Kwai Drafts Global Licensing Deal with Warner Chappell Music

Warner Chappell Music (WCM) and short-form video platforms Kwai have entered into a dynamic new licensing agreement to make WCM’s music available on Kwai around the world. Kwai recently hit more than 180 million monthly active users (MAU) outside of China, becoming one of the most popular apps in MENA and Latin America, as well as in South and Southeast Asia, where it’s known as SnackVideo.

According to the deal, Warner Chappell’s music will be available for use on these platforms, offering new content to Kwai’s user base. WCM has offices in more than 20 countries and is home to a wide array of songwriters spanning all genres, with material ranging from top-charting contemporary hits to a catalog of influential standards.

Natalie Madaj, Senior VP of Global Digital, Warner Chappell Music said, “As the digital ecosystem continues to evolve in exciting new ways, social-sharing apps like Kwai are changing how people experience and discover music around the world. We’re very proud to be partnering with the team to bring our catalogue of songs to Kwai’s engaged user base and talented music creators.”

Calvin Liu, Kuaishou Head of Overseas Partnership and Communications added, “This is an exciting collaboration from the creative and business point of view. We are sure Warner Chappell’s immense catalog will inspire millions of Kwai users across the Middle East to weave music in expressive new ways as they share stories from their lives.”

Kwai recently launched martial arts legend Jackie Chan’s global live-streaming session debut, attracting over 130m users at its peak, 220m total views, and 320m likes.

The company also continues to attract music and pop culture icons, including Mandopop superstar Jay Chou, who currently has 31m followers. He joined exclusively in 2020 and shortly after launched his global debut live-streaming concert across Kuaishou’s multiple global platforms in 2022.