China Internet & New Media - Takeaways from Soda Music expert call

Research evidence excerpt

China Internet & New Media - Takeaways from Soda Music expert call

Global Markets Research

24 June 2026China Internet & New Media

EQUITY: INTERNET & NEW MEDIA

Takeaways from Soda Music expert call Research Analysts

China Internet & New Media

Limited copyright budget but potential AI music Rachel Guo - NIHK

rachel.guo@nomura.comleadership

+852 2252 1400

On 23 June 2026, the Nomura China internet team hosted a conference call with an

Jialong Shi - NIHKexpert from ByteDance's (unlisted) Soda Music to discuss user growth trends, Jialong.shi@nomura.com

monetization strategies, and content positioning. Soda Music is a music-streaming +852 2252 1409

platform employing an interest-based recommendation algorithm rather than traditional

search functionality. Key takeaways are below:

TheNomuraChinainternetteamwillhostagroupcallat3:30PMon26June2026witha

managerfromByteDance'sRedFruittoshedsomelightontheAIanimateddramaand

shortdramaindustry’sstatusquoandgrowthsustainability.Pleaseapproachyour

Nomurasalesrepresentativetoregisterforthecallifinterested.

Continuing user expansion with growth decelerating to ~50% in FY26E

According to the expert, as of May 2026, Soda Music reached approximately 50mn DAU

and 150mn MAU. The expert estimates DAU to reach ~60mn by year-end, representing

~50% y-y growth versus nearly 100% in 2025. The expert believes this deceleration

reflects diminishing marginal returns from Douyin’s traffic diversion as the convertible user

pool almost approaches saturation. According to the expert, supplementary user growth

drivers for Soda Music also include cost-effective, sponsor-funded offline events (music

festivals, campus activations) targeting lower-tier markets. As per the expert, the average