and first No. 1 album, topped the Billboard 200 chart for seven consecutive weeks in 1971 (Jan. 2-Feb. 13, 1971-dated charts). It debuted at No. 5 on the Dec. 19, 1970 chart, and was last in the top 10 on the March 27, 1971-dated list, where it ranked at No. 9.

The album launched a pair of top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart: Harrison’s first No. 1, the double-sided hit “My Sweet Lord” / “Isn’t It a Pity,” and the No. 10 hit “What Is Life.” (Harrison of course racked up numerous earlier No. 1s on both the Hot 100 and Billboard 200 charts as a member of The Beatles.)

With All Things Must Pass’ return to the top 10 on the Billboard 200, it marks Harrison’s first time in the region since 1988, when Cloud Nine peaked at No. 8. It’s also Harrison’s highest rank since Dark Horse galloped to No. 4 on Jan. 25, 1975. (Harrison died in 2001.)

All Things Must Pass was reissued in a sizable number of formats for its anniversary. Among them: a standard 23-track set (available as either a digital album, a two-CD or a three-vinyl LP set) a deluxe edition (23 standard tracks, plus 17 demos, outtakes and jams, on a three-CD or five-vinyl LP set), a super deluxe edition (23 standard tracks plus 47 demos, outtakes and jams, on digital download, a five-CD-plus blu-ray set, or an eight-vinyl LP set) and even an uber deluxe edition (the same 23 standard tracks and 47 bonus tracks on the super deluxe — on five CDs, one blu-ray and eight vinyl LPs — but housed in a collectible wooden crate with memorabilia and two books documenting the making of the album). Pricing for the various editions ranged from about $13-$25 (for the standard album across its various formats) to $1,000-plus (depending on the retailer) for the uber deluxe edition.

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Travis Barker & Kourtney Kardashian Fly to Mexico, Marking His First Flight Since Deadly 2008 Plane Crash

Travis Barker has flown on an airplane for the first time since surviving a deadly 2008 plane crash that killed four passengers.

On Saturday (Aug. 14), the 45-year-old Blink-182 drummer flew to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, with his girlfriend Kourtney Kardashian, marking the musician’s first flight in nearly 13 years, according to photos obtained by TMZ.

In the runway snapshots, Barker and Kardashian are seen leaving Los Angeles in Kylie Jenner’s private jet, en route to Cabo for a vacation. Kris Jenner and her boyfriend Cory Gamble were also on board the flight, which landed safely at its destination, TMZ reports.

Neither Barker nor Kardashian had posted about the flight on social media at press time.

Barker was involved in a devastating 2008 plane crash that killed his assistant Chris Baker, security guard Charles Monroe Still Jr., and pilots Sarah Lemmon and James Bland. The accident also led to a three month hospitalization for the superstar drummer, who had burns on 65% of his body and required 26 surgeries and several skin grafts. Barker’s friend and musical parter DJ AM (Adam Goldstein) was also injured in the crash, and died a year later from a drug overdose.

In June, Barker contemplated the idea of once again taking to the skies. “I might fly again,” he tweeted alongside an airplane emoji.

In a recent interview with Men’s Health, Barker said surviving the accident and the long recovery that followed inspired him to get clean.

“People are always like, ‘Did you go to rehab?’” said Barker, who had developed such a high opioid tolerance that he’d sometimes wake up during surgery. “And I [say], ‘No, I was in a plane crash.’ That was my rehab. Lose three of your friends and almost die? That was my wake-up call. If I wasn’t in a crash, I would have probably never quit.”

“There’s a million things that could happen to me,” the drummer added. “I could die riding my skateboard. I could get in a car accident. I could get shot. Anything could happen. I could have a brain aneurysm and die. So why should I still be afraid of airplanes?”

Of flying again, he told the magazine, “I have to … I want to make the choice to try and overcome it.”

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