Tencent formally announces plans to spin off music division for stateside IPO

Tencent is slowly progressing with its plan to spin out its music branch into a standalone business that will eventually list in the United States. The latest move from the entertainment conglomerate was a filing this weekend with the Hong Kong stock exchange announcing its proposed change that would see Tencent Music Entertainment Group become a separate entity. No other details about the action — including offering size and price range — have been settled.

This announcement confirms what has been a rumored move for many months. It’s also the latest in a wave of music businesses looking to list. Spotify’s unusual direct listing, which was years in the making, kicked off the new trend. Wireless speaker company Sonos just announced its own IPO plans last week. The increased interest in pursuing the stock market could be a sign of confidence in streaming audio after years of steady growth. Streaming has been amassing ever-larger shares of the music market in the U.S., most recently securing almost two-thirds of the industry’s 2017 revenue in the latest RIAA figures.