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Deepti Sri · · 1 min readReport: Alibaba unit applies for trademarks for defunct music-streaming service
“A subsidiary of Alibaba Group Holding has applied for a slew of trademarks for its now-defunct music-streaming service, fanning speculation about whether the ecommerce giant will reenter music streaming after Beijing forced Tencent Holdings to relinquish its exclusive licensing deals,” South China Morning Post reported.
Details:
- According to the website of the Trademark Office of China National Intellectual Property Administration, Alibaba Singapore Holding filed dozens of applications in June for Xiami Music and Entertainment in categories that include concert production, ticketing, and music publishing.
- The development comes amid Beijing’s efforts to encourage competition in the country’s music-streaming market. Over the weekend, China’s antitrust watchdog slapped Tencent with a 500,000 yuan (US$77,117) fine and ordered the company to end its exclusive music licensing deals with global record labels.
Dive deeper:
- Xiami Music was acquired by the Alibaba Group in 2013 and has access to all of its resources, including the latest technology and music entertainment insights across the tech giant’s various platforms.
- However, the company ceased operations in February as it did not “satisfy the diversified needs of its users.”
Editing by Collin Furtado and Arpit Nayak
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