The Music Copyright Society of China (MCSC), a collective rights management organization based in China, has signed licensing deals with the country’s two largest digital music platforms, Tencent Music Entertainment and NetEase Cloud Music.
The news was welcomed by the Korea Music Copyright Association (Komca), which has been in talks with the China Music Copyright Association (MCSC) and local music platforms to improve the Korean music copyright royalty collection environment in China.
MCSC collects royalties for Korean music works used in China and forwards them to Komca under a management agreement.
China is the world’s fifth-largest recorded music market.
Komca, South Korea’s largest music copyright collective, says it had previously identified “structural problems inherent in the Chinese digital music market’s institutional and environmental characteristics”, which was hindering the “smooth collection and settlement” of Korean music royalties.
Komca staff visited Beijing last year to discuss the current state of K-pop licensing operations in China and data exchange strategies with the MCSC. The organization has also been directly negotiating with major platform operators in the Chinese digital music market.
The MCSC’s licensing agreement with Tencent Music, signed with officials from the National Copyright Administration of China (NCAC) and the International Confederation of Copyright Societies (CISAC) in November 2025, includes retroactive coverage for usage prior to the deal.
MCSC’s licensing agreement with NetEase Cloud Music also includes retroactive coverage, with additional agreements for future years reportedly underway.
Komca says the development is significant as it “brings about changes to the structure in which the collection and distribution of Korean music royalties was limited due to contractual gaps with major platforms in China”.
“I’m pleased that a meaningful turning point has been reached on the issue of China royalties.”
Lee Si-ha, Komca
“I’m pleased that a meaningful turning point has been reached on the issue of China royalties, for which we have long called for corrective measures,” said Komca president-elect Lee Si-ha.
“Building on the association’s accumulated practical groundwork and my own experience from closely tracking the China royalties issue, I will do my utmost to ensure these agreements lead swiftly to actual royalty collection and distribution.”
The move offers further evidence of the growing collaboration between China’s and South Korea’s music industries, following years of strained relations.
K-pop groups have reportedly been unofficially barred from performing live in China since around 2016/2017; however, performances are expected to return soon.
Meanwhile, South Korean tech giant Kakao recently partnered with China and Japan’s largest audio streaming providers last month to launch a new ‘K-pop Artist Chart.’
Additionally, in November 2025, South Korea’s national broadcaster KBS entered into a media exchange and cooperation business agreement with the Chinese state media company China Media Group.
Other signs of collaboration between players in the two markets came from South Korean entertainment and retail company CJ ENM, which has just unveiled a joint venture with Tencent Music and JYP CHINA, with a strategic focus on the Greater China market. The partnership, named ONECEAD, will combine “CJ ENM’s content production expertise with JYP CHINA and TME’s local infrastructure and networks”.
Elsewhere, in May last year, K-pop giant HYBE officially launched a subsidiary in China.
Separately, last year, Komca introduced a new rule requiring creators to guarantee that AI wasn’t used to write songs when registering those new songs with the organization.Music Business Worldwide
