China Orders Tencent to Give Up Exclusive Music Rights

Tencent Holdings Ltd. was ordered to give up exclusive music streaming rights and pay half a million yuan in fines, becoming the latest Chinese internet giant to be brought to heel by regulators.

An official investigation found Tencent’s 2016 acquisition of China Music Corp.’s stakes violated regulations partly because of a lack of reporting to authorities, according to a statement by the anti-trust watchdog on Saturday. The State Administration for Market Regulation required Tencent and its affiliates to waive exclusive music rights within 30 days and handed down a fine of 500,000 yuan ($77,145).

That deal had help create Tencent ...