What Kanjian Music | 看见音乐 does

Kanjian Music (看见音乐) is a Shanghai-headquartered music technology infrastructure provider founded in 2012 and operating through Singapore-registered subsidiary Daflow Pte. Ltd. The company builds a full-stack digital framework for music creation, protection, distribution, management, and commercial application, with its flagship product Kanjian Starcast unifying licensing automation across digital distribution, sync, publishing, neighboring rights, microsync, and connected-device distribution across 300+ digital service providers worldwide, including 90+ Chinese DSPs such as Tencent Music Entertainment and NetEase Cloud Music. The platform connects more than 30 million digital assets with over a billion consumers, processing audio content through proprietary fingerprinting technology for rights management and royalty tracking, and supports 100,000+ creators and 300+ partner organizations. Revenue is generated via commission-based take rates: an 80/20 split in favor of artists on digital distribution, 60/40 on Coolvox sync licensing, 70/30 on music library and microsync licensing, plus one-off fees on China-focused promotion services starting at $369. Go-to-market combines a self-serve PLG platform (Starcast, Coolvox, Starlink) with field sales across the US and Europe, while strategic positioning as a gateway to the Chinese market for global artists and labels (Jackson Wang, AJR, Carl Cox, Monstercat, Avex, Hillsong) and as an enterprise infrastructure provider for smart-device and IoT verticals (Huawei, Keep) underpins commercial activity. Recent strategic direction has emphasized AI licensing through a November 2024 Musical.AI partnership, connected-device distribution (EVs, smart TVs, wearables), and geographic expansion via regional sales contacts in the US and EU.

Name

Kanjian Music | 看见音乐

Legal name

Kanjian Music

Website

https://en.kanjian.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Kanjian Music is a Shanghai-based music technology infrastructure provider that automates licensing, distribution, and royalty collection across 300+ digital platforms, serving rights holders, labels, and enterprise platforms with China market access.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Music Rights & Licensing Platform

NAICS

Music Publishers (51223), Record Production and Distribution (51225), Lessors of Nonfinancial Intangible Assets (except Copyrighted Works) (5331), Music Publishers (512230)

akta.pro primary industry

Music Rights Administration & Royalty Processing (Admin, Accounting, Statements) (MPAIAKAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Micro-Licensing & Direct Licensing Platforms (UGC, SMB venues, online uses) (MPAIAKAJ), Sync Marketplaces & Licensing Platforms (MPAIALAG), Royalty Accounting & Payment Services (Statements, Audits, Payee Management) (MPAIABAL), Sync Royalty Administration & Reporting (Cue Sheets, Claims, Audits) (MPAIALAL)

Keywords

• Digital music distribution
• Music licensing platform
• Sync licensing services
• Music rights administration
• Royalty collection infrastructure

Headquarters

HQ city

Shanghai

HQ country

China

HQ region

Asia

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Digital Distribution: Revenue split model where artists/labels retain 80% of net revenue from streaming across 300+ DSPs worldwide. Standard contract term of three years with active promotion of new releases.
2. Coolvox Sync Licensing: 40% commission fee on revenue generated. No subscription, one-off fee, or fixed costs. Artists keep 60% of sync licensing revenue.
3. Music Library Sales: 30% commission on net revenue from sync licenses. Non-exclusive partnership allowing artists to distribute through other channels simultaneously.
4. Microsync Distribution: 30% commission on net revenue from microsync licenses. Non-exclusive license allowing flexibility for artists.
5. Music Promotion Services: Transparent music promotion services covering Chinese digital space. One-off service fees for playlist promotion, influencer marketing, in-feed ads, PR and radio. No recurring fees.
6. Publishing Administration: Commission-based publishing administration covering global territories. Manages catalog encoding, metadata, data processing, and protection against infringements.
7. Neighboring Rights Administration: Collection and distribution of neighboring rights royalties from performing rights organizations globally.
8. Connected Devices Distribution: Distribution licenses to smart devices such as electric vehicles, smart electronics and wearables. Generates royalties in established and growing markets.
9. Kanjian Starlink: Integrated licensing solution for production and commercial assets. Authorization of tens of millions of assets in one-stop licensing application.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Kanjian operates a full-stack digital framework for the music industry, offering automated licensing, distribution, sync, publishing administration, and neighboring rights collection across 300+ digital service providers worldwide. Its Kanjian Starcast platform unifies commercial exploitation and royalty collection for music rightsholders, while Kanjian Starlink serves enterprises needing production and commercial music asset licenses, and Kanjian Coolvox provides a commercial sync music library. The company additionally offers transparent music promotion services tailored to the Chinese digital market.

