Tencent Music (腾讯音乐娱乐集团) will waive exclusive audio rights after acquiring Ximalaya (喜马拉雅)

Regulator-imposed remedy follows merger approval

Tencent Music Entertainment Group (腾讯音乐娱乐集团), a unit of Tencent Holdings (腾讯控股有限公司), has committed to waive exclusive rights in online audio after completing its acquisition of Ximalaya (喜马拉雅). It has been reported that the State Administration for Market Regulation (国家市场监督管理总局, SAMR) published a conditional approval on May 11, 2026, and Tencent Music announced the deal closed on May 18. The regulator’s Decision required a package of behavioral remedies to address concentration risks in China’s online audio market.

What Tencent Music pledged

Under the attached “Commitment Plan,” Tencent Music said it will forgo asserting exclusivity clauses in existing exclusive copyright contracts for online audio content with the rights holders defined by SAMR, and will not enter into new or disguised exclusive-authorisation deals with those parties. Rights holders will be free to license their content to other operators without penalty, and Tencent Music said it will unwind existing exclusives within the timeframes set by the regulator and seek to continue partnerships on a non-exclusive basis. The company stressed it values longstanding commercial relationships and will work with partners during the transition.

Broader regulatory context and specific limits

SAMR’s conditional approval included five restrictive commitments; one explicit demand bans tying or bundling of online audio or music platforms with automobile manufacturers, preventing Tencent from forcing carmakers to take its services or blocking procurement of rivals. This intervention fits Beijing’s wider push since 2020 to curb platform monopolies, limit exclusivity that locks out competitors, and restore competitive order in big tech sectors. For Western readers: this is domestic antitrust enforcement rather than a trade or sanctions action, but it reflects China’s assertive approach to reining in internally dominant tech players.

Market implications

Will smaller platforms and independent producers gain ground? Potentially. Removing exclusives can lower barriers for rivals such as NetEase Cloud Music and independent audio services, and could expand distribution for podcasters and audiobook publishers. Enforcement will be key: the commitment opens the door, but how quickly rights holders re-license content and how SAMR monitors compliance will determine whether consumers see more choice and innovation or merely a reshuffled market.