China Music Licensing Pioneer Mathew Daniel moves to NetEase Cloud Music

HANGZHOU, Zhejiang, June 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Mathew Daniel has moved to NetEase Cloud Music as Vice-President, International. Formerly President, International of R2G, which was acquired late last year by Tencent Music, Mathew and his partners pioneered the development of the music licensing market in China.

He has long been a friend to the independent music community and in addition to launching the first legal independent music store in China 10 years ago, he paved the way for many international artists to legally distribute their music in China, including then unknown artist Adele.

"I am really proud of all we accomplished at R2, going against all odds in a harsh market of institutionalized music piracy. It is a testament to the strength of our management team that we stuck together for 12 years building the foundation of the licensed music market until our acquisition by Tencent Music. However, the mission is still not complete and I am glad to now embark on the next lap with the team at NetEase Cloud Music as they have the most exciting music product in the market, with love of music at its core supported by a positive user experience backed by data analysis," stated Mathew.

NetEase Cloud Music, which started only in 2013, has shown phenomenal growth relative to its competitors, taking just 2 years to reach 100 million users; currently it has over 300 million users. As Technode describes it, "NetEase Cloud Music is considered the cool kid in the music streaming market with its smart music recommendation and partnership with indie musicians." Last month it received about USD108 million in Series A funding and has now joined the 'unicorn club' with a valuation of more than USD1 billion. 

Zhu Yiwen, CEO of NetEase Cloud Music said, "As part of our efforts to bring NetEase Cloud Music to the next level, I am delighted to have Mathew on board as a key team member. His vast experience enables us to reach out to international labels and artists, and sign them on, so that we can introduce even more great music to our users."

There is a huge opportunity for Western artists as interest in their music is growing rapidly - in 2016, the number of streams on NetEase Cloud Music for North American and European acts grew an explosive 75% year-on-year.

SOURCE NetEase Cloud Music