Taihe Group’s Baidu Music (百度音乐) has rebranded as Qianqian Music (千千音乐), launching a new logo and domain. However, functionality within the app and the on the website remains the same.
The move follows a 2015 merger between Baidu’s music service and Chinese music company Taihe Entertainment Group, in which the Chinese tech giant sought to spin off one of its brands for investment. The move also aimed to improve Baidu’s Music’s offerings by leveraging Taihe’s library of local and international content.
“Baidu Music has been upgraded to Qianqian Music, which is not only a simple brand upgrade but also an indispensable measure for us to fit in with the needs of emerging users.” Liu Xin, vice president of Taihe Music Group, is quoted as saying.
China’s music streaming industry is enormous. With a smartphone penetration rate of 92 devices for every 100 individuals, 86% of users listen to music on their mobile phones. This has created an increasingly competitive market for music streaming businesses, which is dominated by players including Kuguo Music and QQ Music.
The competition in the market has resulted in numerous license infringement lawsuits and counter-suits between QQ Music, NetEase Music, Alibaba’s Xiami Music, and Kuguo Music, and competitors in the market. The turbulence eventually led to the government enforcing music strict copyright regulations in 2015.
According to research firm iResearch, mobile music users made up 62.7% of total internet users at the end of 2017, with a vast majority of users reporting a preference for pop music.