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Tencent Music Tencent Music Entertainment Group Announces Third Quarter 2021 Unaudited Financial Results SHENZHEN , China , Nov. 8 , 2021 / PRNewswire / -- Tencent Music Entertainment Group ( " TME , " or the " Company " ) ( NYSE : TME ) , the leading online music and audio entertainment platform in China , today announced its unaudited financial results for the third quarter ended September 30 , 2021 . Financial and Operational Highlights In the three months ended September 30 , 2021 : • Total revenues were RMB7.81 billion ( US $ 1.21billion ) , representing an increase of 3.0 % year - over - year . • Online music services revenues grew by 24.3 % year - over - year . Revenues from music subscriptions were RMB1.90 billion ( US $ 295 million ) , representing 30.2 % year - over year growth . • Online music paying users reached 71.2 million , increasing by 37.7 % year - over - year . On a sequential basis , the number of online music paying users grew by 5.0 million . Paying ratio was 11.2 % , up from 8.0 % in the third quarter of 2020 and 10.6 % in the second quarter of 2021 , respectively . • Net profit of the Company was RMB788 million ( US $ 122 million ) and net profit attributable to equity holders of the Company was RMB740 million ( US $ 115 million ) . • Non - IFRS net profit of the Company [ ¹ ] was RMB1.06 billion ( US $ 165 million ) and Non - IFRS net profit attributable to equity holders of the Company [ 1 ] was RMB1.02 billion ( US $ 158 million ) . [ 1 ] Non - IFRS net profit and Non - IFRS net profit attributable to equity holders of the Company was arrived at after excluding the combined effect of amortization of intangible assets and other assets arising from acquisitions , share - based compensation expenses , net losses / gains from investments , fair value change on puttable shares and income tax effects . " In the third quarter , our online music services delivered healthy growth driven by strong momentum in subscriptions as users continue to be attracted by our enhanced music streaming experience . While the online music industry in China is adapting to regulatory changes and facing competition for time spent from short video services , we will continue to differentiate both our online music and social entertainment services and execute our dual engine content - and - platform strategy , " said Mr. Cussion Pang , Executive Chairman of Tencent Music Entertainment Group ( TME ) . " In parallel with our efforts to promote the healthy and sustainable development of the music industry in China , we have made meaningful strides to build and expand our capability in music creation , discovery , promotion and monetization . In addition to increased investments in the production of high quality music , we have allocated more resources to support and cultivate indie musicians and original music through our Tencent Musician Platform , with the goal of establishing our platform as the preferred destination for music enthusiasts . " " To better serve our users , we are strengthening our platform's capability to provide music lovers with more video - based content , share their passion for music within our community and have a more socially - engaging experience . In this regard , we have launched several initiatives that are showing encouraging progress , including upgraded video and social features on QQ Music and Kugou Music . Moreover , our efforts to expand long - form audio content offering and features have resulted in long - form audio MAUS exceeding 140 million , growing by 89 % year - over - year , as our users discover the complementary experience of music and audio streaming , " commented Mr. Ross Liang , CEO of TME . " We continue to embrace and collaborate with the broader Tencent ecosystem through multiple cross - platform partnerships with Weixin , Tencent Games and Tencent Video . With innovative product features and rich content partnerships , we expect these win - win collaborations to further expand our user reach and content offering , while simultaneously fulfilling the music needs of users on Tencent's platform , " concluded Mr. Liang . Recent Operational Highlights • TME's online music and social entertainment services key operating metrics * 3Q21 3Q20 YOY % 636 646 205 235 71.2 51.7 10.0 10.5 8.9 9.4 Mobile MAU - online music ( million ) Mobile MAU - social entertainment ( million ) Paying users - online music ( million ) Paying users - social entertainment ( million ) Monthly ARPPU - online music ( RMB ) Monthly ARPPU - social entertainment ( RMB ) 163.9 166.7 ( 1.5 % ) ( 12.8 % ) 37.7 % ( 4.8 % ) ( 5.3 % ) ( 1.7 % ) • The year - over - year decline in online music mobile MAUS was primarily due to churns of our casual users served by other pan - entertainment platforms ; however , online music mobile MAUS increased sequentially . • Due to regulatory changes and industry competition , social entertainment services MAUS and paying users decreased year - over - year and quarter - over - quarter . We will continue to invest in the operations of our social entertainment services through audio live streaming , virtual live streaming room , as well as cross - platform live streaming events . • We continued to enhance our music production and promotion capability to produce high - quality music . Our process leverages our deep understanding of music trends , our comprehensive connections with musicians , songwriters and producers , proprietary music creation and evaluation technology , and internal and external promotion channels . • We produced the chart - topping theme song " The Peerless King " by artist G.E.M. for the popular game " Honour of Kings . " The song was released for the game's 2021 World Champion Cup and has been well received by both music and game lovers . • Wang Jing Wen , a rising musician we nurtured , entered the industry - acclaimed singing competition show " SING ! CHINA 2021 " and won the second place , propelling the popularity of her songs to a new record with 1.9 billion streams on our platforms in the third quarter . • We continued to cultivate original works and enrich the indie musician ecosystem through our Tencent Musician Platform . • We empowered our indie musicians with useful tools and collaborative opportunities to create , grow , engage and monetize their art and fan base to realize their full potential . We also provide access to valuable resources , including TME Live performances , incentive plans , promotion channels , education platform , copyright support and more . • In the third quarter , we launched our ( 1 ) " Riding on the Wind Plan " to inspire new music content creation by efficiently pairing musicians with top songwriters and lyricists ; and ( 2 ) an upgraded " One Hundred Million Yuan Incentive Plan , " which incentivizes eligible musicians to collaborate with us in music creation . • By the end of the third quarter , the number of indie musicians on the Tencent Musician Platform reached 260,000 , extending its growth streak with a double - digit year over - year increase . The streaming volume of their original works continues to record healthy growth . • TME Live continued to deliver on our ambition to create new online - merge - offline music scenarios with immersive experiences . In the third quarter , it held 26 online live performances , worked with the Tencent Musician Platform to showcase offline live performances , and rolled out a series of indoor music festivals across multiple cities . • With respect to our music platform , we upgraded our products to inspire creation and innovation of content on our platform and enhance user stickiness . • QQ Music's short video tab featuring immersive video feeds and Kugou Music's embedded MVs on its streaming page achieved sequential increases in their user penetration . By the end of the third quarter , QQ Music's daily video views and daily unique visitors on our platform reached 100 million and 18 million respectively , representing triple - digit growth rates . • We launched a one - click video publishing feature allowing indie musicians to simultaneously publish and distribute their music videos across Weixin Video Account , QQ Music , Kugou Music , Kuwo Music and WeSing , making it easier for musicians to reach a broader audience . • Through continued efforts to expand our long - form audio content offering and features , long - form audio MAUS recorded strong growth and exceeded 140 million in the third quarter , growing by 89 % year - over - year . Long - form audio paying users reached 5 million by the end of the third quarter , growing by over 100 % year - over - year , a majority of which are also online music paying users as they are attracted by the complementary nature of an integrated music and audio streaming service . • Within social entertainment services , we focused on product and operational improvements to better engage users .