HYBE’s superfan platform Weverse is making significant inroads into China through strategic partnerships with two of the market’s digital giants: Tencent Music Entertainment and Alibaba.
The moves mark a pivotal moment in HYBE’s international expansion strategy, as it confirms that Weverse reached a record high of 11.6 million monthly active users (MAUs) globally in Q3 2025.
Last Thursday (November 6), Weverse confirmed its new collaboration with QQ Music, China’s largest music streaming platform owned by Tencent Music Entertainment.
The partnership enables Chinese users to subscribe to Weverse DM — a premium service offering one-to-one messaging with artists — directly through the QQ platform. The tie-up will eliminate barriers that previously complicated access for Chinese fans.
The second part of Weverse’s China expansion is the launch of Weverse Shop on Tmall, the e-commerce platform operated by digital giant Alibaba, earlier this year.
The Tmall Weverse store, which launched in June, sells official merchandise and light sticks for 17 Weverse artists, providing Chinese consumers with authenticated products through one of the country’s most trusted retail channels.
The Tmall venture has already proven successful: in just five months of operation, the Weverse Shop earned Tmall’s “2025 Supernova Brand” award, a recognition given to overseas brands demonstrating strong sales performance, rapid growth, high search volume, and positive customer reviews.
Chinese fans can now purchase Weverse merchandise through multiple channels, including Tmall, the Weverse app, or directly via PC.
HYBE CEO Jason Jae-sang Lee explained the company’s measured approach to the Chinese market during an earnings call with investors today (November 10).
The company’s approach in China minimizes direct investment and operational challenges while leveraging the established infrastructure and user bases of Tencent and Alibaba.
“Rather than putting in our resources directly, we have been utilizing corporate partnerships. And so we have not been trying to maximize profits coming from China, but we understand that there are so many Chinese fans who love and support our artists.”
Jason Jaesang Lee, HYBE, speaking to investors today (November 10)
“Rather than putting in our resources directly, we have been utilizing corporate partnerships,” Lee said. “And so we have not been trying to maximize profits coming from China, but we understand that there are so many Chinese fans who love and support our artists.”
He added: “We decided to partner with QQMusic, the strongest streaming platform in China, as well as Tmall so that more Chinese fans can engage with our artists more actively. So it was more of a company-to-company partnership. And such partnerships are already receiving very positive responses.”
Lee also revealed that “in addition to the currently available Weverse DM” HYBE is “discussing additional services to be available on these platforms”.
He explained that “these [additional Weverse services being made available on platforms in China via partnerships ]will have a direct contribution to our earnings because these are subscription-based. So in China, we’re not aggressive yet, but we are continuing to look for and implement solutions that can best serve our fans in China.”
The firm’s expansion comes as Weverse continues to experience strong growth globally.
HYBE CEO Lee attributed Weverse’s recent MAU uplift primarily to BTS members actively returning to the platform following their military service obligations, combined with diverse global activities by artists on the platform.
China represents a crucial market for HYBE’s expansion ambitions – and the stats tell us why.
China’s two biggest music streaming providers, Tencent Music Entertainment (TME) and NetEase Cloud Music (NCM), counted around 171 million paying users between them at the close of 2024.
That was nearly double the volumeof subscription streaming accounts in the US at the same juncture: 100 million (source: RIAA).
China added over 25 million paying music subs in 2024, according to senior industry sources; the USA added just 3.2 million.
China is also rapidly gaining global market share of music streaming subscription revenues.
According to IFPI data, China’s annual streaming subscription trade revenues surpassed USD $1 billion in 2024, up 18.9% YoY.
In doing so, China surpassed Germany to become the world’s third-largest music streaming subscription market.
MBW has previously predicted that China may leapfrog the world’s second-largest subscription market, the UK, by 2026.
China was the world’s fifth-largest territory for recorded music trade revenue in 2024 across all formats, according to IFPI statistics, overtaking France – with Germany now in its sights (image source: UMG’s annual report).
Earlier this year, HYBE officially launched HYBE China, a subsidiary launched in Beijing to support artist activities in the country.
And as Billboard‘s Global charts begin incorporating data from QQ Music (following a recent deal between Luminate and Tencent Music Entertainment), HYBE’s new partnership in the region could provide additional visibility for the firm’s artists in the Chinese market.Music Business Worldwide
