NetEase Cloud Music’s First Social Music App Starts Registration
MUS, the first social music app released by NetEase Cloud Music, on September 27 officially opened for registration. MUS, an abbreviation of Music with Us, is designed for matching user groups with similar music tastes.
MUS started private testing at the end of March, and is now officially open to users. The app’s system analyzes song data, such as which are collected and frequently played by users and the time period of listening to music. Then the system matches the user with others exhibiting similar patterns. After matching, both parties can view the detailed common points of each other.
At present, MUS has three interactive sections, namely “recommend,” “hear” and “voice.” The recommendation section is subdivided into “friend mode” and “music mode.” In the friend mode, users can not only find high-quality music, but also efficiently meet friends with the same taste. In the music mode, users can follow others recommended by the system.
The “voice” section is an innovative function of MUS and an extension of the music evaluation function of NetEase Cloud Music. The board recommends a few songs a day for users, with a lot of comments waiting to be responded to. The voice section shows friends’ updates now, which will be followed by a function of uploading posts by voice.
According to NetEase Cloud Music, more than 75% of MUS users live in first-tier and second-tier Chinese cities, and users aged 23 to 30 account for nearly 50%. Considering the offline social needs of these young users, MUS will add an offline section and organize offline activities regularly.
As early as April 2013, when NetEase Cloud Music was launched, NetEase Founder Ding Lei said that it is a reflection of important social elements. Ding defines NetEase Cloud Music as a mobile music community, with social functions such as music reviews, playlists and annual listening reports, which focus on music discovery and sharing.
NetEase Cloud Music started testing in the music social field as early as 2018. In the annual music listening report in 2018, the system automatically recommends users with others holding similar tastes, then the two parties can start chatting. In May 2019, the predecessor of MUS – “Make Friends with Music” mini program – was launched, marking the first time that NetEase Cloud Music tested the function.
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The social entertainment business is seen as the second growth line for NetEase Cloud Music, which is already listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. In the second quarter of this year, social entertainment services and others’ revenue was about 2.47 billion ($345 million), up 56.7% year on year, accounting for about 58.2% of total revenue. The social entertainment service has 1.2 million monthly paying users. From the perspective of promotion, NetEase Cloud Music attaches great importance to social products. In the second quarter of this year, its sales and marketing expenses increased from $155 million to $326 million, mainly due to an increase in marketing expenses for music-derived social entertainment products.
In addition to MUS, NetEase Cloud Music has also launched products in karaoke, livestreaming, social networking between strangers and other fields. Its product matrix is gradually catching up with Tencent Music Entertainment’s.
