Tencent Music Entertainment Reports 27% Revenue Growth in Q3, Driven by Subscriptions and Live Events

Tencent Music Entertainment Group (TME), the leading online music and audio service in China, announced robust third-quarter financial results on Thursday. For the three months ending September 30, the company's unaudited figures revealed that online music service revenue surged 27.2% compared to the same period last year, reaching RMB 6.97 billion (approximately $979 million). This impressive growth was not concentrated in one area but stemmed from broad-based gains across its portfolio, including music subscriptions, live streaming events, advertising, and sales of artist merchandise.

A major contributor was the music subscription segment, where revenue rose 17.2% to $632 million. This expansion was fueled by the successful scaling of its premium SVIP membership program. The company's emphasis on upselling users to higher-value tiers was further validated by an increase in the monthly average revenue per paying user, which climbed from $1.5 to $1.6. This focus on "premiumization" is a central strategy in the streaming sector's development. As noted by industry analyst David Chen, "TME's consistent ability to grow its ARPU showcases a sophisticated monetization playbook that many of its global peers are still attempting to master."

Strategic content expansion also played a pivotal role. TME significantly broadened its music catalog by establishing new licensing agreements with labels in South Korea and Japan. It also strengthened ties with game developers—a natural alignment given its parent company, Tencent Holdings, is one of the world's largest video game publishers. A standout example of this synergy was the co-production with Tencent Games of the "Honor of Kings" 10th-anniversary theme, "Atlas of Tomorrow," performed by Singapore's acclaimed singer JJ Lin. The track quickly became a viral phenomenon, amassing over 600 million social media mentions in just two weeks. The introduction of a new, lower-priced ad-supported membership tier also proved effective in converting free users and increasing daily engagement on the platform.

Beyond digital offerings, TME demonstrated its growing influence in live entertainment. The company organized 14 completely sold-out concerts for Korean superstar G-Dragon in cities such as Sydney, Melbourne, and Kuala Lumpur, attracting a combined live audience exceeding 150,000. This successful execution of large-scale international events marks a strategic shift for TME as it leverages its platform to become a major player in the global live music market. The quarter also featured the debut of the TMElive International Music Awards, a two-day festival with 22 artists from across Asia that drew over 20,000 attendees. Its flagship annual event, TMEA 2025, further solidified this position by bringing together 35 artists and more than 10,000 fans.

In addition to these high-profile productions, TME provided crucial promotional and logistical support for tours by major Chinese artists like Fiona Sit, Tia Ray, and Gai. Public demand for these concerts was so intense that several performances had to be upgraded from arenas to full-scale stadiums. This scaling-up not only underscores the artists' widespread appeal but also highlights TME's effective marketing and operational capacity to meet the surging post-pandemic demand for live experiences—a trend that continues to redefine the entertainment landscape worldwide.