NetEase Cloud Music x Soundcharts: Bringing China's streaming trends to the global industry

Rhea-AI Summary

NetEase Cloud Music, with 206 million Monthly Active Users, has partnered with Soundcharts to make China's streaming trends more accessible globally. The collaboration provides access to three key charts: Hot China Songs (weekly), Hot International Songs (weekly), and New International Songs (daily). The partnership aims to help global music professionals track performance and trends in China's dynamic market, particularly among Gen Z audiences who are driving music discovery through digital engagement and community-based interaction. Artists like bbno$ and JORDANN have already gained significant traction on the platform. This integration enables international artists and labels to monitor their performance in China's streaming market through structured, real-time data, facilitating better-informed decisions about promotion and audience development.

Positive

• Large user base of 206 million Monthly Active Users demonstrates strong market presence
• Partnership with Soundcharts expands global reach and visibility
• Strategic focus on Gen Z audience engagement shows growth potential
• Successful track record of promoting international artists in Chinese market

Negative

• None.

Insights

Digital Media Strategist

NetEase expands global music industry presence by sharing its 206M-user platform's data with Soundcharts, bridging China-global music markets.

NetEase Cloud Music's partnership with Soundcharts creates a strategic bridge between China's dynamic music market and global industry professionals. With 206 million Monthly Active Users (MAUs), NetEase is making its platform's data more accessible internationally through three specific charts: Hot China Songs (weekly updates), Hot International Songs in China (weekly), and New International Songs in China (daily).

This partnership addresses a key challenge for international artists and labels: tracking performance and understanding trends in China's massive but often opaque music market. NetEase highlights China's Gen Z audience as particularly influential in the ecosystem, characterized by digital-native engagement, active trend creation, and community-based discovery that often elevates independent and international artists outside traditional promotional channels.

The integration provides structured, real-time data to help global music professionals track international song performance in China, understand evolving trends among China's Gen Z audiences, and make data-informed decisions about promotion and audience development. This positions NetEase Cloud Music as an important gateway for international artists seeking to understand and connect with Chinese listeners, as demonstrated by artists like bbno$ and JORDANN who have already gained traction on the platform.

By providing this transparency into China's music scene, NetEase strengthens its position as a connection point between domestic and international music markets. This move enhances the platform's value proposition by offering tools that both serve its users' discovery needs and help global industry professionals navigate China's unique music ecosystem.

International Business Analyst

NetEase's Soundcharts partnership creates strategic positioning as a China-global music bridge, potentially strengthening industry relationships and platform value.

This partnership represents NetEase's strategic effort to position its Cloud Music platform as an essential connection point between China's substantial music market and the global industry. By making its 206 million MAU platform's data accessible through Soundcharts, NetEase creates infrastructure that global music professionals can use to monitor performance and trends in what has traditionally been a challenging market to track effectively.

The partnership focuses on three specific data streams that provide valuable insights: weekly updates of top Chinese songs, weekly rankings of international music performing well in China, and daily tracking of new international releases gaining traction. This structured approach transforms NetEase's user data into actionable intelligence for international artists, managers, and labels.

The press release specifically highlights China's Gen Z audience as a driving force in music discovery, noting their digital-native engagement, active trend creation, and community-based discovery behaviors. These characteristics create opportunities for independent and international artists to find unexpected success in China's market, as exemplified by artists like bbno$ and JORDANN who have built significant followings on the platform.

From a business perspective, this positions NetEase Cloud Music as not just a streaming platform but as a music industry infrastructure provider that bridges China with global markets. While the press release doesn't detail financial aspects of the partnership, it represents a strategic enhancement to NetEase's role in the global music ecosystem by facilitating better-informed decisions about promotion, marketing, and audience development in China.

HANGZHOU, China, May 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- NetEase Cloud Music, one of China's leading music streaming platforms with over 206 million Monthly Active Users (MAUs), is making China's streaming charts more accessible to the global music industry through a new partnership with Soundcharts. This collaboration provides structured access to NetEase Cloud Music rankings from China, offering global professionals valuable insights into one of the world's most dynamic music markets.

Expanding Access to China's Music Trends

Through this partnership, Soundcharts users can track three NetEase Cloud Music charts:

• Hot China Songs – Updated weekly
• Hot International Songs (in China) – Updated weekly
• New International Songs (in China) – Updated daily

With this new data, artists, managers, and labels worldwide can monitor music trends in China more closely and identify emerging opportunities for growth and engagement.

China's Gen Z: Redefining Music Discovery

China's Gen Z audience is increasingly influential in shaping music trends. Their behavior is characterized by:

• Digital-native engagement — Deeply immersed in online communities and music discovery.
• Active trend creation — Actively driving and amplifying new trends through sharing and interaction.
• Community-based discovery — Prioritizing emerging artists and niche genres over traditional mainstream channels.

These behaviors create a dynamic ecosystem where independent and international artists can find new audiences and achieve unexpected chart success.

Helping Global Artists Build Presence in China

NetEase Cloud Music has supported the growth of international artists in China, with artists like bbno$ and JORDANN gaining significant traction among Chinese listeners. This provides a platform for greater visibility and audience connection. However, many artists have faced challenges in tracking their performance across the Chinese market.

According to NetEase Cloud Music's official statement, this partnership with Soundcharts provides greater transparency into China's vibrant music scene and provides artists and labels worldwide with new tools to better understand, engage with, and expand their reach among Chinese music fans.

A New Gateway to China's Streaming Market

By integrating NetEase Cloud Music's chart updates into Soundcharts, this initiative enables global music professionals to:

• Track international song performance in China through structured, real-time data.
• Understand how music trends are evolving among China's Gen Z audiences.
• Make better-informed decisions about promotion, marketing, and audience development in China.

With this partnership, NetEase Cloud Music strengthens the bridge between China's digital music landscape and the global music industry, creating new opportunities for collaboration, discovery, and growth.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/netease-cloud-music-x-soundcharts-bringing-chinas-streaming-trends-to-the-global-industry-302440525.html

SOURCE NetEase Cloud Music

FAQ

What is the partnership between NetEase Cloud Music and Soundcharts?

NetEase Cloud Music has partnered with Soundcharts to provide global access to three Chinese music charts: Hot China Songs (weekly), Hot International Songs (weekly), and New International Songs (daily), making China's streaming trends more accessible to the global music industry.

How many monthly active users does NetEase Cloud Music (NTES) have in 2025?

NetEase Cloud Music has over 206 million Monthly Active Users (MAUs).

How does NetEase Cloud Music cater to Gen Z audiences?

NetEase Cloud Music caters to Gen Z through digital-native engagement, active trend creation, and community-based discovery, allowing users to drive trends through sharing and interaction.

Which international artists have found success on NetEase Cloud Music?

Artists like bbno$ and JORDANN have gained significant traction among Chinese listeners on NetEase Cloud Music.

What charts will be available through the NetEase-Soundcharts partnership?

The partnership provides access to three charts: Hot China Songs (weekly), Hot International Songs in China (weekly), and New International Songs in China (daily).