Think of Alibaba as the Amazon of China, only bigger. So a tie-in is a big deal for BMG and its growing catalog which includes music from Janet Jackson, blink-182, Scorpions, Kylie Minogue and Black Sabbath.
_______________________________
Alibaba Music, the online music service of Chinese e-commerce platform Alibaba, announced that they are expanding their strategic partnership with BMG.
Included in the expanded agreement is a three-year extension of the two companies’ existing digital music distribution agreement that gives Alibaba’s digital music platforms Ali Music, Xiami, and Ali Planet access to BMG’s catalogue, which includes recordings from the likes of Janet Jackson, Rick Astley, blink-182, Scorpions, Kylie Minogue and Black Sabbath.
The deal also includes new provisions that will see the two companies’ collaborating in other areas, such as in films, TV, fan interactions and e-commerce.
BMG CEO Hartwig Masuch said, “We have been very satisfied with the rapid progress we have made in our relationship with Alibaba, surely one of the most innovative and customer-focused businesses in the world. By deepening our relationship with Alibaba we are not only helping to pioneer the new music business in China, we are delivering new revenue for our artists and songwriters.”
While not as widely known in the West as companies such as Google or Amazon, Alibaba’s market cap was 210 billion at the end of 2015 and is the world’s largest retailer as of April 2016.
Alibaba Digital Media & Entertainment Group will comprise the businesses represented in the Digital Media & Entertainment Matrix Steering Committee. These include Youku Tudou, UC, Alibaba Pictures, Alibaba Music, Alibaba Gaming, Alibaba Literature and Alibaba Digital Entertainment business unit.
via Celebrity Access