Sony Music Entertainment and Tencent Music Entertainment Group Announce New Label Liquid State ‘East Meets West on the Dancefloor’

HONG KONG - Media OutReach - 31 January 2018 - Sony Music Entertainment and Tencent Music Entertainment Group today announced in Hong Kong the launch of electronic dance music label, Liquid State.  

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Liquid State is the new home for electronic and EDM artists from the Asia region and internationally. The label will be discovering, showcasing and developing the abundant existing local talent to create original content, whilst providing unrivalled support for international artists in the region.

Liquid State will be the premier dance and electronic community and lifestyle brand across the region, also incorporating live touring, club events and special exclusive experiences.

Liquid State will further enhance the incredible growth of dance music in the Asia region, which has seen EDM festivals skyrocket to a record number and the evolution of a vibrant local club scene.

Liquid State will feature original content through the leading global record label expertise of Sony Music with Tencent Music Entertainment's powerhouse marketing and digital services including QQ Music, Kugou Music and Kuwo Music. In addition, Tencent media channels such as WeChat, QQ, Tencent VideoandQZone will also support LiquidState and its artists.

Global superstar and multiplatinum-selling Sony Music artist, Alan Walker, will be an integral part of Liquid State,with the talented 20 year old Norwegian set to release a string of exclusive collaborations on the label in 2018. In 2017, Walker took the number one position on the QQ Music charts with a record number of over six billion audio streams and featured as the highest climber on the Top 100 DJ Mag poll. He first entered the global music scene with his breakthrough single 'Faded' in December 2015, which has now sold more than 9.4 million units worldwide in addition to being streamed more than 1.6 billion times on digital platforms. He is the first in a wave of international DJs and collaborators to be a part of the Liquid State movement.

Furthermore, three of Asia's most popular superstars have signed on as ambassadors for Liquid State across the region, with Chinese pop superstar Chris Lee as ambassador for Chinese mainland, internationally acclaimed singer and actor Nicholas Tse as ambassador for Hong Kong and Taiwan, and multi-talented phenomenon from BIGBANG, Seungri as ambassador for South Korea. Tencent Music Entertainment has enjoyed long-standing relationships and successes with the three ambassadors. Previously, Chris Lee's digital album 'Liu Xing' and Nicholas Tse's digital single 'Yi Xiang Tian Kai' were released on Tencent Music Entertainment music platforms and both artists are part of the Tencent Music Entertainment Music+Project. With Liquid State, the three ambassadors will be involved in exciting music collaborations across the dance genre. 

AlanWalker comments, "Asia has always been such a special place for me so I'm thrilled to be here today to help Sony Music and Tencent with the launch of Liquid State. They have each played such a huge role in my career so far, and now that they are joining forces, I'm convinced that Liquid State will grow to play a significant role in breaking new artists from Asia on a global scale, as well as enabling international artists to unleash the huge potential that lies within the Asian market."

In addition to Walker, Liquid State's initial roster sees more incredible talent from across the electronic music spectrum, with Grammy-nominated global star ZHU, and multi-award winning Dubai based duo Hollaphonic, both set to release music through the label in the coming months. China's DJ Lizzy and Korean duo Junkilla are the first artists from the Asia region to be signed to Liquid State.

Denis HandlinAO, Chairman & CEO, Australia & New Zealand and President Asia, Sony Music Entertainment, comments, "I am delighted to announce the launch of Liquid State with Tencent Music Entertainment Group. These are exciting times for the music industry and Liquid State has been created to support and enhance the discovery and development of electronic and EDM talent across the Asia region. Together we will make Liquid State the destination for a wide range of highly talented new and established global and local artists. I would also like to thank Tencent  for sharing the passion and vision to provide music fans in China and around the world with exciting new music, unique experiences and incredible artists through Liquid State."

Cussion Pang, CEO of Tencent Music Entertainment Group comments, "With the formation of Liquid State, our goal is to create an unmatched culture exchange between the East and the West through the power of electronic dance music. It is a music genre like no other, and together with Sony Music Entertainment, we aim to build a win-win solution for all of our stakeholders and believe that the collaboration will give birth to some truly memorable moments in both the music and culture sectors for years to come."

About Tencent Music Entertainment Group

With three major music service providers including QQ Music, Kugou and Kuwo, TME is a leading online music service company in China, providing services such as digital music players, mobile online karaoke, live music shows, copyright delegation, advertisements, and other music derivative businesses. It is committed to providing music services optimised for China market needs, including bringing music listeners high quality digital music services serving multiple use cases, helping music producers drive authorized content development, and contributing towards the advancement of China's overall digital music industry.

About Sony Music Entertainment

Sony Music Entertainment is a global recorded music company with a current roster that includes a broad array of both local artists and international superstars. The company boasts a vast catalogue that comprises some of the most important recordings in history. It is home to premier record labels representing music from every genre, including Arista Nashville, Beach Street Records, Black Butter Records, BPG Music, Bystorm Entertainment, Century Media, Columbia Nashville, Columbia Records, Day 1, Descendant Records, Disruptor Records, Epic Records, Essential Records, Essential Worship, Flying Buddha, Fo Yo Soul Recordings, House of Iona Records, Insanity Records, Kemosabe Records, Latium Entertainment, Legacy Recordings, Louder Than Life, Masterworks, Masterworks Broadway, OKeh, Polo Ground Music, Portrait, RCA Inspiration, RCA Nashville, RCA Records, Relentless Records, Reunion Records, Sony Classical, Sony Music Latin, Star Time International, Syco Music, Vested in Culture and Volcano. Sony Music Entertainment is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation.

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