MUSIC BUSINESS · ·Music Ally
ByteDance and Tencent Clash Over Free Music in China
ByteDance's Qishui Music has reached 167 million monthly active users in China, prompting Tencent to launch a rival free streaming app.
ByteDance-owned Qishui Music, also known as Soda Music, reached approximately 167 million monthly active users in June 2026. According to QuestMobile data published by RouteNote, this represents a 68.7% year-on-year growth for the platform, which launched in 2022.
The service has now overtaken NetEase Cloud Music in monthly active users and is closing the gap with Tencent Music's established giants. For comparison, the same June 2026 data showed Tencent's QQ Music at 189 million monthly active users and Kugou Music at 194 million.
Qishui Music builds its audience through free listening and algorithmic recommendations tied directly to Douyin, ByteDance's Chinese equivalent of TikTok. When users discover a song in a short video, ByteDance moves them directly into a continuous recommendation feed to hear the full track, replacing the traditional search-and-library streaming model.
In response to this competition, Tencent Music—operator of QQ Music, Kugou Music, and Kuwo Music—released a new app called "Free Music" via Huawei's AppGallery in August 2026.
The application lets users earn free listening time by completing tasks and collecting virtual coins that can be exchanged for rewards. It also incorporates a "Swipe to Listen" vertical recommendation feed, mimicking the interface popularized by short-form video apps. The platform retains a membership option, functioning as a new entry point into Tencent's ecosystem for users unwilling to pay for subscriptions.
For several years, major Chinese streaming platforms focused on converting free listeners into paying subscribers. ByteDance's strategy relies instead on its massive advertising infrastructure.
In June 2026, ByteDance products accounted for roughly 40% of the total time Chinese users spent across the country's top 50 apps. Because ByteDance monetizes attention through advertising across its wider ecosystem, a listener who spends hours on Qishui Music remains valuable without a subscription.
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