Product overview

Kanjian is an innovative infrastructure provider for the music industry, offering a full-stack digital framework for music creation, protection, distribution, management, and commercial application. The product portfolio centers on Kanjian Starcast as the primary licensing and distribution platform, complemented by Kanjian Starlink for commercial asset licensing, Kanjian Coolvox for sync music library services, Kanjian Promotion for music marketing in China, and Super+ for artist development. The platform connects over 30 million digital assets with over a billion consumers worldwide through 190+ stores and 300+ organizations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Kanjian Starcast: Worldwide licensing platform unifying commercial exploitation and royalty collection across hundreds of digital service providers worldwide. Offers licensing automation for digital music distribution, sync, public performance.
• Kanjian Coolvox
• Kanjian Starlink
• Kanjian Promotion
• Super+

Products and services

• Kanjian Starcast Worldwide music licensing and distribution platform that unifies commercial exploitation and royalty collection across hundreds of digital service providers globally. Offers licensing automation for digital distribution, sync, publishing, neighboring rights, and public performance for music rightsholders including artists, labels, and publishers.
• Kanjian Starlink Integrated licensing solution for obtaining production and commercial music content licenses for digital services. Provides authorization of tens of millions of production and commercial music assets in a one-stop application, targeted at digital service providers, brands, and content platforms needing bulk commercial music licensing.
• Kanjian Coolvox Commercial music licensing platform offering millions of high-quality music materials for one-stop trading. Provides full copyright, full territory, and worldwide licensing to meet customer needs for genuine music use in sync applications, targeting influencers, companies, and marketing agencies needing music for content.
• Kanjian Promotion Transparent music promotion services covering the Chinese digital space, connecting international artists with millions of Chinese music fans. Offers one-off service fees for playlist promotion, influencer marketing, in-feed ads, PR, and radio campaigns on NetEase, QQ Music, Weibo, Douyin, and WeChat.

Quantifiable outcome

• 30 million+ digital assets connected with over a billion consumers worldwide
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers20 records

Segments10 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability3 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Musical.AIcoreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership announced November 2024 making Kanjian's music catalog with explicitly pre-authorized AI usage available through Musical.AI platform. Collaboration aims to help AI developers navigate music licensing while ensuring fair compensation for artists and rights holders worldwide.
• Music AllycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMusic Ally is based in London with offices in Shanghai (headquartered together with Kanjian), Tokyo and Medellin, Colombia. Provides industry insights, training, and consulting services for music industry professionals.
• IMCO (International Music Collaboration Organization)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNon-profit organization providing opportunities for the Chinese music industry and global music organisations to communicate and connect. Kanjian co-founded this trade association.
• IMX (International Music Expo)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPlatform for discovery - a global business and cultural expo for professionals, creators and consumers in the creative and tech industries. Kanjian organizes and hosts this annual event.
• Black Octopus SoundminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWell-known sample pack production company. Partnership for remix contests and sample pack distribution in China market. Black Octopus Sound provides high-quality vocals, live instruments, drum samples, basses, and synth presets.
• Label RadarminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPlatform partnership for remix contest hosting. Collaborated on Synth Alley remix contests to discover and promote quality music producers globally.
• Synth AlleyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMusic incubation program powered by Kanjian Music. Series of global remix contests discovering and promoting quality music producers. Enables artists to kickstart their journey and promote on international stage.
• Sound IdeasminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSound effects and royalty-free music provider. Over 1,000,000 sound effects, production elements for television, film, game development, post-production, and interactive media.
• Evolving SoundminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUK trailer-music label partnering with exceptional composers, producers, musicians and orchestras to deliver dramatic music for theatrical promotion.
• China's Top Stock Library Music ServicescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorKanjian partners with China's top stock library music services including their own Coolvox platform to boost sales in the rapidly growing stock music sector in China.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• TuneCore: Digital distribution and publishing administration platform owned by Believe. Directly comparable to Kanjian on distribution, publishing admin, and neighboring rights collection across global DSPs.
• UnitedMasters: Distribution and label services platform for independent artists with strong brand and marketing services. Comparable to Kanjian on distribution; Kanjian differentiates through deeper China market access and sync/publishing admin.
• AWAL (Sony Music): Distribution and label services platform for independent artists, owned by Sony Music. Comparable to Kanjian on distribution and rights management, though AWAL is label-backed with deeper major-label integrations.
• CD Baby: Long-standing independent music distribution and rights administration service. Comparable to Kanjian on digital distribution and publishing admin for independent artists, with a similar self-serve SMB focus.
• DistroKid: Self-serve digital music distribution platform serving independent artists with global DSP delivery. Closely comparable to Kanjian Starcast on the distribution side, though Kanjian pairs distribution with broader publishing admin, sync, and China-specific services.
• Songtrust (Downtown Music): Independent music publishing administration and royalty collection platform. Directly comparable to Kanjian's publishing administration and neighboring rights collection services, particularly for global royalty collection across PROs.
• Amuse: Mobile-first music distribution platform offering free and paid tiers for independent artists. Comparable to Kanjian Starcast on self-serve digital distribution with global DSP delivery.

Broad incumbents

• The Orchard (Sony Music): Global music distribution and label services arm of Sony Music. Broad incumbent with overlapping distribution, sync, and rights services — but operates as part of a major label portfolio rather than an independent aggregator.
• Believe Distribution: Global digital music company and owner of TuneCore providing distribution, label services, and publishing solutions. Comparable to Kanjian across distribution and publishing admin, but at significantly larger scale with public market access.

Emerging players

• LANDR: AI-powered mastering, distribution, and sample/loop marketplace. Comparable to Kanjian on distribution and music licensing for creators, with overlap on audio fingerprinting-adjacent technology.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/kanjianmusic
• Facebookfacebook.com/kanjianmusic
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kanjianmusic
• Instagraminstagram.com/kanjianmusic

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kanjian Music | 看见音乐