China’s music market data reaches the global stage: Luminate and Tencent Music partner to bridge the gap
For the first time ever, Chinese music streaming and sales data will be represented in Luminate’s global dataset and on Billboard’s Global Charts.
Luminate and Tencent Music team up
Luminate and Tencent Music Entertainment Group (TME) have announced a groundbreaking global data partnership that brings China’s music market into the global picture for the very first time ever.
Through this collaboration, data from TME’s major streaming platforms will be incorporated into Luminate’s industry-leading music data platform, CONNECT. That includes data from TME’s QQ Music, Kugou Music, Kuwo Music, and JOOX streaming platforms.
It marks the first time Luminate has integrated data from a Chinese chart tracking music engagement within the country. That means China’s streaming and sales metrics are now part of the same global dataset used across the industry to measure music performance worldwide.
What this actually means
In short, this partnership brings China’s vast music market onto the global stage. For years, China’s data set has been missing from global data metrics, leaving a gap in how we understand Chinese consumption trends.
Now, that’s changing. In the coming weeks:
- China’s music market will be reflected in Luminate CONNECT’s global streaming and sales data.
- Billboard’s Global Charts will include data from China for the first time ever.
That second part is important. It will finally bridge the gap between China’s music market and the rest of their world, helping Chinese artists to finally be represented on a global scale.
“This collaboration with Luminate represents a data-driven effort to establish a unified global content ecosystem. China is one of the most dynamic music markets in the world, and through this partnership, all content on TME’s platforms – whether domestic or international – will participate in, and even help shape, global music trends.”
TC Pan, Group Vice President of TME and President of the Content Cooperation Department
Part of Luminate’s broader global push
The Tencent partnership builds on Luminate’s ongoing mission to expand its international music data coverage. Since 2022, Luminate has steadily been growing its dataset, with recent additions in new markets across the Middle East, North and Sub-Saharan Africa, and now, China.
It’s already helped surface insights into the rise of K-Pop and J-Pop around the world, and now Chinese music can join that conversation.
“This partnership marks a pivotal moment for the global music industry, underscoring Luminate’s unwavering commitment to providing the most accurate and comprehensive measurement of music activity worldwide. As the industry’s most trusted source of streaming and sales data, our customers and partners expect as much information as possible to make the best business decisions, and we know how valuable it is for a market as large and influential as China to be represented in those insights.”
Rob Jonas, Luminate CEO
Why it matters
For the music industry, this partnership is about more than just numbers. It’s about visibility, representation, and opportunity. The inclusion of Chinese data fills a gap in the global music industry’s data set, which will now let labels, artists, and marketers understand and connect with Chinese audiences.
For artists within China, it means their success will finally be visible to the whole world.