Worldwide agreement spans more than 700 songs, including TFBOYS’ “Manual to Youth,” Jackson Wang’s “100 Ways, ” “I Love You 3000, ” Sitar Tan’s “Xiao Juan, ” Amber Liu’s “Easier” and Many more of C-Pop’s biggest songs. Deal also includes expansive and hugely popular K-Pop song catalog rights across Greater China region.
Universal Music Publishing China (UMP China), a division of Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG), today announced the signing of an exclusive, global publishing agreement with RYCE Publishing, the prominent publishing division of RYCE Entertainment, one of China’s leading music and entertainment companies.
Spanning a massive catalog of over 700 songs, the landmark deal will see UMP China exclusively lead global administration responsibilities for some of the country’s all-time best-sellers, and tracks that have helped establish Chinese Pop (C-Pop) as a global force, like “Manual to Youth” and “Adore” performed by TFBOYS; “100 Ways,” “I Love You 3000,” co-written and performed by superstar Jackson Wang （王嘉尔）; “Jiao Huan” performed by Zhou Shen（周深）; “EASIER,” performed by Amber Liu（刘逸云） feat. Jackson Wang and “Xiao Juan,” performed by Sitar Tan（谭维维）.
Through this new strategic representation, UMP China will provide global infrastructure and opportunities for RYCE’s writers and artists to reach new audiences around the world. In addition, UMP China will work hand in hand with RYCE Publishing to further expand its roster of songwriters and producers, and the projects available to them, as it continues to establish itself among the region’s leaders.
Also included within the catalog are the Greater China rights to hundreds of major K-pop hits performed by Korean acts including Super Junior, EXO-CBX，GOT7, TWICE and more, which have been phenomenally popular in China over the years. Under the new deal, UMP China and RYCE Publishing will build on its international success to continually promote and amplify K-pop music culture in the Greater China markets.
In making the announcement, Joe Fang, Managing Director of Universal Music Publishing China, said, “We saw the rise of J-pop three decades ago and its massive influence on audiences across Asia. Now K-pop is a global phenomenon as we all know, and there has been a very key bridging force between these genres in the last two decades. With China rising to become the sixth biggest music market of the world, I believe the time of C-pop is here. RYCE Publishing, with its hybrid talents and border-crossing catalogs, is a central piece of that next bridging force and I’m thrilled that UMPG will play an instrumental role in supporting these future chapters of music history.”
Yunyun Wang, Managing Director of RYCE Publishing said, “We hope that everyone respects music copyright. If we could all do that, every artist in China music market will be motivated to work harder to make decent products, creating a healthy environment for us all.”
Daryl K, Founder and CEO of RYCE Entertainment said, “Our publishing arm is at the very core of RYCE. It’s our creative hub and where we innovate and create. We protect and promote our writers with a vengeance and we’re excited to continue doing so with UMP China. We’re looking forward to the fruits of our partnership.”
Andrew Jenkins, President of Asia Pacific, Universal Music Publishing Group, said, “I am delighted to welcome RYCE Publishing to the Universal family through our new agreement in China for the World. Our best in class global administration services combined with the progressive and innovative teams in our Universal Beijing and Shanghai offices will provide RYCE Publishing with the best possible partner for their incredible creative vision. Their remarkable creative drive has led to a huge number of hits and great commercial success for RYCE Publishing so far. I look forward to an even more successful future as both companies work together to further build on the global impact of RYCE Publishing in the coming years through this new agreement.”
UMP China has solidified its position as the leading music publisher in the rapidly growing music market of China. With its long-term commitment to investing and developing local songwriters, UMP China is dynamic hub connecting talented Chinese musicians to world-class songwriters around the globe. In October 2021, UMP China opened its second office in Shanghai, a move that significantly expanded UMPG’s operations in China.
Photo L-R: Joe Fang (Managing Director of Universal Music Publishing China), Mar Ma (Senior A&R Manager, Universal Music Publishing China), Yunyun Wang (Managing Director of RYCE Publishing), Daryl K (Founder and CEO of RYCE Entertainment), Sheng Lei (COO of RYCE Entertainment), Andrew Jenkins (on screen) (President of Asia Pacific, Universal Music Publishing Group)