France-headquartered Believe has built itself into one of the world\u2019s largest music companies in no small part by capitalizing on the rapid growth of Asian markets.<\/p>\n
On a recent earnings call, the company said it was the number-two digital music services company in India; on top of that, it has also expanded significantly into Greater China (i.e. mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau), where Believe now represents more than 300 labels and over 250 artists directly through its Premium Solutions.<\/p>\n
And it has established itself in Southeast Asia as well, with leading market positions in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. In all, the company counts more than 10,000 labels and artists signed across the region.<\/p>\n
Now, as it celebrates the 10th anniversary of its expansion into Asia, the company has revealed a statistic that illuminates its role in the region: It has paid more than \u20ac700 million<\/strong> in royalties to the music industry in the APAC (Asia-Pacific) region, which Believe says is \u201cfurther fuelling the growth of a sustainable local music ecosystem by fostering new artist development.\u201d<\/p>\n “Over the past 10 years in APAC, we have been committed to bringing back the attention of the local audience, and the revenues that come with it, towards local content,\u201d Sylvain Delange, Believe\u2019s Regional Director, APAC, said in a statement.<\/p>\n \u201cMusic is by essence local, it takes its roots in daily life, in the culture, the language, the beliefs, the values of local communities… I\u2019m very proud to say that we have made significant progress in this mission to bring value back to the local music industry to build healthier, fairer and more diverse music ecosystems across the region.\u201d<\/p>\n The explosion in popularity of local music across global markets is a trend that Believe has both jumped on and helped make happen.<\/p>\n Ten years from now, \u201clocal markets are going to be dominated by local artists in most territories around the world,\u201d Believe Founder and CEO Denis Ladegallerie told MBW in a recent interview<\/a>. \u201cSo one of our objectives as a company is helping to ensure that local artists have at least 50%<\/strong> share in their local markets.\u201d<\/p>\n Ladegallerie expects that some of these local artists will become regional superstars.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we\u2019re starting to see in Asia is some Chinese artists starting to resonate in Thailand, Indonesia or some other markets; Indonesian artists starting to resonate in Japan, Malaysia and other local markets. So we do think there will be a layer of regional superstars that is in development. That is part of what our teams in various territories are focused on.\u201d<\/p>\n As for global superstars, they \u201cwill be more diverse from a geographic [standpoint] than today,\u201d Ladegallerie added. \u201cWe\u2019re already starting to see the [start] of this, we\u2019ve seen Latin music, we\u2019ve seen BTS, and I do think that we\u2019ll see more and more of it.\u201d<\/p>\n Ladegallerie said he\u2019s optimistic about Believe\u2019s future precisely because of its involvement in expanding local music in less-developed music markets that have large potential.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are positioned in markets in Europe and emerging markets that are faster growing markets, so naturally that positions us to drive faster-than-market growth in the years ahead,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n In India, Believe expanded in part through strategic acquisitions, such as that of label Venus Music, which Believe acquired in 2019 and rebranded as Ishtar<\/a> in 2021, a purchase that gave Believe control of one of the largest Bollywood soundtracks catalogs in Hindi. In 2021, Believe acquired Think Music<\/a>, giving it a catalog of soundtracks in the Tamil language.<\/p>\n Beyond those acquisitions, Believe has also positioned itself as a leading player in various local Indian music markets in a variety of languages, including Punjabi, Bhojpuri and Haryanvi, among others. It has signed a number of top-selling artists, including Maharashtra\u2019s MC Stan, who Believe says has clocked 1 billion<\/strong> YouTube views on his track Insaan<\/em>, and the duo Cheema Y & Gur Sidhu, whose California Love<\/em> has topped 42 million<\/strong> streams on Spotify.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are positioned in markets in Europe and emerging markets that are faster growing markets, so naturally that positions us to drive faster-than-market growth in the years ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n Denis Ladegallerie, Believe<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n In Greater China, where Believe has been operating since 2016, the company has built a team of more than 80 in five offices, and has built significant partnerships with local artists, including the singer Young Captain, one of Believe\u2019s Artist Services clients, who reached number one on the NeatEase Music Chart and Douyin Hot Chart, clocking 1 million<\/strong> streams per day.<\/p>\n \u201cAs the structuring of the local music market accelerates across Greater China, I\u2019m excited to see the rise of a more diverse range of music genres, fostering endless opportunities for more and more artists and labels to grow and reach wider audiences both locally and internationally,\u201d Believe China Business Head Vincent Li said in a statement.<\/p>\n Li isn\u2019t kidding about \u201cendless opportunities\u201d in China; according to IFPI\u2019s 2023 Global Music Market Report<\/a>, China\u2019s music market grew by 28.4%<\/strong><\/span> in 2022, making it a top-five global market music market for the first time. (That report also found that Asia as a whole accounted for nearly half \u2013 49.8%<\/strong> \u2013 of all physical music sales worldwide.)<\/p>\n In 2022, Believe renewed its partnerships with the owners of China\u2019s largest music streaming platforms, Tencent Music Entertainment (TME) and NetEase. As of last count, TME\u2019s various streaming platforms had just short of<\/a> 100 million<\/strong> paid subscribers, while NeaEase counted<\/a> 41.8 million<\/strong>.<\/p>\n \u201cAs the structuring of the local music market accelerates across Greater China, I\u2019m excited to see the rise of a more diverse range of music genres, fostering endless opportunities for more and more artists and labels to grow and reach wider audiences both locally and internationally.”<\/p>\n Vincent Li, Believe China<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Then there is Southeast Asia, where Believe expects to see<\/a> a quadrupling of paid music streaming subscribers by 2030. The region is \u201cat the very beginning of its digital growth,\u201d Believe says, with just 1.8% of the population subscribing to paid music services.<\/p>\n In the region, Believe has helped grow a number of local artists, including Thai hip-hop performer Saran, who was the third most-streamed artist in YouTube in 2022, as well as Indonesia pop sensations Tulus and Yura Yunita, all of whom have signed to Believe\u2019s recently-launched hip-hop imprint Byond.<\/p>\n The company has also invested in the region through acquisitions, such as the 15%<\/strong> stake it took<\/a> in Philippines-based Viva Music and Artists Group (VMAG) in 2021.<\/p>\n “As we celebrate this [10th anniversary] milestone, we remain dedicated to our mission of empowering artists and labels, and fueling [the] growth of Southeast Asia\u2019s music industry by collectively embracing change and innovation to lead with operational excellence and continue delivering high-added and long-term value to the artists, labels and partners who place their trust in us,” Antoine El Iman, Managing Director, Southeast Asia, Believe, said in a statement.<\/p>\n
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